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German Ale yeasts
So I got a gift certificate for Northern Brewer for placing in the New England Regional Comp and figured I'd buy myself an AG kit and few other things from them. I'm going to pick up their German Alt kit but because I'm a big fan of harvesting and washing yeast, I wanted to pick a yeast that could be used to brew a Kolsch as well if possible. They stock Wyeast 1007 German Ale, 1338 European Ale which is apparently derived from Munich, 2565 Kolsch and WLP 029 German Ale/Kolsch. I was wondering if anyone had any experience or suggestions with either of these yeasts and beer styles?
My first suggestion, if you want to brew a Kolsch, use a Kolsch yeast. If I wanted an American style ale, I wouldn't use a German yeast.
I have used... almost every yeast you listed. 1007 I did not like at all. Here is an interested in little tidbit I found out. Widmer Hefeweizen supposedly uses that strain in their beer. Well, I have tried it, and I can say with certainty that it is not. A few guys on a competitor web site all swore Wyeast 1007 is indeed that yeast. No, I can say without question that is wrong. I mention this because Widmer has a very popular hefeweizen. Anyway, I was not a fan of 1007, even after trying it several times. Something with the taste.
I really like 1338. Between 1275 and 1338, it's a toss up for me. Both are quite different. I have not used 2565 in a while, but in all the beers I have made with it, pales, fruit beers, IPA, I really like it. Never used 029.
My personal favorites: 1272, 1332, 1275, 1338, 1388, 2565, 1318, and 1968. As I have mentioned in other messages, I always split the yeast. Strain A in one fermenter, strain B in another, and they come out radically differently, even though it's the same grain and hop bill.
What I advise is get both 1338 and 2565, split your batch into 2 fermenters, and try both yeasts. A few times I went ahead and tried a yeast that just didn't quite seem right, but what the hell... and ya know what, in most cases I'll be damned if it didn't turn out very good. You never know...
All I will add is that with the cooler temps now is a good time to brew up and Alt or a Kolsch.
Good for a cooler fermentation.
cubx wrote:
What I advise is get both 1338 and 2565, split your batch into 2 fermenters, and try both yeasts. A few times I went ahead and tried a yeast that just didn't quite seem right, but what the hell... and ya know what, in most cases I'll be damned if it didn't turn out very good. You never know...
I've always wanted to split a batch and pitch 2 strains but just figured I'd wait until I started brewing 10 gallon batches. Hmm.. maybe I will try that with this batch. I need to start experimenting more.
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