Yeasts from Bottle Conditioned Beers
Last updated May 29 1998
See the news page for more information.
You can jump directly to the list of yeasts.
Introduction
Please note that this page is not about how to culture yeast from
beer bottles or how to make yeast starters etc, see for example
The Brewery's
Yeast section
for that. The goal of this page is rather to provide information about which
bottled beers have alive and useful yeasts in them, and what characteristics
those yeasts have.
Contributing Information
In order for this page to get more useful, I will need contributions of
information. If you have any further information about any of the yeasts
listed, or any information at all about the yeast in any other bottle
conditioned beer, then please email
it to me for inclusion on this page.
Ideally, such contributions would consist of name of the beer, yeast(s)
present, yeast characteristics, similarity with the characteristics of the
beer itself, and anything else that might be useful to know.
However, you should not feel that you have to know all the above in order to
contribute, all sorts of little bits and pieces might be useful, even down to
saying "bottles of brand X has some sediment in them".
Some Explanations
- Primary strain
- The strain(s) used for primary fermentation, which is also assumed to
have provided (most of) the yeast characteristics of the beer.
- Bottling strain
- Non-primary strain added at bottling time or in the secondary. The
implication is that the yeast will not give the same characteristics
as the beer the yeast came from (but it might still be a good yeast).
- Bottle conditioned
- The label says the beer is bottle conditioned, and thus it has live yeast
(unless the label is lying...). Note that the yeast may or may not be the
primary strain.
- Good result(s)
- To be strict, it only means that the yeast produced good beer, not
necessarily beer that was close to the original.
- Commercially available strains
- When a strain is thought/known to be the same or very similar to some
commercially available strain, I have pointed this out. This not only
means there's one more (possibly more reliable) source for the strain,
but also that there's more information available on its characteristics.
For example the
yeast faq
provides such descriptions for many yeasts.
- {1}
- What follows comes from a single report. If you agree with the statement,
please report to me. I'd much rather have this page reflecting some kind
of consensus rather than single opinions. Of course, if you think
anything is wrong, then report that.
- [ ]
- In general, anything within square brackets are my comments.
Disclaimer
Most of the information on this page has come to me second hand, and I can
make no guarantees about the correctness of it. If your beer ends up smelling
like the local chemical industry, I want no big brutes with hairy knuckles,
a funnel, and a keg at my door. :-) That said, I have tried to make the
information as accurate as possible, and you can make it even more
accurate by telling me what is wrong or misleading.
General Observations
Bottle conditioned British ales seems to have the primary strain as a rule.
A few exceptions have been reported.
Bavarian Hefe-Weizens normally don't have the primary strain, and
may well be pasteurized. Schneider Weisse seems to be an exception. Perhaps
Sch�fferhofer as well. Others?
Bottle conditioned Belgian ales may or may not have the primary strain, alone
or together with some other strain(s). Check extra carefully for aroma/flavour
characteristics of the starter.
- Adnams
-
- General
- {1} Said to be good for yeast harvesting.
- Anchor
-
- General
- All beers are probably flash-pasteurized.
- Liberty Ale
- {1} Difficult to culture. [apparently the flash-pasteurization doesn't
quite kill the contents] Very strong fermenter, produces a strong green
apple aroma during fermentation. Poor flocculation characteristics.
Clean neutral flavors. Possibly a bottom fermenting lager yeast!
- Anderson Valley
-
- General
- Anderson Valley is said to use Whitbread Ale yeast for all their beers,
this would be the same as YeastLab A04 British Ale.
- Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout
- {1} Live sediment.
- Arcense
-
- Arcener Tarwe
- Live sediment, strain?
- Hertog Jan Grand Prestige
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- Hertog Jan Tripel
- Live sediment, strain?
- Ayinger
-
- Ur-Weisse
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- Bells
- See Kalamazoo Brewing
- Binchoise
-
- Speciale Noel
- {1} Mostly bad results.
