Favorite Yeast for brewing Real Ale
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S -04 is brilliant
Works fast and always achieves target SG or below
Works fast and always achieves target SG or below
Surfingobo
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St Austell (from a bottle of proper job).
Genuinely tasty in a huge range of styles. Have brewed bitters, ipa, golden and I’ve even just done a kolsch with it (at lower temp). Does really well at room temp as well as in a ferm fridge
Genuinely tasty in a huge range of styles. Have brewed bitters, ipa, golden and I’ve even just done a kolsch with it (at lower temp). Does really well at room temp as well as in a ferm fridge
I’ve never brewed a bad beer using Wilko’s Gervin Ale.
Also love the way the sediment sticks to the bottom of the bottles like sh*t to a blanket.
Also love the way the sediment sticks to the bottom of the bottles like sh*t to a blanket.
MickDundee
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London Ale III is my favourite so far
I also like MJ Liberty Bell and Lallemand ESB (although it’s a low attenuator).
I’ll go against popular opinion and say I don’t like S-04.
I don’t make English style ales very often though.
I also like MJ Liberty Bell and Lallemand ESB (although it’s a low attenuator).
I’ll go against popular opinion and say I don’t like S-04.
I don’t make English style ales very often though.
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Wilko gervin (Notty) is a good one...I never got on with s04...seemed bland...you can use US 05 for a drier beer,I'm trying Liberty Bell in a few brews at the moment.
The using of SO-4 should be a criminal offence. No wort should be punished by this offence to brewing.
Drunkula
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Liberty Bell.
I'm working my way through 9 yeasts I brewed at 35c and M-44 West Coast at that temp comes across as some Olde-Englishe yeast with some right fruity esters and an almost sticky mouthfeel. Don't do it, though - these high temps really kill hoppiness.
S-04 can get to f**k. Obadiah gets it to attenuate heavily - must be averaging out all the 1.020 stuck fermentations me and loads of others have had. I'd rather use wild yeast I've cultured up out of my wife's moustache.
I'm working my way through 9 yeasts I brewed at 35c and M-44 West Coast at that temp comes across as some Olde-Englishe yeast with some right fruity esters and an almost sticky mouthfeel. Don't do it, though - these high temps really kill hoppiness.
S-04 can get to f**k. Obadiah gets it to attenuate heavily - must be averaging out all the 1.020 stuck fermentations me and loads of others have had. I'd rather use wild yeast I've cultured up out of my wife's moustache.
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I’m another S-04 fan it does seem to be a very love it or hate it yeast but I have always found It works well (and never had a stuck fermentation with it).
Liberty Bell I like, I find it’s fairly slow but It gets there in the end.
Liberty Bell I like, I find it’s fairly slow but It gets there in the end.
user 18729
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Ringwood if you want some character in something dark. I keep meaning to try it in an IPA though
London ALe III is brilliant I love it for this style
SO much more depth and character than S04 which I have to say is pretty meh I think..
Dry yeasts are "OK" but I think for best results you need to get a good liquid strain on this as it will be superior
I think you totally nailed it there. I'm not a fan of yeasts that add much flavour to the beer. They're always a pig to pour and you're left with an inch of beer in the bottle. Seems a waste.
MickDundee
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London Ale III is the only English liquid yeast I’ve used and I must say that the beer I’ve made with it is a class above the other British style ales I’ve made.
Absolutley
I know it sounds snobby and geeky but when you use a yeast like that you get the subtle sweet bready fruity esters whcih just add to taht depth of falvour.
When you throw so4 in or Nottingham you are going for a much blander option, which is fine if that is what you like
Maxonian
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I’m a big fan of the Mangrove Jack M44. I’ve been using it for the last year or so exclusively for any pale ale that I’ve made. It took a few days for there to be any airlock activity first time round but it flocculates like a dream so I harvested some. Every batch of beer since has taken off within a few hours of pitching and the beers have reached terminal gravity in 3 or 4 days. I also like the peach/apricot esters that it throws out. It complements the hops that I’ve mainly been using (Hallertau Blanc, Cashmere, Mandarina Bavaria and Endeavour). It’s also hop forward without muting the flavour of the grain bill.
I’ve brewed over a dozen beers now from this one £3 packet and still got a few jars of harvested yeast for future batches. I can’t praise the M44 enough.
I’ve brewed over a dozen beers now from this one £3 packet and still got a few jars of harvested yeast for future batches. I can’t praise the M44 enough.
An Ankoù
Landlord.
I wonder if S-04 has changed. I used it in the nineties and it was OK. Can't stand it now, or wilco Gervin, for that matter. What has certainly changed is my water profile from Poole to Redon so maybe that has something to do with it. My favourite for brewing English bitters and ESBs is Wyeast Ringwood or for stronger, more attenuated ales MJ M42 which is a whitbread strain
An Ankoù
Landlord.
Ringwood is great for all British real ale styles. I use it for APA, too.
I have tried most British liquid yeasts available over the last 30 odd years. Not really found a bad one but my favorites/most used are
Whitelabs WLP002 English
WLP013 London
WLP022 Essex
WLP023 Burton, nice yeast but a sod to clear
Wyeast 1028 London
1098 British
1275 Thames valley
1318 London 3
1469 Yorkshire
Also imperial pub yeast and the brewlabs Sussex.
Whitelabs WLP002 English
WLP013 London
WLP022 Essex
WLP023 Burton, nice yeast but a sod to clear
Wyeast 1028 London
1098 British
1275 Thames valley
1318 London 3
1469 Yorkshire
Also imperial pub yeast and the brewlabs Sussex.
BlackRegent
Regular.
My favourite by some distance is Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire. It seems to give everything a lovely rich chewiness.
It's a proper Yorkshire square yeast so expect it to try and climb out of your fermenter. It's also the most remarkable looking yeast I've used. The head develops into a thick stringy mess after a couple of days.
There are a lot of online complaints that this yeast doesn't drop. I think they're just being impatient. This yeast needs a full 2 weeks in the fermenter, but it will drop. You just have to give it time.
I also like London Ale III, but there is a lot of love in this thread for that one already.
It's a proper Yorkshire square yeast so expect it to try and climb out of your fermenter. It's also the most remarkable looking yeast I've used. The head develops into a thick stringy mess after a couple of days.
There are a lot of online complaints that this yeast doesn't drop. I think they're just being impatient. This yeast needs a full 2 weeks in the fermenter, but it will drop. You just have to give it time.
I also like London Ale III, but there is a lot of love in this thread for that one already.
