They are basically the same?
They are said to be the same. The Chico Ale yeast is Wyeast-1056, WLP-001, and US-05 (used to be US-56, but I think they were asked to change that ).
A friend who makes excellent beer did a test where the wort was split in 3 fermenters, and each was fermented with one of the above. They were all similar, but there was subtle differences in the beers. US-05 was slightly drier, and maybe with a little tartness in the background. 1056 and 001 were closer in flavor, and I can’t remember the differences now.
Thanks. I’ve used 1056 a million times but I just bottled a quick extract batch that I made using 05 and all chinook. It was one of the best batches I’ve tasted flat.
All three are the same… but they are slightly different as the yeast evolve over time. I do not think the differences are noteable unless tasting side by side… but last time I did that, I noticed a very faint pear like quality to the US-05 that I did not get in the other batches.
I would say use them interchangeably.
+1
This has always been my understanding as well…but in the past I have experienced slightly better attenuation from US05 over WLP001 using the same recipe.
This is something I’d like to look into. US-05 gives me too much attenuation, drying out my beers too much. For once I’d like a beer to ferment down to 1.015 instead of 1.010. Maybe I should just start buying liquid yeast and keeping some on hand at all times. But dry yeast is just so damn easy and quick.
Maybe you should start mashing a bit warmer? Then you can still use the US05 and get lower attenuation. Bump it up 2 degrees and give it a try. 
I don’t think that any of us can know if they’re actually the same, but they produce very similar beers. I find 1056 to leave a bit more mouthfeel (not necessarily less attenuative), and maybe a tad cleaner. I did a split batch a while back and couldn’t detect a difference at that time. Since then, think that maybe I can, but I haven’t done another split batch to check that. In any case, they’re close enough that I almost always use 05 instead of 1056.
I have to try the same recipe with 1056 sometime. Damn it’s good so far.
FWIW . . I understand Fermentis is getting ready to bump the price again on US-05 . . also S-04
The laws of supply and demand strike again. :-\
they’re pushing the edge with me then - there comes a $ point where I’m going to go back to using 1056/001 and harvesting/reusing the yeast. I don’t like reusing US-05 since it seems to attenuate even more in successive pitches, so while it was super cheap, I preferred the ease of no starter and new packets on each batch. If it pushes into upper $4 territory, it will actually become a lot cheaper for me to use WL/WY.
Will always keep some for insurance purposes though.
I mainly use dry yeast because it can tolerate summer shipping temps. I don’t have many local options for supplies.
frankly man, I live where its hotter than hades in the summer, and I order liquid strains all the time, and NEVER have a problem.
not once in 6 years.
if you make a starter (i usually overshoot the size a bit to compensate) you’ll be just fine. yeast are a little more resilient than people give them credit for 
+1 on shipping liquid yeast in the summer.
I usually order with 10 to 20 Lb of grain and request an ice pack. The grains insulate the yeast from the extreme temperatures well… and the yeast from mail order tends to be extremly fresh. Shipping is usually 2 days via ground… and I have never had an issue with the yeast from mail order.
In contrast, I am blessed with 4 homebrew stores less than an hour drive away (though none closer than 30min), and I have had a some liquid yeast from each of the stores that were DOA. Each was near the end of the best buy date… so age had a lot to do with it…