- Bios
-
- General
- {1} Said to use the same yeast for Augustijn, Augustijn Grand Cru, and
Piraat. Probably Gulden Draak too.
- Augustijn
- {1} Live yeast, strain? Faster and higher attenuation than Wyeast 1388.
- Gulden Draak
- {1} Live sediment, seems good.
- Piraat
- Live sedimant, strain? {1} Faster and higher attenuation than Wyeast 1388.
- Blue Ridge
-
- Wheat Beer
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- Br. du Bocq
-
- Blanche de Namur
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
- Regal Christmas
- Bottle conditioned, strain?
- St Benoit Blond
- {1} Probably primary strain.
- Bosteels
-
- Karmeliet tripel
- {1} Live sedimant, strain?
- Bridgeport
-
- India Pale Ale
- {1} Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Brij De Smedt
-
- Affligem Blond
- Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Affligem Dubbel
- Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Affligem Tripel
- Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Brugse Huisbrouwerij
-
- Straffe Hendrik
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
- Butterknowle Brewery
-
- Conciliation Ale
- Good results. {1} Malty and diacetyly. A little slow to clear.
- Caledonian
-
- Tempest Fugit
- {1} Good results.
- Cantillon
-
- General
- {1} Full complement of microbes, though not always viable.
- Cheval Blanc
-
- Bi�re ambr�e traditionnelle
- {1} Probably primary strain. Good results. Top fermenting.
- Bi�re rousse l�gendaire
- {1} Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Chimay
-
- General
- Apparently the same strain in all three versions. Appears to be primary
strain. Several have had good results. Solvent and banana flavors at
high fermentation temperatures or bad yeast health? Same as Wyeast 1214
Belgian Abbey?
- Red
- {1} Good alcohol tolerance. Balanced phenolics. Decent attenuation.
- St. Christoffel
-
- Blond
- {1} Bottle conditioned.
- Christoffel Robertus
- {1} Live yeast. Good result.
- Cooper's
-
- General
- {1} Probably the same yeast in all their bottle conditioned beers (Best
Extra Stout, Original Pale Ale, and Sparkling Ale).
- Sparkling Ale
- Tends to be more flocculating when cultured than in the original bottle.
Same as YeastLab A01 Australian Ale. Good all purpose yeast. Vigorous
fermenter. Gives clean and nicely fruity beer. {1} Multi-strain yeast
that is best in the first few generations.
- Corsendonk
-
- Corsendonk's Monk's Brown Ale
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
- Corsendonk's Monk's Pale Ale
- {1} Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Trippel
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- Cottage Brewing Company
-
- Norman's Conquest
- Bottle conditioned.
- Courage
-
- Directors Live
- Primary strain.
- Russian Imperial
- {1} Good result.
- D'Achouffe
-
- Chouffe [which of them?]
- Primary strain? Some disagreement on flocculation.
- La Chouffe
- Primary strain? Good results. High flocculation. {1} Medium attenuation.
Nice, estery character.
- Mc Chouffe
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
- N'ice Chouffe
- {1} Good performer. Complex ester-phenol profile. Relatively low
attenuation.
- Deininger Kronenbr�u Hof
-
- EKU Hefe Wei�bier
- Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- EKU Hefe Wei�bier Dunkel
- Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- Deschutes
-
- General
- {1} Primary strain. {1} Same ale yeast for all their ales.
- Bachelor Bitter
- {1} Good results.
- Black Butte Porter
- {1} The beer has very similar yeast characteristics to the Obsidian
Stout. Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- Obsidian Stout
- {1} Very similar to Wyeast 1968.
- Dolle Brouwers
-
- General
- Same cultures in Stille Nacht, Arabier, and Oerbier? Several strains.
Extremely fruity fermentation products created. Several lactobacillus.
They get their yeast from Rodenbach.
- Drie Ringen
-
- Drie Ringen [which? all?]
