Go-to Yeasts

[MmmBeer]

I have checked the yeast stocks in my fridge and discovered that it is now time to reorder. The vast bulk of what I brew are either APA's or English ales/bitters. Normally I would stick to US-05 and either S-04, Notty and Liberty Bell for the English ales. I intend to order in bulk, either multiple sachets, or bulk packs, I could even consider culturing yeast, at a push.

So, what would people reccomend as a one off, do everything APA yeast and a one off, do everything English ale yeast? I know us homebrewers can have strong opinions on such matters, so I thought it would be interesting to gain a consensus view.

 

[user 18729]

You’ll get loads of different suggestions here
My go to English strain is Ringwood and for anything pale and hoppy id probably use BRY-97 or most recently the dried Verdant strain (London Ale III)

 

[MmmBeer]

You’ll get loads of different suggestions here
My go to English strain is Ringwood and for anything pale and hoppy id probably use BRY-97 or most recently the dried Verdant strain (London Ale III)

Thanks for the suggestions, I have a sachet of Verdant left in the fridge, will try that in my next brew.

 

[ppsmith]

I’m favouring Mangrove Jack’s M44 over US-05 recently. Had a few beers with it that just seem generally better, even though it’s notionally the same chico strain I think.

Could be that my technique has improved and it’s coincidence, but that’s my go to for pale ales currently.

 

[MickDundee]

BRY-97 is my go to West Coast yeast.

I’ve started to use liquid for my English ales, I’ve really like London Ale III.

 

[obscure]

I’ve had some nice results with Liberty Bell which I am increasingly going for over S-04. As for American style beers I have tried Wyeast 001 but I just don’t think it’s worth the premium over S-05 or similar fairly neutral dried yeasts.

But I hate to say it as liquid is much more expensive but for a lot of English ales I just find they are on the whole better, London III gave me some of the best results I’ve had for English beers, I also rather like West Yorkshire (Wyeast). I made the GH Mild recipe a while back with London III and it was just a pleasure to drink.

 

[samale]

Pia yeast for anything hoppy. Belle Saison yeast for a Saison. Liquid yeast for any other Belgian beers. Currently in my fridge I have wyeast 1214 and wyeast 2278. The 2278 I brewed a very nice doppelbock, the 1214 has brewed a single and pale. I normally keep the slurry and reuse when I buy a liquid yeast.

 

[Hanglow]

wlp 007 is a very good yeast for both US and UK style beers. Quick, attenuates well, clears well, makes hops shine and can get a touch estery if you want at higher temperatures.

 

[matt76]

BRY-97 is my go to West Coast yeast.

I’ve started to use liquid for my English ales, I’ve really like London Ale III.

I'll second these two.

If you don't want liquid then MJ M36 is good for English styles, but certainly different to WY1318 London Ale III.

I've yet to try Lallemand Verdant IPA in an English style so can't comment yet, bit I believe it's derived from 1318 so might turn out be a good choice.

I think there's a lot to be said for standardising on just a few yeasts to cover all the styles you normally brew.

I encourage you to do some split batches to compare strains. Yeast is arguably the most important/influential ingredient in your beer yet it's surprising how often it seems to be something of an afterthought.

 

[MmmBeer]

My reluctance to use liquid yeast isn't purely the additional cost, but the flexibility of being able to wake up and decide, I'd like to brew today and just grab everything out of the cupboard and throw it in. I don't want to have to place an order a week before every brew.

One of the reasons for trying to standardise to two 'house yeasts' (with a few random sachets in reserve for emergencies) is to economise by buying in bulk. So far I have found some MJ yeasts, including Liberty Bell in 250g packs for £28 and 100g packs of generic English and US style yeasts from Bigger Jugs for £10, Fermentis only sell in 11.5 or 500g for £60. When I brew a stronger ale (actually quite regularly) I know that I should be using more than 11g of yeast, but am reluctant to chuck two sachets in, but with bulk packs you can weigh out the exact amount without fear of the cost.

I have looked at a couple of Yeast Strain Comparison charts online, which do suggest that US=05, BRY-97 and MJ M44 all are derived from the same Chico strain and also that London III was originally derived from Boddingtons.

