im looking at making/creating a recipe for a crazy strength beer around 15% which beer yeasts can handle this? I know US05 can go to 12%. what is used in Samichlaus Beer that is 14%.
A couple spring to mind...Either Wyeast or white labs Trappist yeasts. The other is Wyeast Scottish ale yeast. The later has less Belgian funk about it and will ferment at lowish temps so it can be fermented cleaner.
Worth checking the specs on the white labs etc websites.
I was talking to a guy at the last Scottish Craft Brewers meeting.
He contract brews (can't remember where) and he was doing a high strength beer that firstly used an ale yeast and then a champagne yeast and finally a sake yeast to get to high ABV!
Of all dry yeast Safbrew T-58 has highest alcohol tolerance. I have read a paper once on this subject, from some uni in Switzerland or Austria, cann't recall, but now Lesaffre/Fermentis claims the same.