Brewer’s yeast fascinates me. How can one simple organism generate so many different flavors in the beers we brew?
The problem is, there’s so many yeast strains available how on earth do you find what you are looking for? To further complicate matters, there’s at least 5 major yeast labs in the market all offering different yeast strains. Are these strains really that different, or is it the same yeast strain rebranded?
While it’s not too difficult to find a yeast strain comparison chart, I struggled finding one that cross referenced the yeast strains from all 5 major yeast labs.
Omega Yeast (Not A Plug)
I started doing some research on Omega Yeast, after a recent visit to my local homebrew shop. They were talking up Omega Yeast like it was the next best thing since sliced bread. They also carry a huge variety of Omega Yeast, and are constantly running sales.
Come to find out, each pack of yeast contains at least 150 billion cells, 50% more then what Wyeast or White Labs offer. Still less then the 200 billion cells Imperial Yeast has, but my LHBS doesn’t carry Imperial.
This got me thinking. Why am I not finding any mentions of Omega yeast in any of the yeast strain comparison charts I’ve come across?
Yeast Strain Comparison Chart
Given my new fondness to Omega yeast, and the lack of any cross reference information in the yeast strain comparison charts I’ve seen, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I scoured the web, looking at a multitude of yeast strain cross reference data. I used this information to build my own damn chart, and included Omega yeast in my yeast strain comparison data.
Using the below table, you can locate a specific strain for any of the top yeast labs. The table will then highlight the yeast strains from the other yeast labs that are comparable.
My caveat… I’ve tried to do my homework, but the fact is I’m not a microbiologist. While I don’t know for certain each of these strains are an identical match, these should get you pretty darn close if you need to substitute.
If the table is too difficult to navigate, you can view/download a PDF by clicking the above image.
Cheers… And feel free to leave any feedback.
| Name / Origin | Fermentis | Imperial | Omega | White Labs | Wyeast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chico | SafAle US-05 | A07 Flagship | OYL-004 West Coast Ale | WLP001 California Ale | 1056 American Ale |
| Charles Wells | SafAle S-33 | WLP006 Bedford British Ale | |||
| Pilsner Urquell | SafLager S-23 | OYL-101 Pilsner I | WLP800 Pilsner Lager | 2001 Pilsner Urquell | |
| Fuller's | A09 Pub | OYL-016 British Ale VIII | WLP002 English Ale | 1968 London ESB | |
| Whitbread | SafAle S-04 | A01 House | OYL-006 British Ale I | WLP007 Dry English Ale | 1098 British Ale |
| Guiness | A10 Darkness | OYL-005 Irish Ale | WLP004 Irish Ale | 1084 Irish Ale | |
| Anchor Liberty | A15 Independence | WLP051 California V Ale | 1272 American Ale II | ||
| Rogue | A18 Joystick | 1764 Packman | |||
| McEwan | A31 Tartan | WLP028 Edinburgh Scottish Ale | 1728 Scotish Ale | ||
| Boddingtons | A38 Juice | OYL-011 British Ale V | 1318 London Ale III | ||
| Westmalle | B48 Triple Double | OYL-028 Belgian Ale W | WLP530 Abbey Ale | 3787 Trappist HG | |
| Chimay | B63 Monastic | WLP500 Monastery Ale | 1214 Belgian Ale | ||
| Celis White | SafAle T-58 | B44 Whiteout | WLP400 Belgian Wit Ale | 3944 Belgian Witbier | |
| Dusseldorf | SafAle K-97? | G02 Kaiser | WLP036 Dusseldorf Ale | 1007 German Ale | |
| Weihenstephan 66 | SafAle WB-06 | G01 Stafon | OYL-021 Hefeweizen Ale | WLP300 Hefeweizen Ale | 3068 Weihenstephan |
| PJ Fruh | G03 Dieter | OYL-044 Kolsch II | WLP029 German/Kolsch Ale | ||
| Weihenstephan | SafLager W-34/70 | L13 Global | OYL-106 German Lager I | WLP830 German Lager | 2124 Bohemian |
| Augustiner | L17 Harvest | OYL-114 Bayern Lager | WLP860 Munich Helles Lager | 2352 Munich II | |
| Anchor | L05 Cablecar | WLP810 San Francisco Lager | 2112 California Lager | ||
| Urquell | L28 Urkel | WLP802 Czech Budejovice Lager | 2278 Czech Lager | ||
| Ayinger | OYL-111 German Bock | WLP833 German Bock Lager | 2487-PC Hella Bock Lager | ||
| Grupo Modelo | OYL-113 Mexican Lager | WLP940 Mexican Lager | 2005-PC Mexicana Lager | ||
| Conan | A04 Barbarian | OYL-052 - DIPA | WLP095 - Burlington Ale | ||
| Weihenstephan 165, Köln | OYL-017 Kolsch I | 2565 Kolsch | |||
| Unicorn Dust | A20 Citrus | OYL-200 Tropical IPA | WLP644 | ||
| Achouffe | B45 Gnome | OYL-024 Belgian Ale A | WLP550 Belgian Ale | 3522 Belgian Ardennes | |
| Blaugies, Belgium | B56 Rustic | OYL-042 Belgian Saison II | 3726 Farmhouse Ale | ||
| Unknown | OYL-026 French Saison | 3711 French Saison | |||
| Sigmund Gjernes's Voss | A43 Loki | OYL-061 Voss Kveik |
I love u
Thanks. I think.
This is awesome!
It looks like Omega released some new lager strains. Here’s what I think they equate to:
OYL-101 = Urquell
OYL-106 = Weihenstephan
OYL-107 = Wyeast 2633 = WLP 820 – Not sure of origin
OYL-111 = Ayinger = WY2487 = WLP833
OYL-113 = Grupo Modelo = Wyeast 2005-PC = WLP940
Also, they have a French Saison WY3711 equivalent now, OYL-026
I’m not sure how widely available these are yet.
OYL-107 is possibly the Weihenstephan 206 Octoberfest strain.
That’s great news. I definitely want to try their lager strains. Thanks for the information Dan, I’ll update my tables as soon as I get a chance.
Best yeast strain comparison I’ve come across to date. Unfortunately my LHBS doesn’t sell Omega yeast. Thanks for doing this.
Thank you! Everyone in my area was out of Imperial Juice and Wyeast London Ale III and the brew shop suggested Omega since they had it in stock. They actually recommended Tropical IPA as a substitute but since I am brewing a clone I wanted to do a little research first. Luckily I found your chart! They had had British Ale V in stock and now I feel much better using a new yeast I have never used before.
Omega West Coast Ale II (OYL-009) is the Anchor Liberty strain
Thanks Chris. Will get that updated.