Help with House Yeast

Not sure about top croping but 1728 will do a good job for you. Good luck!

 

1469 is what you’re looking for... pretty much hits all the requirements

Peachy
Tons of krausen
Clears very well, not as fast as 002

 

I would suggest much lower, probably half that. Ferment at 68

 

BRY-97 (and its Wyeast and White Labs equivalent) has long been my new favorite "house" yeast. It's great...and will survive through MANY generations of repitching (my record is currently 27 generations)

 

I’ve also recently had some good luck with 1272 and the Imperial Version. More interesting than Chico and floccs better.

 

I really like 1968, it's a shame you need it to top-crop. I'd recommend 1318 over 1469 because it's a better all-purpose yeast. 1469 may shine a little brighter in certain styles, but I don't care for it in IPA or stouts.

 

If you don't like 1469, maybe WY1318/Imperial Organic Juice?
https://www.morebeer.com/products/a38-juice-imperial-organic-yeast.html

Even though NEIPA seems to be its most common usage among homebrewers lately, I used this in the restricted variant of the Averagely Perfect series, and thought it made a nice porter

 

I annually ferment a Bitter Ale with 1469 at 70 degrees F. That yeast is pleasantly expressive at that fermentation temperature.

Cheers!

 

I would recommend 1318 also. Can use it for quite a different styles and it top crops well. That yeast really turns into a fermenting machine when you get around 4 or 5 generations in. I was hitting terminal gravity on 1.065-1.075 beers in just under 48 hours lol. Obviously I let it ride out for 5 or so days after terminal to ensure clean up was performed. I ferment this yeast at 68 degrees.

 

An estery (fruity) flavor profile; flavors of stone fruits. Pretty notable flavor level.

Cheers!

 

This is my favorite for milds and bitters.

 

As you said, Wyeast 1968/WLP002 is not really a top cropper. But I know that Fullers does re-use their yeast. They suck it out of the bottom of the conicals IIRC. Any particular reason you want/need to top crop? 1968 does meet your other criteria very well and IMO is excellent across all the English styles (and a lot of American ones too).

 

Might want to consider Nottingham. I've used it for porters, stouts, and IPAs and thought it was well suited for all of them.

 

WLP-023...much more character than 1968 and less diacetyl

 

Sort of unrelated, but maybe not. The commentary on the 1469 and 1318 strains got me thinking... Are commercial breweries frequently altering fermentation profiles to coax different characteristics out of the same yeast? As a homebrewer, I haven't played around with varying fermentation in a systematic way, focusing more on ingredients and yeast strain varieties. In the dream where I become a commercial brewer, I run a small operation and manage only one yeast strain, and use amazing tricks like varying the temps, pitch rates, and oxygenation to dazzle the crowds at my tasting room with a diverse array of delicious beers, all fermented with one strain. Are there real examples?

 

FWIW, you might find these tidbits interesting about the “Ringwood System”.

Ron Keefe of The Granite Brewery (Toronto, Ontario) in a 10 minute video HERE talks a bit about their open fermentation, which is modeled after what he called The Ringwood System (Ringwood Brewery of the New Forest in Hampshire, England).
They use Wyeast 1187 Ringwood Ale yeast @ about 64.4° - 71.6° for all their beers except wheat beers. It’s supposedly a very aggressive/active yeast that reaches FG in 2.5 – 3 days. Wyeast says to "Expect distinct fruit esters with a malty, complex profile", but doesn't name which fruits are emulated.
If brewing on Monday, they scoop yeast on Thursday and put it in the cooler where it goes into suspension.
If brewing again on Tuesday, they’ll scoop from the actively fermenting beer and pitch it directly to the new batch.

One week in primary then to the closed secondary cask for conditioning, where temp control is critical for the final beer and for personal safety due to the potential for buildup of excessive pressure.