Conan yeast

[Cain Harland]

Can we get Conan yeast in NZ. If so whats it calling its self.

[Tom]

WLP095 Burlington Ale.

http://www.brewshop.co.nz/burlington-ale-yeast-wlp095.html

[Crusader-Rob]

The best alternative is WY1318.

that what most seem to be using in those new fandangled NE Pale Ale's/IPA's.
I've used it to good effect. I used conan awhile back, and didn't really care for it so much.

[Cain Harland]

What didn't you like about conan?

I'm a bit over US-05 / Chiko at the mo. Its reliable, convenient and clean but doesn't have much character or do much for the malt character of the beer so I'm looking for a new house yeast. First priority is something thats great for hop flavor, then letting the malt come through a bit more and if it has esters etc that are complementary to a hoppy beer great, if its also versitile and can be used in a range of style even better but at least every second beer I brew is an IPA so that gets the priority. The candidates are:

1. The Yeast Bays Vermont Ale - if I can get it - seems more likely to be actual conan sourced form heady topper than WLP095 which might be from Magic hat in Burlington
2. WLP095 Burlington Ale
3. WY1318  London Ale III
4. WLP090 San Diego Super Yeast
5. M36 Liberty Bell Ale

Everyone feel free to suggest anything else. Or comment on these.

[Crusader-Rob]

I don't know, I just wasn't that fussed with it.

the beer i had with it, did have some diacetyl in it, but it just sat around being overly yeasty etc.

3 & 4 are your best bets for hop character.

although 090, is similar to US-05, its very neutral.

so I'd suggest going with WY1318, which is supposedly what hill farmstead uses.

I've used it, and its fantastic with hops. and is similar in some respects to conan, with its low flocc etc.

I'm planning on testing out liberty bell soon on an ECPA.

antoher would be WLp007, which is close to stones, clean and neutral, with just a little extra character. probably a middle ground between 001 and 1318 TBh.

[Tom]

I have used both Wyeast 1318 and WLP095. The 1318 is a fantastic yeast, it highlights hops well and let some malt through with a great subdued fruity quality. The WLP095 is great as well with similar attributes to the 1318 but the fruity esters seem to angle more towards the Conan descriptors of ripe stone fruit/peaches etc. It doesn't floc all that well and is chunky. I might try a side by side soon of the two.

[Cain Harland]

So does 1318 floc better?

[Tom]

Slightly. Both end up fairly brite after some cold crashing.

[Cain Harland]

1272 might be an option too

[Peter Smith]

What ever you do get a stir plate !!!!   As a general house yeast I like 1272 a lot, it flocs well and has more character then US05, I think its a more reliable finisher as well.

[Cain Harland]

Yeah I made one a while back. Only bought a 2L flask and probably should have gone bigger. I haven't been using it much as dried yeast hardly cost any more than the DME to make a starter and is way more convenient. But the options in dried yeast are pretty limited so might have to get into this whole yeast storage and propagation thing because I'm certainly not going to spend $60 to $80 a brew to pitch 3 or 4 smack packs into 40L. Can't decide between glycerol freezing or making slants for storage and will defiantly harvest from starters for a few generations.

[David R]

That's what I was about to ask Carl, I recently did a beer with 1318 and really liked it, but it certainly does add to the cost of the beer if you only use it once. I just bought a 3L flask and I was wondering about making a starter then washing it and splitting it into 3-4 jars to store for making starters in the future. How long could I store them, and is there a better option for getting more bang-for-buck out of a smack pack?

I don't brew often enough to reuse it for more than a couple of beers by pitching onto the cake.

And while we're on this subject, has anyone tried Wyeast 1450 Denny's Favourite? According to the blurb it's "unique in that it produces a big mouthfeel and accentuates the malt, caramel, or fruit character of a beer without being sweet or under-attenuated.".

[Cain Harland]

I was thinking along the same lines of splitting the first gen starter in to 3 or 4 jars but the number I came up with was viability approximately half's every month. I brew about once a month so by the 2nd jar its down to 25% viability.

So the better option seems to be to keep just 1 jar from each starter to make the next repeating for 3 or 4 generations (or maybe more?) along with slanting or freezing in glycerol a few samples from the first starter you make. Then at what ever generation you decide to stop harvesting starters use a slant or frozen to make a fresh starter thats good for another 3 or 4 generations.