I use mostly dry yeast as I don’t have a homebrew supply shop anywhere near. I brew mostly IPA, Porters and dark lager. Have been considering brewing a few English Milds and bitters. Got me thinking about how few strains of yeast I could get away with using for the aforementioned styles. Anyone out there slimmed down there yeast usage to just a few “versatile” strains? If so, which?
I go with 9 liquid yeasts currently but WLP001 is my most versatile. You can buy an equivalent dry pack. The Irish WY1084 and Scottish WY1728 are also versatile because they're pretty clean. Same with the Kolsch WY2565.
Assuming not brewing any Belgian styles or Weissbiers, if I had to pick three dry strains, they'd probably be: US-05 S-04 34/70 These are versatile and would neatly cover the styles you listed, I think. Disclaimer: I've used dry yeast, more commercially than at home, but there are a lot of dry strains I haven't tried. Equivalent is a tricky term here, I guess. There's US-05, but that's not the same strain as WLP001. That said, if I "needed" WLP001, but could only get dry strains, I'd use US-05.
I have brewed each of the ale styles wit Nottingham. I have even brewed with notty at 55-60 degrees cellar temp (the beer may have gotten warmer), but I don’t remember confusing it with a lager For lagers, 34/70 is versatile, you could probable make a good ipa with it too. While you can find some dry yeast that has decent versatility you may find that you are not optimizing the beer to your liking. Outside of the curiosity factor, I don’t really see much value in limiting yourself this way
The yeast strain that I use a lot for a variety of ale styles is US-05. It performs well and is a neutral yeast strain. Cheers!
You can use S-04 or Nottingham for pretty much any beer style. S-04 is even cleaner than US-05, and without the crazy high 80-something percent average attenuation of US-05. I should try BRY-97 again, been a while. I'm also a fan of Lallemand London Ale for English styles or where lower ABV is desired. For lagers I'll keep on reaching for Diamond or S-189. Not a fan of S-23, and W-34/70 is I think not as great as the first two. K-97 is right out. Permanently hazy, tart, and yeasty/meaty. If I want haze, I'll add more hops and wheat, or maybe cheat with a tablespoon of flour in the boil like good old Graham L. Sanders. Or maybe 1007 yeast (see below). I've not played with many Belgian yeasts yet -- I will soon enough. The ones I want to try next are BE-256 and BE-134. I've NOT been impressed at all by T-58 or WB-06. Been years since I've tried Abbaye, might be time to try that one again. Belle is a great yeast, but not real versatile outside of saisons. Overall, you just can't beat the convenience of dried yeasts. I always keep a pack or three of several of these. They get used in all sorts of different styles. They can be kept in the fridge for years past the "expiration date". For liquid yeasts, strong contenders include WLP029 (actually pastorianus!) and 1007. Great in any styles. And in Belgians, I can tell you, WLP400 is great for way more than just witbier. Cheers.
I have read numerous posts from homebrewers where they report they get a bready flavor when fermenting with S-04. I take it this as never happened for you? Cheers! P.S. I have used S-04 a few times (e.g., NEIPAs, Oatmeal Stout) but those batches had very strong non-yeast flavors which might have obfuscated the yeast derived bready flavor?
Another vote for US 05. It is the go to yeast when you want the yeast to ferment wort and make beer, reliably, with little fanfare. It just works. It is also a great dry yeast to keep around. Each yeast strain is unique with good and less desirable qualities, but you would be hard pressed to find too much wrong for US-05. Cheers
I know what you mean, and I've heard the same stuff. And I've also heard from others with recent experiences like mine saying wow it sure is clean now. My theory is that Fermentis have cleaned up their act a bit, such that S-04 today is much better and cleaner than it was say 10 years ago.
I tried S-04 about 6 years ago for a mild, found it lacking in the esters one would like in an English style. Curious now to see if it’s changed.
If you are looking for an expression of esters for English style beers I would recommend Wyeast 1469 fermented warm (e.g., 70 degrees F). That is the yeast I use for my annual batch of English Biiter Ale and my most recent batch (brewed last month) has wonderful fruity flavors as one would want in an English Ale. Cheers!
Depends on what your definition of versatile is. Is no temp control considered versatile to you? Then Kveik all day. If you mean clean yeast with little esters then any Chico strain(US-05, WLP-001) would meet that criteria easily.
US-05 and Lutra kveik if you want a clean, fast turnaround beer. Lutra is about as foolproof as you can get when fermenting wort, IMO
I always keep a few packs in the fridge for brew day emergencies or fermentations that don't start. Rare to need it but it has saved a couple of brew days.
