[evilgiraffe]

Simple question here that I'm sure will not yield simple answers......

What style of beer would be best if you wanted to compare ale yeasts?

My plan would be to brew multiple 5-gallon batches keeping everything else as constant as possible and just changing out yeasts. I'm sure many have done this and just want some opinions on which style would best suit this kind of experiment.

[denny]

I'd say anything light colored, not too hoppy and not too complex.  Like pils malt to bout 1.045-50 and about 30 IBU.

[dmtaylor]

Anything *but* IPA.

I swear, 80% of the exbeeriments run these days............

[802Chris]

I'd say anything light colored, not too hoppy and not too complex.  Like pils malt to bout 1.045-50 and about 30 IBU.

This for sure. I have brewed the same recipe 95% 2row, 5% crystal 10, and roughly 30 IBU. Thee different yeasts (34/70, WB-06, and Danstar Nottingham). The beers could not have been any more different, and  I finally found the "peach" flavor of Nottingham people have mentioned.

[toby]

I'm going to go a little against the grain and suggest that it depends on your purpose. One thing I found interesting when touring White Labs a few years ago was their method of testing yeasts in comparison to the 'proper' yeast for a style. For example, maybe they would brew a Scottish 80 shilling and ferment it with the regular Edinburgh yeast and 4 or 5 others. You could then get a flight to tell what the same wort would taste like in 5 or 6 different finished beers.

[evilgiraffe]

Wow. Mostly surprisingly simple answers.
Looking forward to trying this. Until now I've just brewed whatever I felt like doing/drinking with a lot of hit and miss. Time to add some "science" to the mix.

Thanks for the tips.

[klickitat jim]

If you want faster results that don't leave you with 5 gallons of beer from yeasts you don't like, how about splitting the wort to 5 1 gallon fermentors? Then you can compare side by side too

[Wilbur]

Any style you like and a recipe you're familiar with. No point in brewing 4 or 5 pilsners if you don't like pilsners. I don't see a point in using pilsner malt either if you mostly use Maris Otter, or a smaller beer if you plan on mostly brewing 8%+ beer.

[skyler]

I agree with Denny, but I think the IBUs can be even lower and any pale base malt will do. Personally, I would use 2-row or a British style base malt, shoot for 1.040-1.055 and 20-30 ibus with no dry hops and no major whirlpool addition.

That said, I have run numerous yeast strain semi-experiments with standard American Amber Ale and Special Bitter recipes and have been pleased with the results.