- Live sediment, strain(s)?
- Dupont
-
- Avec les Bons Voeux
- Live sediment. {1} Complex and spicy. Very good, but slow, attenuator.
Phenolic flavours and brett. character.
- Saison Dupont
- {1} triple strain - 3 separate cultures which produce interesting
herbal/phenolic flavours. {1} Very good result. Probably primary strain,
gives beer with a similar flavour profile as the original.
- EKU
- See also Deininger Kronenbr�u Hof
- Eldridge Pope
-
- Thomas Hardy's Ale
- Live sediment {1} Primary strain. {1} High flocculation, very sticky.
- Thomas Hardy's Bitter
- {1} Bottling strain.
- Thomas Hardy's Country [same one as above?]
- {1} Live sediment, strain? {1} Bottle conditioned version apparently no
longer in production.
- Erdinger
-
- Pikantus
- {1} Live yeast, appears to be bottling strain.
- Wei�bier
- {1} Probably bottling strain, if at all alive.
- Wei�bier Dunkel
- {1} Probably bottling strain, if at all alive.
- Franziskaner
-
- Hefe-Weissbier
- {1} Live yeast. {1} Probably bottling strain.
- Freeminer
-
- General
- All bottled beers said to be bottle conditioned with primary strain(s).
- Bitter
- {1} Good top fermenter, quite lively. Good result. Flocculate well.
- Fuller's
-
- 1845
- Said to be primary strain. {1} Crusty head ferment. High flocculation.
No unusual tastes.
- Gamla Stans Bryggeri
-
- F�rsk�l
- {1} Unpasteurized and unfiltered, so presumably live primary strain.
- Julf�rsk�l
- {1} Unpasteurized and unfiltered, so presumably live primary strain.
- Geary's
-
- General
- {1} Same yeast in all beers. {1} Cold filtered, no yeast.
- Pale Ale
- {1} Ringwood yeast. Huge diacetyl when fermented warm. "Nutty" flavor.
- Gotlands Bryggeri
-
- Wisby Julbrygd
- {1} Unpasteurized and unfiltered, so presumably live primary strain.
- Wisby Kloster�l
- {1} Unpasteurized and unfiltered, so presumably live primary strain.
- De Gouden Boom
-
- Blanche de Brugge [apparently Brugge = Bruges]
- Same as YeastLab W52 Belgian White. Probably primary strain. {1} (In
Wit) Aroma: smoky aroma-hammy, yeasty, fruity, bready. Flavor: big orange
flavor, subdued corriander, tannic and dry. Body: moderate sweetness.
- Brugs Tarwe
- Live sediment, strain?
- Brugse Tripel
- Live sediment, strain?
- Steenbrugge Dubbel
- Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Steenbrugge Tripel Blond
- Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Grimbergen
-
- Dubbel
- {1} Has yeast sediment.
- Tripel
- Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Guinness
-
- Foreign Extra Stout
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
- Stout
- Bottle conditioned in some market(s) (quite possibly only Ireland).
Primary strain? YeastLab A05 Irish Ale is Guinness, and so is Wyeast 1084
Irish Ale said to be. {1} a clean and fairly neutral yeast, with very
visible top-fermenting characteristics.
- Hoegaarden
- See De Kluis
- Br. Van Honsebrouck
-
- Brigand
- Bottle conditioned, strain? YeastLab A08 is Brigand strain [primary or
bottle one, or are they the same?]
- Kasteel
- Bottle conditioned, strain? {1} Same as Brigand?
- Kasteel Ingelmunster
- Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Hop Back
-
- Summer Lightning (bottle conditioned version)
- Said to be primary strain. {1} Low flocculation. {1} Sensitive to high
temperatures?
- Humboldt Brewing
-
- Red Nectar Ale
- D-E filtered and unpasteurized. Can be cultured with some difficulty.
