Beer Forum

My local homebrew shop doesn't have Thames Valley. I want to brew a smoked mild. Any suggestions on a substitute? They don't have any White Labs, only Wyeast.

I'd go with WY1028 or WY1968.
Alternatively, Danstar Nottingham dry yeast would work well here too.

Agreed. Of the two, my preference is 1968 but that is only because I have used it a lot and like what it makes.

I am looking forward to trying out the new PC Thames Valley II yeast coming up in the next release from Wyeast. Going to brew up an ESB with it.

Thanks for the advice. The shop ordered some, but I wanted to brew today. I'm not a big fan of using dry yeast, so I'll give the 1968 a try.

With the 1968, remember that it floc's out hard when it does. If you make a starter for it (which is always a good idea), it will turn into something that looks like egg drop soup if it is on a stir plate, otherwise it will turn into little pillows of yeast. I usually ferment mine at 64, then up to 68 at the end.

I ended up not brewing the other day after all, but thanks for the heads up on the flocculation. I don't have a stir plate, but I still do my starters in an erlenmeyer flask and shake them whenever I can. Now I know what to expect.