Which Wyeast?

[humulus]

Brewers i want to make a few defferent english styles,and im after some advice on what peoples favorite English yeast strain is and what style they use it for??,Ive already got 1469
Also peoples thoughts on an American one,or is good ole US-05 the staple!!??
cheers

 

[going down a hill]

I'm fairly new to using liquid yeasts, saying that, I have used Ringwood and American Ale ii, both have made me some very nice beer. Ringwood works well with Marris Otter grain, it made a fine drop and Im about to use it again with a Marris Otter/East Kent Golding smash. I tried the American ale ii yeast as opposed to the 56 because I heard 56is from the same strain as 05, I'm a little over that yeast and how it seems to strip beer of subtle flavours. I have brewed a Rye Golden Ale and an American Brown Ale with it, nice and clean but none of that US-05 thing going on.

 

[bullsneck]

Ringwood kicks a decent amount of fruity esters, but can produce a significant amount of butterscotch if you don't do a D-rest towards the end of fermentation.

When done right, It's a favourite of mine for both American and English beers.

 

[Hippy]

1272(American Ale II) is my favourite hands down for American Ales, while I've had great results with 1318(London Ale III) for my English bitters.

 

[manticle]

1272 for US hands down if comparing to 05 or 1056. There's a couple of others I've not tried though - pacman and denny's favourite but they are seasonal

UK - love all the ones I've tried - 1028, 1099, 1187, 1469, 1098, 1026 (PC only but a great yeast), 1968 (good for best and special bitters0, 1768 (again PC only).

Probably not the cheapest way to do it but I try different UK yeasts just about each time I brew a UK type beer. Think I've used 1882 and 1275 before too.

 

[bconnery]

1272 for US hands down if comparing to 05 or 1056. There's a couple of others I've not tried though - pacman and denny's favourite but they are seasonal

UK - love all the ones I've tried - 1028, 1099, 1187, 1469, 1098, 1026 (PC only but a great yeast), 1968 (good for best and special bitters0, 1768 (again PC only).

Probably not the cheapest way to do it but I try different UK yeasts just about each time I brew a UK type beer. Think I've used 1882 and 1275 before too.

I too find myself wanting to try different ones rather than returning to one, although I aim to get two beers out of each pack by reusing the yeast cake because I'm too lazy to make starters...
I do like 1275 a lot though, I've used it and the white labs version, whichever number it was, a few times, and 1026 was good too.

American wise I use dry US05. I've never had diacetyl, clearing or any issues with this yeast.
I've used 1332, which had some english aspects, but can't go past US05 when it comes to any hop driven american style beer.

 

[RdeVjun]

Other side of the tracks for me, as far as English strains go (almost never use American strains so I won't go there) I've got a handful of the PCs and seldom use the everyday strains, not because I'm a yeast snob but because I really want to explore these unusual critters in some depth. 1469 (no longer a PC), 1026, 1768, 1882 (available now) they're all brilliant and I've brewed them to within an inch of their lives. Grab a PC and go hard with it, brew as many styles as it can manage and even try a few more, you'll learn heaps about its tricks and traps and also chances are, by hook or by crook you'll brew something out of the ordinary. You may need to brush up on your yeast ranching but its really no biggie to split a smack pack or even to slant it (IMO that's highly recommended if you use PCs).
However, if you're not up for that kind of adventure then 1968, 1275 and 1187 are everyday strains which should keep you entertained for months, that's after you get bored with 1469.

 

[peaky]

After using US-05 and 1056 loads of times it's 1272 for me these days for American beers. Love that yeast. Have also used 1764 Pacman a couple of times but found it quite slow to attenuate, nice yeast if you have the time to let it do it's thing, but if my fermentation is going to be slow I'd prefer to just brew a Munich Dunkel with 2206.

English yeasts I use are 1968, 1187, 1318, 1469. And still experimenting with all of them. Don't think I've brewed an English beer yet that I didn't like