- Wheat
- Unfiltered and unpasteurized, plenty of live yeast when fresh.
- Huyghe
-
- Blanche de Neige
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
- Delirium Tremens
- {1} Bottling strain.
- Ipswich Brewing Company
-
- General
- Said to use Wyeast 1028 for all their ales.
- Ale
- Live yeast. {1} Good results.
- Jade
-
- Country Ale
- {1} Live sediment. Likely primary strain. Moderate flocculation. High
attenuation. Pronounced clove flavor, and fruityness.
- James Pryors
-
- James Pryors Bottle Conditioned
- {1} Slow start.
- Kalamazoo Brewing (Bells)
-
- General
- Said to use the same yeast strain in all their beers. {1} All bottle
conditioned?
- Amber Ale
- {1} Bottle conditioned. Same as Wyeast 1056/YeastLab A02 American Ale?
{1} Very clean flavour. Very high flocculation.
- Pale Ale
- {1} Bottle conditioned, strain? Very low flocculation.
- Third Coast Old Ale
- {1} Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Kindl
-
- Weiss
- {1} Probably primary strain. No lactobacillus?
- King & Barnes
-
- General
- All their ales said to be made with the same two strain yeast.
- Christmas Ale
- {1} Live yeast, strain?
- Festive Ale
- Appears to be primary strain. Several have had good results.
{1} Reproduces the fruity characteristics of the ale very well. Visibly
top-fermenting, sticks to the bottom of the bottle very well.
- Old Porter
- {1} Appears to be primary strain. Same as Festive Ale?
- Spring Ale
- Bottle conditioned, strain?
- De Kluis
-
- Hoegaarden Grand Cru
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- Hoegaarden Wit
- Appears to be primary strain (probably Sacc. only). Good results. Powdery.
Same as Wyeast 3944 Belgian White?
- Leffe Tripel
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- Verboden Vrucht
- Live sediment, strain?
- Lef�bvre
-
- Barb�r
- Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Brussels White
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- Floreffe Blonde
- Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Lowenbrau
-
- Weiss
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
- Mad River
-
- Steelhead Extra Pale Ale
- {1} It seemed slightly fruity, highly attenuative, with medium
flocculation, slight diacetyl flavor. Sedimented well in the bottle;
hard to shake loose.
- Marston's
-
- Oyster Stout
- Bottle conditioned. Good results. Likely to be Marstons famed union-room
yeast. {1} Probably the same yeast as Tesco's IPA. Extremely vigorous
and one of the easiest to use and re-use. A pronounced apple-like flavour
can result if the yeast head gets back into the beer, otherwise very
clean tasting. {1} It does need rousing to get it really going well.
{1} It seems to be very sensitive to temperature, ferment at 18-20�C
rather than lower.
- Tesco's IPA
- Live sediment, strain? [but see also Oyster Stout]
- Mendocino
-
- Eye of the Hawk
- Live sediment. Conflicting reports on attenuation. {1} High sulfur smell
during 70F fermentation. Good result. Probably same yeast as Red Tail Ale.
- Red Tail Ale
- {1} Probably primary strain. Good results.
- Moortgat
-
- Duvel
- Live yeast. Said to use two different primary strains (separately), one
of which is used for bottling.
- Maredsous [which?]
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- New Belgium
-
- Abbey
- {1} Bottling strain.
- Dubbel
- {1} Bottling strain.
- Fat Tire Ale
- Live yeast, strain?
- Trippel
- {1} Bottling strain.
- Nor'wester
-
- Blacksmith Porter
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- Okanagan Springs Brewery
-
- Old English Porter Style
- {1} Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Old Luxters
-
- Barn Ale
- Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Ommegang
-
- Ommegang
- {1} Live sediment, strain? {1} Said to be primary strain, and alcohol
tolerant.
- Orval
-
- Orval
- Several strains. One of them is apparently the primary strain, which has
a characteristic strong fruity "belgian aroma and taste". A second Sacc?
