[yso191]

I have been using Wyeast 1968 for my go to AIPA for quite a while, wanting the fruity esters.  Now I'm wanting to experiment.  I'm curious which you prefer (Fruity Esters or Clean & Crisp).

[theDarkSide]

I go clean and crisp myself and let the hops do the talking.  I usually mash around 148-149 on IPA to ensure a dry ferment.

[factory]

I go clean and crisp myself and let the hops do the talking.  I usually mash around 148-149 on IPA to ensure a dry ferment.

+1 For the couple of APAs that I 've brewed so far anyway.  When I think of esters in a Pale Ale, I think English Style.

[HoosierBrew]

I go clean and crisp myself and let the hops do the talking.  I usually mash around 148-149 on IPA to ensure a dry ferment.

+1 For the couple of APAs that I 've brewed so far anyway.  When I think of esters in a Pale Ale, I think English Style.

+2.  Clean yeast character for AIPA.  149-150F for AIPA, 148F for IIPA for me.

[erockrph]

My AIPA's are all about the hops. The yeast is solely there to convert the malt sugars to alcohol.

I use 1968 in hoppy beers all the time, but they're typically ESB's.

[denny]

Clean for American styles.

[kcbeersnob]

I prefer clean for APA/AIPA. 

If you want fruity and crisp (as opposed to clean and crisp), there is the option to pair a modest amount of simple sugar with an English yeast.  I actually do this for some English styles, so they end a bit drier.  I usually aim for 10-15% simple sugar.

[garc_mall]

I checked fruity, but really I just like fruitier than super-clean in my APA/IPA.

My personal favorite yeasts for APA are the fruitier American yeasts (1272, 1332) and the cleaner British yeasts (1028, WLP007) I think the subtle ester profile of those yeasts provide a nice backbone for the hops, along with a clean malt bill. Sometimes I think the super clean yeasts end up too clean without some light complexity under the hops.

[kylekohlmorgen]

I would normally jump at "clean and crisp", but most of my favorite commercial IPAs are brewed with an estery yeast:

FW Union Jack/Double Jack (IMO esters are very noticeable in the Double)
Stone IPA (although they suppress esters w/ temp, pitch rate, etc)
Schlafly AIPA/TIPA (I think their house yeast is an English-style yeast)

I like using 1968 in my American-style beers just because it drops like a rock. I can dial in esters with fermentation control and attenuation w/ grist bill (sugar).

[denny]

I did a few batches with 1968 a few months back and didn't find it estery at all.  Maybe because I ran it in the low 60s?

[a10t2]

My personal favorite yeasts for APA are the fruitier American yeasts (1272, 1332) and the cleaner British yeasts (1028, WLP007) I think the subtle ester profile of those yeasts provide a nice backbone for the hops, along with a clean malt bill. Sometimes I think the super clean yeasts end up too clean without some light complexity under the hops.

+1. I'm just not a fan of hop teas.

[jeffjm]

I did a few batches with 1968 a few months back and didn't find it estery at all.  Maybe because I ran it in the low 60s?

Possibly, especially if you pitched a large amount of yeast. I usually ferment 1968 around 64-65F and overpitch about 20%. I get a mild fruitiness.

[yso191]

I did a few batches with 1968 a few months back and didn't find it estery at all.  Maybe because I ran it in the low 60s?

That wouldn't surprise me.  I have been targeting 68* for my IPAs with 1968.  Do you remember any Esteriness (a new word?) when you tasted my IPA?  I think I pick up an English character to my IPAs but that could be my imagination. 

[chumley]

To get esters out of WY1968, you have to underpitch.  If you pitch a big starter and rouse the yeast often, it ferments pretty well with not much in the way of fruity esters (it does leave a bigger mouthfeel than Chico ale yeast, IMO).  I use it a lot for APA/AIPA. 

I like to brew a 1.040 - 1.050 British bitter using just a smack pack, no starter, to get the esters, then use the yeast cake for a 1.050-1.060 APA or a 1.065-1.075 AIPA.

[S. cerevisiae]

Siebel Bry 97 (a.k.a. Ballantine "Ale Brewery" Strain, Anchor, Wyeast 1272, White Labs WLP051, and Lallemand Bry 97) has become my favorite non-British/non-European ale strain.   Brewtek CL-50 (a.k.a. Wyeast 1450) is a very close second (it's probably the best strain for American red/amber ales on the planet).  Siebel Bry 96 (a.k.a. Ballantine "Beer Brewery" Strain, "Chico," Wyeast 1056, White Labs WLP001, Fermentis Safale US-05, ...) has become my least favorite ale strain.