Have been playing around with different yeasts in my dark milds, I have used Wyeast 1335 a few times with good results but looking to expand horizons a bit. Hoping for something that is a true top cropper for harvesting purposes and something that drops pretty bright on it’s own as I like to throw these on cask. Recommendations?
I’ve had best results with WY1318.
Cool, I will make sure to add a couple packs to my order today. I have heard it is pretty standard for NEIPA’s but have you tried it with ordinary bitters or would I be better sticking with a dedicated separate yeast for the bitters?
1318 is great for a mild, not so much for a bitter.
I’ve used wyeast 1968 with good success.
1469 and 1318 are my go-to’s for anything bitter, mild, or porter. (the latter includes stouts.) I tend towards the 1469 for hoppier beers, and the 1318 matlier ones. Doesn’t mean that one is better in say a bitter than the other, just depends on the recipe/how it’s brewed.
I’ve stopped using 1968. It somehow always comes off as too clean…maybe I just taste it as being too fruity in the wrong way? I’ve also never had issues with unwanted diacetyl in 1469/1318, the levels have always been appropriate. 1968 has produced too much diacetyl, requiring a D-rest, even for me.
I actually have a mild in cask fermented with 1469 but from the hydro sample I think that I might concur that it would probably a better bitter yeast.
While I haven’t brewed a mild with it, I’ve seen plenty of recipes for mild over on Ron Pattinson’s blog.
The way I try to think about the common British strains isn’t so much “Use X for a hoppy beer” as “When you use X, account for the way it accentuates hops when building the recipe.” My understanding is this is pretty much how the breweries these strains originated from used them: one house culture, many styles of beer.
Fair point
1469 West Yorkshire is a great top cropper. A few times I’ve had to siphon underneath a krausen tha just would not drop, BUT the beer underneath was BRILLIANT and clear! I find it best for low ABV milds as it leaves great mouthfeel. My most recent batch using it was based off of Orfy’s Mild (HBT forum). 3.0 ABV and a great flavor with full mouthfeel.
I actually experienced this with 1469 with the mild that is currently conditioning in cask. Formed a think cap of pure yeast after about 3 days even though it seemed that active fermentation stopped the beer underneath cleared and the cap just hung on until about day 7 and then just dropped like a rock over night. Wish I had known it would do that as I would have fermented in a bucket and top cropped. Lesson learned. I will be interested to see how it turns out at our clubs’ cask night next week.
Be sure and let us know how it turns out.
I hope to take advantage of how much 1469 top crops, and try a double drop fermentation. Basically, wait for the first barm (krausen) to form, then rack out from underneath it to another fermentor. Let it finish out there, then spund/cask/keg/etc.
The idea is that the trub will have settled out before the transfer, and you’ll keep the yeast replicating. This could lead to elevated diacetyl by our American standards, but I think it’s worth trying. Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale is practically a diacetyl bomb, and delicious.
Will do, will try do throw some tasting notes up after next Wednesday. Also ordered some 1318 based on Denny’s recommendation to experiment with. In addition to a dark mild I was thinking of doing a low ABV (can’t really call it low gravity since the og will be like 1.050) super sweet stout on cask using 1318 and possibly bringing it to club night at homebrew con.
Got a new batch of dark mild fermenting using 1318 hopefully going to have it on tap at Club Night!
Also did a quick 'n easy 3 gallon extract low abv super sweet stout (OG: 1.053 that should finish at 1.023) that I am also fermenting with 1318 and threw it into the keg with 3-4 points left to go so hopefully it will carbonate itself in a couple weeks. Why sweet stout in June you ask? Beer float season!
My favorite one that I have used for English Mild has been Omega Yeast Lab’s British Ale VIII. It took my 1.036 wort down to 1.012, dropped brilliantly clear very quickly, and really let the malt flavors shine.
The Fullers strain huh? I have tried it a couple times (wlp002 and 1968 not the omega version) in dark milds and don’t like the results. The ester profile to my tastes don’t mix nicely with what I am usually shooting for with a mild. But hey, to each their own.
Evidently that’s also 1968. I’m not a fan, it ferments and flocs well, but I second the “estery in the wrong ways” thing. (Though I find it very clean for a British yeast.)
A local pro Brewer who is also known as a very well respected home brewer gave me a great bit of advice. Fruity for pale milds and go for dry on dark milds.
Fruity and dry are on two different scales of yeast evaluation and not really comparable to each other, but point taken.
Personally, I shoot for fruity AND dry for any sub 4.5% ABV beer. 8)
That being said, I use sugar to dry things out, not yeast selection.