Dry yeast review...

[Clint]

Following on from the "which dry yeast for an American IPA" thread I have decided to re brew some of my ales with alternative yeast rather than my usual CML.
First swap out will be the CML American ale for US 05 to see if there is better flocculation and a cleaner taste.
I will also try a different English ale to CML...but can't decide over SO4 or Wilko Gervin..Notty? What's the feeling on this?

Cheers

Clint

 

[The Baron]

Use Wilko Clint I have done the same as you are intending. I used CML real ale, the american yeast and while no problems with taste I found the low flocculation a problem in the bottle which is a shame as otherwise a good yeast but fine for kegging with a cold crash. I do still use the Kolsch and Calicommon as they are very good. I now use the wilko/nottingham strain in all ales be it bitter IPA or blondes etc and the Kolsch/Cali in lager styles

 

[Nicks90]

until recently all i have ever used is US 05 and 04 for my ipas and bitters - even when i was doing kits - and found them both to be consistent and brilliant.
compacted really hard in the bottle and very tasty

however i am now using CML pale ale as it was all i could get on amazon prime when i screwed up and did a brew and had no yeast!!! It seems to be ok - but cloudier
got 2 more brews on the go with the same CML, another ipa and a golden hen type clone. so if they are also cloudier with no massive increase in taste performance, i'll be going back to US.

 

[samale]

I will be interested in your results. I have been using cml yeast for well over a year. Mainly for brewing various types of ale. Before that it was always S05. I normally use oats or rye so can't really comment on it leaving the beer cloudy. Taste wise I can't really tell much difference.

 

[pvt_ak]

I’m a big fan of the Wilko Gervin.
A reliable floccer !

 

[Oneflewover]

I'd say s04 is more similar than Wilco (notty) to CML real ale if you are looking for similar results. My experience of the Wilco yeast is that it finishes dry and tends to mute flavours from hops. I only use it for pseudo lager things (it will happily ferment very clean and crisp at 14C) or for a dry stout. I don't rate it at all for an English Pale ale or bitter, but it does indeed flocculate well

 

[Covrich]

I'd say s04 is more similar than Wilco (notty) to CML real ale if you are looking for similar results. My experience of the Wilco yeast is that it finishes dry and tends to mute flavours from hops. I only use it for pseudo lager things (it will happily ferment very clean and crisp at 14C) or for a dry stout. I don't rate it at all for an English Pale ale or bitter, but it does indeed flocculate well

I totally agree, it is a cheap and reliable yeast and a good backup but these days I hardly use it.

For English styles you could try S04 or windsor but personally and I know this isn't the thread title but I think trying some liquid strains will produce much better results.

 

[foxy]

What I have noticed is SO4 definitely seems to flocculate better without any help, the CML ale yeast does need some help to settle out as quick as SO4. I use 3 teaspoons of PVPP and cold crash 24 hours, I have to peel the yeast off the bottom of the fermenter.

 

[Clint]

I've ordered a few packs of US05 to begin with.
So SO4 rather than Wilko...??
As I started the thread...liquid suggestions welcome!

 

[Oneflewover]

I've ordered a few packs of US05 to begin with.
So SO4 rather than Wilko...??
As I started the thread...liquid suggestions welcome!

Well, in that case, can I humbly recommend wyeast 1318 London Ale 3 for a English Pale / Bitter. It leaves a perception of sweetness, but attenuates quite well. Lovely fruity esters that complement English hops beautifully. Accentuates the malt flavours and flocculates well.

But if you are going dry yeast I would certainly go s04 over Wilco for a bitter

 

[samale]

I have never used liquid yeast is there much difference.

 

[Lesinge]

I am using CML American for the first time on five beers with different base malts to see what each brings (MO, Belgium pale, Vienna, Lager and Munich) so will be interested in how it performs. My favourite for hard compacted yeast cake has got to be Danestar Nottingham..wow that just packs it and leaves a great clear beer with little waste at the end from the cloudy mess that gets sucked up when siphoning off the trub.

