What could I ferment with Denny's Favorite?

brick1083 · January 14, 2014, 5:45am

Getting to the point:
I saved about 16 oz of Wyeast 1450 from a yeast cake and would like to use it to make a new batch. I’m looking for suggestions (all grain).

If your first response is that the possibilities are endless and you need more direction, I’d say something pale to light brown and below 1.060 would be good to balance the Bourbon Vanilla Porter I just made.

The backstory:
I typically brew about 4x per year. That’s enough to satisfy my thirst and it’s tough to fit in much more with my family life. I brewed the Porter 2 weeks ago and just racked it onto the vanilla beans yesterday. I’ve never done this before, but I had a jar handy and for some reason I decided to save some of the yeast cake. Now today, my wife made plans to travel with the kids this weekend. So, although it’s unheard of for me, I’m thinking why not crank out another batch while the family’s out of town and I have fresh yeast on hand?

s_scoggin · January 14, 2014, 5:59am

Waldo lake amber is pretty good

or any pale, amber, or brown ale. if you want to make them more interesting subtract 20-30% of the base malt and replace it with rye malt

hades · January 14, 2014, 12:14pm

http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_yeaststrain ... cfm?ID=201

pinnah · January 14, 2014, 1:26pm

While apparently it is not ideal to pitch yeasties from a high gravity beer to a lower gravity wort…
I have yet to detect any problems.

+3 to trying it in what ever style suits your fancy.
Very versatile yeast. I have been using it in lower gravity, highly hopped APA’s. Love the mouthfeel.

:cheers: Knocking 2 batches out in quick succession is a great idea. You will thank yourself in a few months.

brick1083 · January 14, 2014, 1:37pm

Thanks for the suggestions and the link. I see it is a very versatile yeast. I had completely forgotten about Irish Red as I was thinking about my options. I think that may be the winner. Its a style I like and it’s been several years since I’ve brewed one.

hades · January 14, 2014, 2:00pm

Good choice! It will be ready plenty ahead of St Patrick’s day!

old_guy · January 14, 2014, 4:39pm

I think this works in the 50’s, so you might think of Kolsch or Alt?

denny · January 14, 2014, 5:03pm

I have to admit that I’ve never tried it that cold. Might work, but it might not. In addition, what I like about 1450 is the silky mouthfeel. I don’t think it’s crisp enough for alt. 1056 or 1007 would be much better. And it’s too clean for kolsch, without that traditional “winey” flavor that kolsch has.

ynotbrusum · January 15, 2014, 3:31am

I’d make the Rye Smile IPA - just cuz it is incredible!!!

brick1083 · January 15, 2014, 5:31am

Thanks for all the suggestions. Now another question. If probably deserves a new thread, but I’m lazy.

When I saved part of the yeast cake, I think I forgot to sanitize the jar. I cleaned it with PBW and intended to douse it with Starsan, but I think I forgot the Starsan. Should I trash it, or is the PBW sufficient? I know in my first couple years of brewing all I ever used on my fermentation and racking equipment was a no-rinse sanitizer and somehow that was good enough.