[alaingomez]

What type of brewer's yeast should I get to just have on hand?  Up until now I've just been using the yeast that came with pre-made kits.

[majorvices]

Hard to give you an exact answer, it's going to depend on what you like to drink/brew. For American style ales, WLP001/WY1056 is great. Or, for convenience sake, US-05 is a great dry yeast alternative to those strains. With liquid yeast you are generally going to want to make a starter or pitch multiple vials/packs. Dry yeast no starter is required. Look athe the pitching calc at www.mrmalty.com to get an idea how much yeast you will need for every batch.

There are a lot of Belgian strains, English Strains, German Ale and Lager strains out there (to name a few). Most homebrewers just order the yeast they want to use for that batch. Usually we plan several batches and use the yeast "cake" from the bottom of the fermenter to make several generation of beers.

But, to give you a run down. For White Labs here are the strains I recommend for different styles.

American Ales, Stouts, Barley Wines, IPAs, etc - WLP001

English Ales, ESBs, Ordinary Bitters, English IPAs, WLP002 or for higher gravity English Ales WLP007

German Ales such as Kolsch - WLP029

German Ales such as Alt - WY1007 (not sure what WL strain to tell you)

German Ales such as HefeWeizens - WLP300 and 380

Belgian ales such as Tripel, Dubbel, etc - WLP530

Hope that helps.

[thebigbaker]

+1 to what Major recommends.  I usually have a pale ale or IPA and a milk stout on tap and use US-05 dry yeast for these.  I also use 05 for my American wheat.  So I usually buy a box of 05 from my LHBS when I can and keep it in the fridge. 

Anytime I use liquid yeast, for my Hefes and Belgian brews, I usually will get my Wyeast pack the day before or day of brewing. 

Haven't tried to harvest any yeast or reuse a yeast cake yet, but plan to try and do so soon.

[alaingomez]

Looks like US-05 is my best bet then for right now.

I'm a n00b so bare with me on this one... but does the yeast really affect the flavor all that much?

[bboy9000]

Yeast does make a flavor difference.  I'm a relative noob myself but here's what I've gathered:

US-05/WLP001/WY1056 is clean tasting.*

English yeasts can give a slight fruity/ buttery taste.

Belgian yeasts can give clove, spice and pepper
flavors and banana ( as well as some wheat yeast strains)

Lager yeasts are fairly clean as long as fermented lager temps(but can give fruity and sulfur flavors).

*A lot of these yeast qualities depend on fermentation temps and how well the temps are controlled.

You can learn more by sampling diverse styles of beer and reading up on the AHA forum and yeast manufacturers websites.  Again I'm relatively new as well So everyone please correct me if I'm wrong.

[majorvices]

Looks like US-05 is my best bet then for right now.

I'm a n00b so bare with me on this one... but does the yeast really affect the flavor all that much?

Yeast completely affects the flavor. Case can be made that it affets the flavor more than any other ingredient. And it is also the key to making great beer, the way you treat your yeast, your yeast health, pitching rate and your fermentation temp are all key to the final product. US-05 is a good choice to stick with in the beginning because it is simple to use and is very clean. But you won't be able to make Belgian Ales, German Wheats or authentic English style ales with it.

[davidgzach]

+1.  Yeast has a major role in the outcome of your beer.

[mpietropaoli]

Try doing a simple apa if you like to drink them and split into a few batches.   Pitch a different yeast into each one, and note the flavor differences.  My BJCP class is doing such an experiment this weekend.

[erockrph]

I always have a packet of US-05 in the fridge for any spur-of-the-moment brewing. I lean towards IPA's and Pale Ales, so this is the best fit for my style. I also have a few packs of 71B for meads, T-58 for Belgians, and I'll probably keep some S-04 once cider season picks up, but the US-05 is the only one that I will never go without having on hand.

[a10t2]

I may be alone on this, but I don't think Chico (001/1056/US-05) is a good choice unless you're filtering. It just never. Drops. Clear.

Something like the Anchor (051/1272) or Whitbread (1099) strains will ferment every bit as clean at low temperatures, but flocculate much better.

[majorvices]

I don't have any problems getting it to clear using finings and cold crashing.

[davidgzach]

I don't have any problems getting it to clear using finings and cold crashing.

+1.  Don't have any problems with Chico, even without cold crashing.  Just have to give it time....

Dave

[micsager]

I don't have any problems getting it to clear using finings and cold crashing.

+1.  Don't have any problems with Chico, even without cold crashing.  Just have to give it time....

Dave

+1  time is the best clarifier

[alaingomez]

I may be alone on this, but I don't think Chico (001/1056/US-05) is a good choice unless you're filtering. It just never. Drops. Clear.

Something like the Anchor (051/1272) or Whitbread (1099) strains will ferment every bit as clean at low temperatures, but flocculate much better.

Even when you use a clarifying agent? 

[hopfenundmalz]

Looks like US-05 is my best bet then for right now.

I'm a n00b so bare with me on this one... but does the yeast really affect the flavor all that much?

You make the wort, yeast then make the beer.  Old saying but true.

Some have said that yeast is responsible for 50% or more of the beer's flavor.  Once I realized how important yeast management was, my beers became much better.