 

[matt76]

My reluctance to use liquid yeast isn't purely the additional cost, but the flexibility of being able to wake up and decide, I'd like to brew today and just grab everything out of the cupboard and throw it in. I don't want to have to place an order a week before every brew.

This is exactly why I switched from liquid to dry, although I readily admit liquid gives you a far wider choice.

 

[MickDundee]

My reluctance to use liquid yeast isn't purely the additional cost, but the flexibility of being able to wake up and decide, I'd like to brew today and just grab everything out of the cupboard and throw it in. I don't want to have to place an order a week before every brew.

You don’t need to place an order a week before every brew - you can keep liquid yeast in the fridge, but the requirement to make a starter does make it difficult, which is why I try to use dry yeast where I can.

The only beer styles where I’ve found the liquid yeasts to be far superior to dried are English and Hefe (I’ve heard the same about Belgian but every Belgian style beer apart from wit that I’ve made has been an absolute disaster so I don’t try to make them any more) so if I want to make one of those styles I have to plan a bit more. If I plan to brew at the weekend I’ll do a Starter on the Wednesday and if I plan to do a midweek WFH brew I’ll do the starter over the weekend (or if there’s more than 4 months left on the use by I will just throw it in without a starter).

 

[Covrich]

yeah Liquid doesn't feel as convienent. but in english styles I find going from gervin/ nottingham which alot of people just throw in to something like london ale III which is a fav of mine a complete game changer.. But a lot of styles you dont need that

 

[trueblue]

Liquid yeast is not more expensive as there are several ways of getting multiple brews from 1 pack. I have not bought any yeast in at least 2 years maybe even 3 years and on average I brew between 25-30 times per year. At the moment I keep 3 strains in the fridge, was 4 strains until recently. Despite what some may say it is not rocket science providing you have good sanitation it is just another part the brewing experience.

 

[JonBrew]

The best dried English ale strain I've used is, hands down, Lallemand London ESB. It doesn't flocculate well and is a low attenuator but the flavour profile is ace.

I know you're mainly concerned with American and English strains but I'm a big an of the MJ Witbier (M21) yeast. Their French Saison strain is also very good.

 

[MmmBeer]

The best dried English ale strain I've used is, hands down, Lallemand London ESB. It doesn't flocculate well and is a low attenuator but the flavour profile is ace.

I know you're mainly concerned with American and English strains but I'm a big an of the MJ Witbier (M21) yeast. Their French Saison strain is also very good.

I made an Abbot Reserve clone recently using London ESB. I only kegged it last Thursday, so it has not had time to condition, the sample I took on Sunday tasted good, but as you suggested, was still cloudy.

 

[moto748]

This is exactly why I switched from liquid to dry, although I readily admit liquid gives you a far wider choice.

This is me too. As a lot of people do, I have been using S-04 in English bitters, which has always worked OK, but am now looking to try something else. I have a Lallemand Nottingham in the fridge, I'm going to try with my next bitter brew.

Lately I have been brewing mostly stouts, and I have used US-06 in these (largely because I used it initially in a series of different stout recipes for which I wanted to use the same yeast for comparison purposes). Again, this has worked well me, I find it produces a lovely crystal clear stout with minimal sediment that sticks to the bottom of the bottle well. But I would welcome further recommendations for stouts.

 

[MickDundee]

I'm a big an of the MJ Witbier (M21) yeast.

I second this. I used it for all of my witbiers until my current one which I used WLP400. I’ve only had 2 pints of my new beer but I honestly don’t think there’s a massive difference between the 2 yeasts.

 

[samale]

I second this. I used it for all of my witbiers until my current one which I used WLP400. I’ve only had 2 pints of my new beer but I honestly don’t think there’s a massive difference between the 2 yeasts.

That's good to know, a wit is on my brew list

 

[MmmBeer]

Reading through the replies above has been very informative, so thanks to all of you who have contributed.

At the present time I don't think I want to get into culturing liquid yeasts, but I'll never say never.

For now I will look to get a bulk pack of one of the Chico strain American yeasts, probably M44, as it comes in smaller packs (250g as opposed to 500g for others).

I think I will keep experimenting with English ale yeasts, may even try a liquid yeast for comparison.