Blending Yeast For Primary

[Jephro]

Just curious if anyone out there blends yeast strains for primary fermentation and what the benefits or drawbacks may be.

[Laughing Dog]

Blending Yeast

we do for our cream ale the benefits are a unique flavor profile the drawbacks are that for only 2-3 generations can we reuse the yeast

Laughing Dog

[jwalts]

I recently brewed a pilot batch with a 50/50 blend of the Saison Dupont strain and an American Ale strain. The beer was a Biere de Garde with maple syrup in it and my goal was to impart a small amount of farmhouse character in the beer. I fermented it in the upper 60s for a week, then dumped most of the yeast and let the beer age warm (low 70s) for a month. The beer turned out great and my apparent attenuation was a Saison-like 92%. I haven't brewed a full-scale batch of it yet, but I definitely plan on doing it the same way when I get the chance (and possibly blending yeasts for some one-off Belgian-style ales as well).

Joe

[drewseslu]

My house Belgian culture is a blend of two strains. This is the first go 'round on the system, however, and I am only just now at generation 3, which is as far I ever went with the culture when homebrewing. Both strains are very strong and agressive yeasts and will ferment out 12 plato wort in about 40 hours when working together.
All the results so far have been fantastic.