by Steve Moore
(Reproduced with permission from the Foamranger's newsletter)
Greetings culture lovers. This is an updated version of an article I wrote a couple of years ago. I felt that it needed to be revised because of some new information I have received. Last October, I participated in a surreptitious meeting in a shadowy parking garage beneath the hotel where the Dixie Cup was held. The true identity of the man to whom I spoke must remain a secret for as long as he lives. I will refer to him only as Deep Slurry. I've also gotten information from Scott Murman's Web Page, Patrick Weix's Internet Yeast FAQ, Wyeast Lab's own literature, unsubstantiated rumors I've heard, talks with my friendly neighborhood homebrew supply shop owner, unmitigated prevarication and of course, public radio's Dr. Science. Also, I wrote the original version at two in the morning after an evening spent at the Timberwolf Pub, so the humor was really lame, even by my standards.
Everyone uses Wyeast Lab's liquid yeast cultures, but only a few will delve into the mystery shrouded origins of these strains. I'm pretty sure they aren't ambient yeasty beasties because beers fermented with wild yeast tend to taste like those of a now defunct microbrewery in Austin. It is also unlikely that they are new creations. Even though genetic engineering is unquestionably a fun pastime, splicing frog genes into saccharomyces cerevisiae tends to unsettle squeamish homebrewers and other tree hugging weenies. Also, while statistically unlikely, the danger of creating Zolar: the Brewer's Yeast that Ate Portland cannot be discounted. In light of this evidence, the current thinking is that these are yeast strains from commercial breweries.
How can somebody get yeast samples from working breweries? Well, the exciting world of industrial espionage is a topic for another article and perhaps another club's newsletter. There are even less thrilling ways. Yeast can often be cultured from the bottom of bottle conditioned beers or unfiltered "Real Ales". Some friendly breweries will give out samples and some strains have made their ways to academic locales such as the U.C. Davis yeast library. I once heard a great story, possibly an urban legend, about an advanced homebrewer. He really wanted yeast from a favorite commercial brewery and wrote them a letter. They responded that their yeast strain was a trade secret and they would not provide a sample The resourceful homebrewer put the letter, which had been in the brewery, under an microscope and found a viable yeast cell.
Which brings us to the subject you've all been waiting for, the origins of the Wyeast strains:
U.S. Ales
1056 American Ale. Also known as Chico. Everyone knows it's the Sierra Nevada yeast. Darryl Richmond's Bock book (of all places) claims that it's also the Narragansett strain. I've encountered hearsay, attributed to George Fix, that it's the original Ballentine's yeast. It is very popular with brewpubs, including Houston's own Houston Brewery and Two Rows Restaurant and Brewery.
1272 American Ale IIUnconfirmed rumor has it that this is Red Tail.
U.K. Ales
1028 London AleI swore up and down that this one was Young's, but my conversation with DS revealed that it is actually Worthington's White Sheild, a bottle conditioned pale ale now brewed by Bass. Nevertheless, it tends to produce a beer with similar characteristics to Young's products. One of my first attempts at all-grain homebrewing was to be a Fuller's ESB clone. Thanks to this stuff, it came out just like Ramrod. Ialso won a couple of awards with an Old Nick clone fermented with this stuff. Since yeast will perform differently under homebrewing as opposed to commercial brewery situations this might be a better strain for Young's clones than.
1318 London Ale IIIThe actual Young's strain.
1275 Thames Valley AleProbably Henley on Thames (Henley Brakspear Bitter)
1084 Irish Ale Wyeast says it's great for stouts and porters. Could it be... um... Guinness?
1098 British AleWyeast admits it's the Whitbread strain. It may be a multiple strain. It's also the Galveston Brewery house yeast and often used by Bradley's Restaurant and Brewery in Clear Lake.
1968 London ESBAs the name suggests, this one is Fuller's. Also very similar to the St. Arnold's yeast and the original Galveston Brewery yeast. My theory is that Fuller's runs it at higher temperatures to get a fruitier character and worse hangovers. Go on an ESB bender some night and see if you don't wish you were dead.
1728 Scottish Ale.Rumored to be McEwan's
German Ales
1338 European ale yeast. A German alt strain, it's the least attenuative of the Wyeasts. They say it's from Wissenschaftliche in Munich. I don't know what that means, but it is the Bank Draft's house yeast. You can get big starters of it if you participate in their gang-brews.
Belgian Ales
1214 Belgian Ale Chimay, then again Chimay not. My experience is that it throws a big phenol if you don't ferment it at relatively low temps.
1762 Abbey AlePossibly from the Trappist brewery, Rochefort.
3787 Trappist High GravityPossibly from the Trappist brewery, Westmalle.
1388 Belgian Strong I've heard this one is Duvel. I know from reading Michael Jackson that Duvel is fermented with a multiple strain yeast, but they only use one of those strains (the most flocculant one) for bottle conditioning. Which one might this yeast be?
3944 Belgian Witbier The Hoegaarden/Celis White strain. Foam Ranger J. P. Wollensky (SIC?) scored a sample from the brewery in Austin which became the source of the Wyeast version. Makes you proud to be a Ranger, doesn't it? The first couple batches of the Houston Brewery's White beer were made with this. Tim eventually found it to be too unreliable when re-pitched. Celis re-cultures every single time. Jeff at the Bank Draft tends to use it on their wheat beers.
U.S. Lagers
2007 Pilsen LagerThe name is a misnomer. Wyeast now calls it a classic American Pilsner strain. Yeah, from the largest brewery company in America...and the world...somewhere around St. Louis. Throws a green apple/acetaldehyde flavor that is characteristic of Bud, if you aren't careful.
2035 American LagerThis one is used in the August Schell lager beers. The product number is derived from the roughly 2,035 contract brews that Schell makes.
2112 California LagerHmm. It's from California. Wyeast notes that it retains lager characteristics at temps up to 65 degrees and it's particularly good for making 19th century West Coast style beers. I think it might be the Anchor Steam yeast. Interestingly enough, Anchor fermented their porter using the steam yeast/process until a couple of years ago. They had to switch to the Liberty Ale/Anchor Wheat ale strain because they needed all the steam fermenters for their flagship product.
Continental Lagers
2042 Danish LagerAllegedly Carlsburg or, as I like to refer to it, Euro-Bud.
2124 Bohemian Lager Wyeast now says it's one of the strains from the Weihenstephen institute in Munich. I think I remember George Fix saying it's also the EKU strain at the Bluebonnet a few years back.
2206 Barvarian LagerRumor has it that it's the Weihenstephen 3470 strain. It's the most reliable and forgiving strain for home lager-makers. A while back, Tim Case told me he'd used it on all the Houston Brewery's seasonal lagers including their excellent steam beer.
2278 Czech Pils LagerWyeast sez, Classic Pilsner strain from the home of Pilsners. I suspect it's PU.
2308 Munich lager yeast. This is the Weihenstephen 308 strain. It was the house yeast of Texas' first micro, the late lamented Reinheitsgebot Brewing Co. Anybody still remember Collin County Pure Gold and Black Gold? Check out the top center picture on the cover of Jackson's "World Guide to Beer". The Galveston Brewery and Bank Draft Brewpub tend to use it for their occasional lager brews.
