Do Breweries Use Proprietary Yeast Strains?

Unless you have open fermenters, this would certainly be more difficult. Much easier to simply keep an optimum generation in a brink and prop from there.

 

Harveys in the UK have been repitching their yeast for 60 years. They originally got it from John Smiths.

 

Are you sure it’s how it reacts to fermenters or is it the o2 and pitch rate demands it has. 1968/002 requires more o2 and a higher pitch rate than a lot of other yeasts in order to perform correctly. Sometimes it needs to be resuspended as well. Unless you’re using pure o2 and a stone it’s hard to get enough o2 for that yeast in my experience. I think the biggest issue sometimes with homebrewers using different yeasts is that they don’t take the time to understand the yeast. So many of them act so differently and have different requirements from temps, to pitch rates, o2 requirements, and totally different fermentation times. Breweries that use 002 as their strain know exactly how to use it and how to maximize its super fast fermentation times and the ability to produce really clear beer quickly without making D-bombs.

For the OP in my opinion start using 001/1056 and once you’ve got that yeast mastered move onto something else. It’s super forgiving. Maybe I missed it but do you have the ability to control the temp of the beer while it’s fermenting? It’s definitely rather critical when using certain strains of yeast.

 

Yup. Noonan never liked to go over 7 generations with it I guess but Kimmich said in the pub days we would take it up to 20. I don’t think they do now however. That yeast is supposedly very different generation to generation. Not just in the attenuation but the amount of peach it throws. I’ve also read that Conan is actually half of the original Ringwood yeast, that at its origin it was a dual strain yeast. What is known as Ringwood now (wyeast 1187) is the low attenuator high floccing half and Conan (ncyc1188) the high attenuating low floccing half.

One of these days I’m going to pitch them together and see what happens.

 

Where did you read that?

Cheers!

 

I think if you google NCYC 1188 you’ll find it.
HBT post from 2015 by someone who knows a fair amount about yeast, especially English yeasts.

 

In my experience, fermenter size and geometry definitely play a factor. Very much so with that yeast and it’s curd/flan consistency which I theorize (no scientific proof) favors large, comical fermenters. I use the same o2 dosage as pro breweries (pure o2, with a stone) and identical worts work differently in my 1bbl fermenter, and when I ferment in glass, my 5 gallon carboys. They may finish at the same specs, but the times, clarities, and flavors are slightly different.

 

There is this. He says you can buy the two strains (probably from a yeast bank).
http://allaboutbeer.com/article/with-alan-pugsley/

The HBT site is wonky right now. I have a good idea who posted the info.

If you look around, NCYC-1187 and NCYC-1188 were catalogued by a British Brewer in 1960. That is a clue right there.

 

Jeff, how do we homebrewers obtain NCYC-1188?

Cheers!

 

Read through this. Do you know any researchers that can order for you?
http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=58625

I’m certain I know the guy that goes by YeastWhisperer, but he has left the hobby due to health issues.

 

Though this is certainly rampant in the homebrewing community, professional brewers are not completely innocent of this either.

 

That's because so many professional brewers only have homebrewing experience.

 

Not to mention, say in the case of hefeweiss bier, where you harvest from (top crop, or bottom) will yield different flavor profiles as well.

 

@JackHorzempa you could try sending an email to Brewlab to see if they have that exact strain, they have lots of british beer yeasts and will culture up ones you want, I think they charge £6 + shipping or so a slope .

https://www.brewlab.co.uk/store/home-brew-yeast/custom-yeast/p-107819