The Difference a Yeast Makes?

[Andyhull]

Hi all, just a few questions.

1, I keep hearing about all differents strains of yeast being mentioned and just wondered which yeast is generally the best to use, and if one is generally the best why bother with others?

2, What do all these different yeasts add remove from the brew to make it better?

3, What makes you choose 1 yeast over another?

Thanks

Andy

 

[Hawks]

The yeast choice will make a HUGE difference to the beer.

I strongly advise you to split a batch of wort and ferment with 2 different yeasts - you will then taste how different they can be.

You then select a yeast for the characteristics you want in the beer - do you want to have lots of esters? do you want a clean taste to let the hops shine through ? How dry you want the finished beer ? and so on..

Combine this with personal taste as you try different yeasts.

That is when you can decide if you want specific yeasts for specific beers, or maybe you just want a general purpose yeast.

Personally I tend to stick with a dried yeast as my fall back, but do cultivate various commercial ones to try the difference. If I had more fridge space, and possibly more patience I would likely use the cultivated ones all the time.

Hope this helps :thumb:

 

[Andyhull]

Hmmmm,

I does help yes, but it also complicates things too :lol:
There's more to this AG brewing game than first meets the eye.
Alot more reading to be done i think. :cry:

Thanks Hawks

 

[Mark1964]

If you would have come to the brew day i offered you twice you would have learned the difference between different yeasts and a lot more

 

[Andyhull]

Hi Mark,

Im really sorry about messing you about.
I would have loved to come, in all honesty still would but my life is so hectic at the moment due to SWMBO being pregnant and working at HRI.

Please accept my sincerest appologies and many thanks for the offers.

Andy

 

[Mark1964]

Maybe when your wife has had the baby you could pop over. I need to brew a couple of times as im running out of beer

 

[Andyhull]

Thank you Mark and once again sorry. :)

 

[BigYin]

Scottish Craft Brewers did a yeast trial last year http://scottishcraftbrewers.org/?p=675 - there was a general consensus that the liquid yeasts were better than the dried yeasts, and a few who reckoned the difference wasn't enough to warrant the higher costs. Of the dried yeasts, Nottingham came out top (as a result of this trial, our local homebrew shop sold out of Nottingham almost instantly!).

 

[BIGJIM72]

Personal taste and beer style are my 2 main reasons for choosing one yeast from another.

I haven't stepped up to liquid yeasts yet & don't harvest.

For a general all round yeast I tend to stick with Safale 04, a strain suited to English beers. I find that it gives a good ferment-never had one stuck yet, it settles out quickly & forms a compact sediment in bottles.I find it gives quite a dry finish.

For a bit more of a fruity edge I would go for Windsor or Nottingham,great for bitters.

For US style ales then Safale 05

 

[Andyhull]

Personal taste and beer style are my 2 main reasons for choosing one yeast from another.

I haven't stepped up to liquid yeasts yet & don't harvest.

For a general all round yeast I tend to stick with Safale 04, a strain suited to English beers. I find that it gives a good ferment-never had one stuck yet, it settles out quickly & forms a compact sediment in bottles.I find it gives quite a dry finish.

For a bit more of a fruity edge I would go for Windsor or Nottingham,great for bitters.

For US style ales then Safale 05

Thanks, this is what im looking for.

 

[graysalchemy]

I use Nottingham for bitters as I find it is a great all round yeast which compacts well in the bottle as well and floculates well. I also use US-05 in pale ales where you want the hops to show through as Nottingham as said above is a little estery (what you want in a bitter).

I have just cultured up a bottle of fullers bengall Lancer yeast, it was the easiest yeast I have ever cultured and I believe is a good yeast so I am looking forward to using that next time. :thumb:

 

[Asalpaws]

Must say my best beers do far have been a Landlord clone using S-04 and a Moose Drool clone using US -05. I've used liquid yeasts a few times but some how not got quite as reliable results. Dry yeast certainly produce great beers. I'm keen to try some more interesting offerings from Wyeast, like Saison and Belgian yeasts.

 

[Hawks]

I use Nottingham for bitters as I find it is a great all round yeast which compacts well in the bottle as well and floculates well. I also use US-05 in pale ales where you want the hops to show through as Nottingham as said above is a little estery (what you want in a bitter).

I have just cultured up a bottle of fullers bengall Lancer yeast, it was the easiest yeast I have ever cultured and I believe is a good yeast so I am looking forward to using that next time. :thumb:

I have used it 3 or 4 times and got some great beers - was especially good in a pale with lots of late hops - and I thought S-05 could showcase hops... :thumb:

 

[micmacmoc]

A good help with understanding yeast is the book 'yeast' by Jamil Zainasheff and Chris White, certainly made me more aware.
Its made me want to buy a white lab coat and have pens stuck in my top pocket. I also bought a clipboard.
Its a regular occurance to see me slide my glasses up my nose and saying 'yeeeeeesssss' whilst scribbling figures on the clipboard.
So you see yeast is so much more than you think it is. It pisses alcohol and farts CO2, i love the little beer making chappies. I may buy a microscope too.

 

[dennisking]

Personally I think liquid yeast is better all round, the first time I tasted a brew with liquids was a big eureka moment for me in my brewing life as if it was the last piece of my jigsaw, quality wise I still think it's the best improvement I've made. The variety means you can tailor your beers style and taste so much more accurately. The price I don't find an problem because you can spilt the vial and make several brews or harvest from each brew. I do find Whitelabs a better more reliable product than Wyeast.

 

[The Goatreich]

It pisses alcohol and farts CO2

So do I.

 

[dennisking]

+1 as well for the yeast book, a must for any brewer who takes it the slightest bit seriously.

 

[oldstout]

A good help with understanding yeast is the book 'yeast' by Jamil Zainasheff and Chris White, certainly made me more aware.
Its made me want to buy a white lab coat and have pens stuck in my top pocket. I also bought a clipboard.
Its a regular occurance to see me slide my glasses up my nose and saying 'yeeeeeesssss' whilst scribbling figures on the clipboard.
So you see yeast is so much more than you think it is. It pisses alcohol and farts CO2, i love the little beer making chappies. I may buy a microscope too.

Now your style....

I like :thumb:



:

 

[Andyhull]

Thanks for the responces guys.
I have a few to have a go with now and understand at least what these ones will add to the brew.

:

 

[Pearlfisher]

It pisses alcohol and farts CO2

So do I.

My OH wishes mine only smelled of CO2