Homage to English Ale Yeasts

[Mike Neilson]

I want to brew my Brown Porter again as I love it!! Its let down a little by S04, dont get me wrong its a great yeast but, I have had better. I want to brew it again but I have no English Ale Yeasts, I know every one like 1469, but I cant get my hands on any fresh stuff, I dont want 1968 as this is a tiny little beer and I want it to attenuate right out.It would be easy to use the stack load of US yeasts I have but I feel it would just make the beer to clean and to average, But what comes after the 2 Ale yeasts I have used?

[jt]

W1028 or it's white labs equivilent ?
Seems to be a catch all English yeast.
Or if you want attenuation, try W1275 fresh

[Alasdair]

1028 can be a little minerally, but it's currently my go-to yeast for any english ale (other than milds and bitters). I've used it for brown ales, porters, stouts and IPAs. My beer for the next case swap - either an IPA or Brown porter - uses it, so you can check it out then.

[Reviled]

Have you used 1026 british cask?

[jt]

1026 is about attenuative as 1968 isn't it ?

[Stu McKinlay]

For a little English Ale I find it hard to go past 1098... the "whitbread" yeast that is perfect for cask ale.
I've got some WLP002 on the way because I loved 1968 when I tried it a few years ago.

How about 1335 - nobody ever mentions that.

[JoKing]

I totally heart 1968 like Denim does. I just had a snifter of my Amarillo ESB (inspired by Curse of the Marmarillo) and I have to say that I wish it was running through my "Cellarmix" system. By far the best bitter I have ever made. Ever. Ever ever. EVER EVER EVER EVER!!!!!

Could be the water profile that I added into the mash... who knows?

[Tilt]

I'm interested in people's thoughts re this now.
What did you choose in the end Mike and did it produce the goods?
I'm interested in a first go at an English Porter, with perhaps a Stout to follow.
Which yeast would do the trick?

[studio1]

Me too. Am about to order some stuff from morebeer and looking for an English ale yeast(s) to complement the 1968/002 I'm ordering.

[Tilt]

Glad to hear you're interested too Studio.
Perhaps, after we hear the wise words of others here we could combine forces and swap strains we buy to compare?

I forgot to mention - this is my first bash at choosing and using a liquid yeast - so I'm keen to know the quality of the end product as well as how finicky each strain is to use.
From what I've read some (such as 1968?) produce a bit of diacetyl and need special care to get the best out of them.
As a first time liquid yeast herder I'll be interested in a good English character and reliable results without needing too much advanced expertise!
Thanks

[JR]

I think any diacetyl can be solved by just leaving the beer in the fermentor for a few extra days and if possible raising the temp a degree or two. Only a problem if you are working to a really tight time frame.

[JoKing]

Tilt - I just had some great results with the Thames Valley II strain: WyEast1882PC. It attenuated well, has given a nice balanced yeast character - not too overpowering. The malt has come through nicely and has finished medium in body.

I don't know if it is what you are after - but it was pretty easy to use compared to some of the other English strains I've used. If you are going to Galbraiths on the 18th, I could try and bring some slurry along for you.

[Tilt]

Joking - thanks mate, thats a very generous offer.
Sounds like the TV II strain is a good starting point for a foray into english liquid yeasts.
I'd like to brew a porter and then a stout using the yeast cake from the porter. Balanced characters for both would be good. I can then tweak to taste for follow up brews.
Meeting JZ at Galbraiths on the 18th has been the prompt for me to join SOBA - so it'd be great if you had some slurry to share, I'll see you there.