Averagely Perfect NorthEast IPA - Poll #8 - Yeast Runoff

Without Heady you likely do not have this style of IPA in anywhere near its current level of prevalence. A vote for Conan from me.

 

I have brewed with 1318 and Conan from Yeast Bay. I have now made double the amount of beers with 1318, because its so much easier to work with, you dont "need" sugar in the recipe and its just as fruity, albeit a different kind of fruit.

 

I get similar ester profiles from both yeasts and can buy 1318 a mile from my house. So 1318 it is

 

barn burner city

 

Write in for Wyeast1098

 

1318. It performs. I've always heard mixed reviews of Conan from different labs. Seems like it has a wide attenuation range. 1318 has never let me down in this style....

 

I know a hyped brewery switching from Conan to 1318 because Conan isnt consistant.

 

I have used 1318 in a number of recent hop-forward beers and have been really pleased with the results. I have access to Conan/Vermont. But I haven't had any experience with it yet. So just picking from experience.

While anecdotal and of very limited sample size, I have spoken to some and read about others who have brewed with both yeasts, some of whom performed side-by-side comparisons with the, otherwise, same recipes. From what I've gleaned, the London Ale III/1318 lent to a softer/creamier mouthfeel. If the case, I believe this helps to better promote the "juiciness" factor of this "style" even if absent the more pronounced peach/fruity esters that Conan is said to provide.

 

1318 does indeed add a creamy soft mouthfeel to a beer.

 

I chose Conan...but to throw caution to the wind...Dual-pitch?

 

whoa.

 

It isn't the Conan that isn't consistent. A pure culture will perform predictably. That said, Conan does appear to be more sensitive to pitching rates and temperature than most other strains. If a brewery isn't doing cell counts, I could see if being less forgiving than other strains. In addition, the most common Conan culture seems to come from Yeast Bay, which is contracted through White Labs. It has been shown on multiple occasions that White Labs quality control is, at times, suspect. Personally, I have switched to Imperial Organic for all of my yeast commercially. I have a lot of faith in the guys there that used to be at Wyeast. I haven't noticed a decrease in Wyeast quality, but their lead times are much longer these days and their cell counts are lower than Imperial Organic. At the home level, I love the cans from Imperial as well and my cell counts have confirmed their advertised 200B cells.

 

Not entirely related, but I am very intrigued by a blend from Imperial Organic (Despite my last two posts praising them, I'm not affiliated, just an enthusiastic fanboy of their's). It has Conan and Sacc Trois and they refer to it as "Dry Hop." Their description of it is very intriguing.

 

Wy1318 performed great for me in my one attempt at the style. That, and its availability, are the reason for my vote. Cheers!

 

Weedy, is this from individual (anecdotal) accounts? Is there anything more that you can share here in terms of details?

Cheers!

 

Vote for 1318

 

I have never used their yeast other than getting Vermont Ale through Yeast Bay. That pitchable was fine. However when I was at Doemens, they had tested White Labs yeast and found lactobacillus in what should have been a pure yeast culture. 2 other yeast labs have told me that they have found contaminants in White Labs yeast. One of them said it was a cross contaminant of another Saccharomyces strain that they had found.

 

I voted Vermont strain cuz I've heard good things and have always wanted to try it out, but I've actually never used either strain TBH . I trust those who have had experience with both to weigh in on this one! I'll brew it either way

 

Thanks for sharing those details; that is useful information.

Were those tests conducted on vials vs. the new PurePitch packaging? One of the claims made for the PurePitch technology is that the yeast is propagated via a fully enclosed method and thereby mitigates (eliminates?) the chance of contamination.

Cheers!