We had a party at the house this weekend during a very hot Saturday. My beer fridge was open more than it was shut, raising the internal temp of everything inside. My yeast had been sitting towards the back and I have not had to worry about these jars for some time. My Brother-in-law announced that he heard a pop in the fridge. I checked it, and one of my 1qt jars full of 1056 was degassing. I could see bubbles streaming up the sides. Long story short, I burped it a few times, then ended up dumping it because I feared contamination with it being open so many times. I checked my other jars and the seemed fine, until last night. All jars began to de-gas, resulting in me playing it safe with all of them and giving them the ol' heave ho. Unfortunately, I've seen the result of yeast grenades in the past, and didn't want to reduce the interior of my fridge to broken glass and yeast slurry. I had wlp001, wlp002, BRY-97, WY1056, DANSTAR hefe, Belle Saison, and Wyeast Munich lager. Most were several months old and needed to go anyway.
I realized that 001, 1056, and 97 were all very similar, so having those 3 was redundant. I'm moving away from using hefe yeasts as my wife has developed a gluten intolerance, and I cannot stand hefes, so I don't see me brewing one anytime soon.
So I view this as a new opportunity to try some new yeasts. What are some suggestions or tried and true yeasts for various styles and give great results? I have temp control and a decent setup on a fermentation chamber, so lagering is a viable option. What are the top 3-5 strains that you use that give you the best results?
I realized that 001, 1056, and 97 were all very similar, so having those 3 was redundant. I'm moving away from using hefe yeasts as my wife has developed a gluten intolerance, and I cannot stand hefes, so I don't see me brewing one anytime soon.
So I view this as a new opportunity to try some new yeasts. What are some suggestions or tried and true yeasts for various styles and give great results? I have temp control and a decent setup on a fermentation chamber, so lagering is a viable option. What are the top 3-5 strains that you use that give you the best results?