Several strains of Brettanomyces yeast.
- Paulaner
-
- Hefe-Weizen
- {1} Live yeast, strain? {1} Good banana like fruiteness in the starter.
- Pschorr-Br�u
-
- Wei�bier
- {1} Probably bottling strain, if at all alive.
- Redhook
-
- Hefeweizen
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- Rye
- {1} Probably primary strain. Not extreamly flocculant. Works slowly.
Peachy flavor that fades quickly with age.
- Ridleys
-
- Ridleys Bottle Conditioned Ale(?)
- Bottling strain. Sticky.
- Riva
-
- Dentergem's Wit
- {1} Primary strain? A lactobacillus that produces good lactic sour
and is somewhat hop tolerant.
- Lucifer
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- Rochefort
-
- Rochefort [which?]
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
- Rochefort 8
- {1} Live sediment. Starter smells and tastes similar to the beer.
- Rogue
-
- Ale PacMan
- {1} Yeast sediment, alive?, strain?
- Mocha Porter
- {1} Live sediment, strain? Good result. {1} Pacman yeast. {1} Primary
strain.
- Smoke
- {1} Live sediment, strain? Bready and phenolic.
- Shakespeare Stout
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive, strain? {1} Pacman yeast. {1} Primary
strain.
- Saxer
-
- Three Finger Jack Roasted Red Hefedunkel
- Bottle conditioned.
- Schaapskooi
-
- La Trappe [which? all?]
- Live sediment, strain(s)?
- Schlossbr�u
-
- Hefe-Weissbier
- {1} Probably bottling strain, if at all alive.
- Schneider
-
- Weisse
- Said to be the primary strain. Possible but tricky to get going?
- Sch�fferhofer
-
- Hefe Weizen
- {1} Live yeast. Estery and phenolic, primary strain? {1} Powerfull estery
yeast (phenolic and diacetyl), good and floculent fermenter.
- Schoenling
-
- Little Kings Red Ale
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive, strain?
- Schulteiss
-
- Berliner Weisse
- {1} Has live sediment, strain(s)?
- Scottish and Newcastle
-
- Abbey Ale
- {1} Bottle conditioned.
- Shepherd Neame
-
- Spitfire Bottle Conditioned
- Primary strain. Several have had good results. Good top cropper.
{1} Tolerant to high and low temperatures. {1} Flocculates and
sticks well. Dry and clean flavour.
- Sierra Nevada
-
- General
- SN is said to use the same yeast for all their beers. They do not repitch
with yeast from the high alcohol beers due to increased mutation level.
- Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
- Appears to be primary strain. Several have had good results. Clean
fermenter. The same or very similar to Wyeast 1056/YeastLab A02 American
Ale.
- Silly
-
- Titje Wit
- {1} Very acidic and sour starter (lactobacillus probably).
- St. Bernardus
-
- St. Bernardus abt 12
- {1} Live sedimant, strain?
- St. Guibert
-
- Leffe vieille cuvee 8
- {1} Live sedimant, strain?
- St. Jozef
-
- Brussels White
- {1} Has yeast sediment.
- Steenberge
-
- General
- {1} All of their beers have yeast sediment, and are probably made with
the same yeast.
- Golden Dragon Ale
- {1} Appears to be primary strain, gives results very similar to the
original. It gives a very fruity, clovey aroma and taste if fermented
at 75F. Very hard to clear. Forms a hard cake once it does.
- Steenbrugge
- See De Gouden Boom
- Stoudt's
-
- Belgian Ale
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
- Weizen
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
- Tabernash
-
- Weisse
- Probably bottling strain. {1} Decent flavour, but very low attenuation.
- Thomas Hardy's
- See Eldridge Pope
- Thomas Kemper
-
- Integrale Amber Lager
- {1} Bottle conditioned.
