Beer Forum

Has anyone else taken JZ's advice and used this yeast (West Yorkshire Ale 1469) to replace their standard English strain. I'm giving this strain a try with boo boo's Mild recipe, and just wondered if I need to worry about diacetyl or the yeast flocking out too fast? I used two 4 month old packs and made a 1 Liter started, and pitched it into five gallons of 1.035 wort that was mashed around 155-156 oF. It seems to be chugging along at 65-66 oF.

I've been playing around with it a bunch lately. I've found it doesn't flocc that quickly - so it shouldn't be a concern. It's definitely no 1968 in that department.

Definitely English - but more restrained in the ester department than some others. My general MO is to use English strains in American styles but I should use it in more English styles. I just put a 1469 APA on tap a couple days ago. Still carbing/conditioning...probably tap it this weekend.

Oh. It's definitely that "true top cropping" as it's advertised. A great candidate for top-cropping and re-pitching if you can schedule some back-to-almost-back brewdays.

Sounds like diacetyl was not a problem either. I don't plan to do any hoppy beers with this strain this go around. The next beer I plan for this strain is an Oatmeal Stout and then finally an Old Ale if I like what I'm seeing.

I have used this strain exclusively for the past year for all of my english ales. I prefer the profile best when I start fermentation temps around 63-64F and then slowly raise to 70F by the end of fermentation. This helps to keep the esters in check and allows the yeast to clean up after itself. I do feel that this is a fairly "clean" english ale strain when fermented in this manner. Could easily be used for American ales as well, which I have not tried yet, but will on my next go round with this strain.

It does have huge top cropping tendencies, sometimes annoyingly so. Even with a couple additions of fermcap it will still rage away! It takes a bit long to clear out as well compared to other english ale strains, but finings added when kegging help to speed this up greatly (thanks Ozwald!).

That is good to hear. I started mine in the 63-64 oF range, but it only got up to about 66 oF before it ran out of fermentables. It's now back down to 64 oF. I may move it to a warmer area for a couple of days to let it clean up a little. I'm guessing I could be drinking this beer in another week or two if I do some gelatin fining.

brewinhard wrote:I have used this strain exclusively for the past year for all of my english ales. I prefer the profile best when I start fermentation temps around 63-64F and then slowly raise to 70F by the end of fermentation. This helps to keep the esters in check and allows the yeast to clean up after itself. I do feel that this is a fairly "clean" english ale strain when fermented in this manner. Could easily be used for American ales as well, which I have not tried yet, but will on my next go round with this strain.

It does have huge top cropping tendencies, sometimes annoyingly so. Even with a couple additions of fermcap it will still rage away! It takes a bit long to clear out as well compared to other english ale strains, but finings added when kegging help to speed this up greatly (thanks Ozwald!).

Completely agree on the ferm temp profile as that's what I do too, and every f'ng time this yeast delivers. I get this impossibly rich stone fruit/apricot ester profile that seems to make killer beer. I've also found this yeast to attenuate pretty robustly, similair even to cal ale. One smack pack with a manufactured date smacked 4 hours prior to pitch into a pure o2'd for 60 seconds 5.5gal 1.040 blonde ale with only 2 two and 15% Munich mashed at 148f took that beer to 1.008 - I was hoping for 1.010.

I've done stouts - cybi Shakespeare was awesome with it, blondes, uncountable bitters, and am waiting on my American amber ale and IIPA to finish to see how it does with strong American hop varieties and dosing.


Favorite recipe to showcase this stuff-

Kris England's Crouch Vale template
100% UK lager malt mashed at 150-151f
90 minute boil

Pick a hop variety and calculate the AA for roughly 50IBU all in at 15min - any hop works
Wyeast 1469

Watch the keg damn near drain itself as you find the perfect summer beer.

I could go on and on about this yeast... Brings it out of me.

I find the yeast gives a nutty flavor when the beer is really young that turns eventually gives way to a fruity flavor after about 3-4 weeks. I'm always a little disappointed when the cashew flavor disappears. It blows through airlocks for days even when you think you've given plenty of head space. I think that's kind of strange since it's one of those yeasts that are supposedly used with Yorkshire Squares to keep it in suspension. All that said, when the yeast is working correctly, it's phenomenal and it's my personal favorite English yeast strain for darker ales. I like to use it on brown ales, but I imagine it could be used for anything.

I'm a big fan of 1469. I've used in several milds and bitters. I usually ferment it around 65. I get some fruit, but it is restrained, nothing over the top. Attenuation is good, it seems a little slow to floc out, but nothing that is a problem. I would like to use this in some porters and browns as well. Top notch yeast.