 

[Drunkula]

As I started the thread...liquid suggestions welcome!

WLP 002 / 1968 London ESB cultured up from Bengal Lancer or 1845. The flocculation is mental. It forms a solid chunk that takes banging against wall to get to break into flakes that you can just let slide back down or use a tea strainer to get rid of.

I overbuilt a starter and keep little jars of it in the freezer in a sterilised 50% glycerine solution that I can just use to make more starters.

 

[Oneflewover]

I have never used liquid yeast is there much difference.

My opinion, for what it's worth, is that liquid yeast really does make a vast improvement to beers where the yeast driven flavours are a big part of the finished beer. For beers with a clean finish from the yeast it makes little difference whether you use dry or liquid.

 

[An Ankoù]

It's horses for courses. US-05 ferments dryer and is a bit more neutral than S-04. I stopped using S-04 as I wasn't getting the attenuation I wanted, but I came back to it a couple of weeks ago to do a Summer Lightning and was astonished at how quickly it did the job. I've never had any problems with US-05 leaving the beer bright, but then I don't bottle until it's nearly bright anyway and I expect conditioning to take at least 4-6 weeks.
S-04, Wilco (Gervin), Nottingham and Windsor are all English Ale Yeasts, but US-05 is not, it's an American ale yeast which is dryer and "cleaner" (fewer esters). If flocculation's a problem, try using Saflager W-34/70 at beer temperature. It'll stink the house out, and you'll have to leave the beer in secondary for a bit, to get rid of all the sulphur, but it'll produce an ester profile like US-05. You can also use it to good effect when the weather's too warm for any of the others.

 

[Clint]

Loving the feedback! Does anybody ask about the yeast used when visiting micro brewery tap rooms? I've asked at the ones I've been to expecting talk of cropping and house strains but they've just used dry..

 

[MickDundee]

I’m currently trying an American yeast I’ve not used before - BRY-97. Unfortunately I’m using it in a Brut IPA (mashed at 62 with enzyme added) so won’t be able to compare the attenuation to US-05/MJ44/CMLAP but I can make a judgement on flocculation and “clean-ness”.

 

[Covrich]

Well, in that case, can I humbly recommend wyeast 1318 London Ale 3 for a English Pale / Bitter. It leaves a perception of sweetness, but attenuates quite well. Lovely fruity esters that complement English hops beautifully. Accentuates the malt flavours and flocculates well.

But if you are going dry yeast I would certainly go s04 over Wilco for a bitter

+1 for this, I love the London Ale III makes a great beer and makes a vast improvement over dry

 

[Covrich]

Sometimes when picking a yeast I think you should think about what do you want it to do. But it is more than just attenuation and flocculation.. I think for English yeasts you want the yeast to bring some character and body and that sometimes means a more medium attentuation.. Whereas Wilko/ nottingham by contrast attenuates very well and sticks to the bottom, however in my option this comes at a price as I think it mutes hop flavour and does little to bring out any other flavour or leave any itself. Like someone said above for pseudo lagers they are great.

 

[JonBrew]

Loving the feedback! Does anybody ask about the yeast used when visiting micro brewery tap rooms? I've asked at the ones I've been to expecting talk of cropping and house strains but they've just used dry..

I haven't asked many breweries in fairness but when I have I've found most seem to be using dried strains over liquid. Nottingham seems to be used very widely as does US-05.

If it recall correctly, Beavertown's core range is almost all US-05. I saw Left Handed Giant released a beer recently and they listed US-05 as the yeast strain. I don't personally use dried yeast all that often but I don't understand the bashing it takes and why folk think it's massively inferior to liquid. I know for certain that highly revered brewers such as Cloudwater have use both dried an liquid strains - I had an IPL from them a year or so ago that used the W-34/70 strain. I believe the Kernel also use dried strains in some of their beers.

I like US-05 a lot - it's reliable, very easy to work with and I personally just pitch direct with good results as the manufacturer recommends. My only issue with it is it over attenuates in my experience.