- White
- Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Thurn und Taxis
-
- Schierlinger Roggen
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
- Weissenbier
- Live sediment. {1} Pineapple like fruitiness in the starter. {1} Good
yeast, but probably not the primary strain.
- Timmermans
-
- Wit
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- La Trappe
- See Schaapskooi
- Tucher
-
- Dunkles Hefe Weizen
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- Unibroue
-
- General
- {1} All are unfiltered and bottle conditioned.
- Blanche de Chambly
- Good results. {1} High flocculation. Seems sensitive to temperatures
below 62 F. {1} Pleasantly fruity. Finishes dry. Apricoty.
- La Fin du Monde
- Live sediment. {1} Good results.
- La Gaillarde
- {1} Live sediment. Good results. {1} Said to be difficult to preserve
due to low hopping of the beer.
- Maudite
- Live sediment. Good results. {1} Probably primary strain. Not very
attenuative. {1} Said to be centrifuged and a second type of yeast used
at bottling, but the yeast gives flavour similar to the original.
- Raftsman
- {1} Live sediment. Okay yeast.
- Union
-
- Ciney Speciale
- {1} Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Judas
- {1} Live sedimant, strain?
- Weihenstephan
-
- Hefe-Weizen
- {1} Probably bottling strain, if at all alive.
- West Vleteren
-
- West Vleteren [all?]
- Live sediment, strain(s)?
- Westmalle
-
- General
- Probably primary strain, but often in bad condition. May need special
care to give good results.
- Tripel
- {1} Low flocculation. Not a duplicate, but very clean with Westmalle
flavour profile.
- Whitbread
-
- Celebration Ale
- {1} Bottle conditioned.
- Pale
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- Widmer
-
- HefeWeizen
- Live yeast. Primary strain. Zum Urige altbier strain. Good results.
{1} Low flocculation.
- Worthington
-
- Red Shield
- {1} OK?
- White Shield
- Bottling strain. {1} Slow start, fine and clean end result. {1} It
ferments well, and settles very quickly in the secondary. Good results.
- Young's
-
- Bottle Conditioned Export [test sale only?]
- Said to be unfiltered and with small amount of yeast [of what strain?]
added at bottling time.
- Bottle Conditioned Oatmeal Stout [test sale only?]
- Said to be unfiltered.
- Special [test sale only?]
- Said to be bottle conditioned.
- Unknown
-
- Alaskan Amber
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- La Binchoise [which?]
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
- Burton Bridge Porter
- {1} Bottle conditioned.
- Chicago Legacy Red Ale
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
- Christoffel
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
- Dommelsch
- Live sediment, strain?
- Gale's Prize Old Ale
- {1} Bottle conditioned.
- Harvey's 1859 porter
- {1} Bottle conditioned.
- Ironside Ale
- {1} yeast sediment, strain?
- Linfit English Guineas
- Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Old Toss
- {1} Live yeast, strain?
- Paas Bier
- {1} Worked well, produced a slightly different [as in unusal, or
different from the original?] beer with pleasant fruity flavors.
- Pike's Place
- Primary strain. {1} Good strong fermenter. Not much esters and other
flavors.
- Safeway Bottle Conditioned
- Bottle conditioned, strain?
- Scarab Red Ale
- {1} Has yeast sediment, alive? strain?
- S�ldenauer
- {1} Probably bottling strain, if at all alive.
- St.Sixtus Ale
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
- Steendonk (Wit)
- {1} (In Wit) Aroma: sharp lactic nose, orange and honey. Flavor:
phenololic, dry, sharp, flat finish, no pizzaz. Body: angular and dry.
- Sudwerk Hubsch Brau
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
- Triple Watou
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
- Wieckse Witte
- {1} Live sediment, strain?
Back to Alun's Beer Page.
Anders Lundquist
([email protected])
If you have any comments or suggestions, please
email me. You can also find me on
IRC as alun in channel #homebrew.