Getting ready to brew Lee’s Mild this weekend from the The Craft of Stone Brewing Co.: Liquid Lore, Epic Recipes, and Unabashed Arrogance book. I wanted to use WLP007, but the LHBS was out. Then I remember I had some Wyeast 1469 and thought this might be a good substitute for the style. I am just curious if anyone has any experience with the yeast and any recommendations for mash temp and most importantly fermentation temp? The recipe calls for a single infusion mash at 154F . Here is what Wyeast’s website says about the strain:
Wyeast 1469-PC West Yorkshire Ale Yeast
Beer Styles: Blonde Ale, English IPA, Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale), Oatmeal Stout, Southern English Brown, Special/Best/Premium Bitter, Standard/Ordinary Bitter, Sweet Stout
Profile: This strain produces ales with a full chewy malt flavor and character, but finishes dry, producing famously balanced beers. Expect moderate nutty and stone-fruit esters. Best used for the production of cask-conditioned bitters, ESB and mild ales. Reliably flocculent, producing bright beer without filtration.
Alc. Tolerance 9% ABV
Flocculation high
Attenuation 67-71%
Temp. Range 64-72°F (18-22°C)
154 is a good mash temp for a beer that uses 1469, but I tend to mash a little higher as this yeast always attenuates like a beast for me, and I like my beer a little less dry. I also tend to ferment in the lower 60s, between 60 and 64. Otherwise, Wyeast’s description is quite accurate, and it makes a very tasty mild.
Ah, that explains a lot. I used this yeast for the 1st time on an ESB a few weeks ago. I mashed at 152F and hit my OG of 1.058. However, after fermenting at 64F, my FG was 1.010, not the 1.015 or so I was looking for. The beer came out tasting and looking good, but is too dry for what I wanted. I was beginning to wonder if it was the yeast or if my mash temp was off somehow. Now I am guessing it was just higher attenuation than I expected. I definitely want to use 1469 again, but next time I will up my mash temp to 154-155 and try again.
I have brewed burton ales, APAs, IIPA, and porters with this yeast, and they have all been quite tasty. The yeast brings a nice “bright” presence to hops, and creates a nice mouthfeel with the malt that I am having a difficult time describing at the moment. Using Martin’s suggestion on another thread, I am going to start upping the calcium cholride to 150ppm on the next few brews to see if I can get that tasty minerallyness from it. It adds such a nice stone fruit character that I put it in about everything.
I only got 67% attenuation with this yeast. It did ferment quick, strong and finally stopped on day 10. OG - 1.045, FG - 1.016. Kind of surprising since my fermenter was a huge mess after kegging. I am not sure if I like the “stone fruit” part of this yeast, but it is different from any bitter I have ever brewed. I have two packets left and I am thinking Oatmeal Stout.
Isn’t that what makes Sammy Smith’s oatmeal stout awesome? Or is that the stone squares they ferment in? I’ve got a pack of this stuff I intend to use in a series of beers very soon. Very excited!
