Whats a good starting point which yeast to buy?

[Trotters80]

So I believe the yeast which comes with a kit isn't the best quality, but theres so many yeasts out there, how do I know which one is more suitable?

Is it just trial & error?. I cant see a "Sticky" on this subject as a guideline?.

Cheers

 

[wfr42]

A lot of it is personal preference.

The kit yeasts are usually to style and a good starting point. The wherry (muntons)yeast has earned a bad reputation, I think mainly as they only supply 6g. You could try splitting a kit or doubling up and trying a different yeast to see the difference.

 

[Trotters80]

A lot of it is personal preference.

The kit yeasts are usually to style and a good starting point. The wherry (muntons)yeast has earned a bad reputation, I think mainly as they only supply 6g. You could try splitting a kit or doubling up and trying a different yeast to see the difference.

So basically just pick a random yeast sachet & give it a try?

 

[wfr42]

I always used the yeast that came with my kits (mostly youngs).

I've just started ag brewing and try to stick to"style" So far i have only used fermentis/safale (http://www.fermentis.com/brewing/homebrewing/product-range/)
s04 for a Scottish heavy and Vienna pale ale.
Us05 for the hbc dipas and (reclaimed) for a coffee stout
And wb06 for a raspberry wheat beer.

Lots of people on here use gervin or Nottingham as it has apparently quite a neutral and quick fermentation.

Yeast is another variable, if/when I get the hang of harvesting and storing reclaimed yeast I may try some liquid strains to see if there is a difference.

Unless you have had a problem with kits fermenting, I would just use the provided yeast kit unless you are desperate for some experiment more technical than a dry hop.

 

[GlentoranMark]

I think US 05 is a great all purpose yeast, quick to ferment and I've never had any trouble with it. What ever you choose, save some from your brew for future use. I've a nice stash of 6 yeasts stored (and growing).

 

[Slid]

I think US 05 is a great all purpose yeast, quick to ferment and I've never had any trouble with it. What ever you choose, save some from your brew for future use. I've a nice stash of 6 yeasts stored (and growing).

This is excellent advice from Mark, here. US 05 is a great go-to for contemporary homebrewing, as it is fairly tolerant of warm centrally heated houses and is Ok right out towards 25C. Very neutral taste, too, and not too much krausen, although it takes 2 weeks to drop. This neutral taste is a good one, if you like the current fashion for hop-forward beers. It also works for me on dark ales, like Porter and especially Stout.

If you store the saved yeast under green beer, rather than bottling every last cloudy drop, it will keep very well in 250ml PET bottles. You can even drink the lemonade they come with.

Just be sure to sterilise everything that will come into contact with the yeast at this stage.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
I've had great results with S-04 and am trying Wilko's Gervin yeast at the moment - it's versatile, temperature-wise, and sticks to the bottom of the FV like toffee.
Colin

 

[MickDundee]

The most recommendations I've seen are for either US-05 or a Nottingham yeast as both are quite "clean".

I used a Notts for my first AG. It turned out well but it barely hit 70% for attenuation so I didn't hit my target FG(I was using lager malt so it is still quite dry tasting).

For my second AG brew I used a specialist steam beer yeast (Mangrove Jacks California Lager - a lager yeast that works at ale temperatures) and it worked very well - attenuation of over 80% and initial taster was very clean. I'll know for sure in about a month.

 

[terrym]

If you are doing a Coopers kit don't bother to change the yeast. I have never had one fail and the Real Ale I have in the FV at present has pretty much finished after three days. I mostly hydrate dried yeasts in 100ml water for 30mins or so, then add half tsp sugar and after another 30mins and its going well pitch that. Said Real Ale needed the blow off tube within 24 hours.

 

[MyQul]

If you are doing a Coopers kit don't bother to change the yeast. I have never had one fail and the Real Ale I have in the FV at present has pretty much finished after three days. I mostly hydrate dried yeasts in 100ml water for 30mins or so, then add half tsp sugar and after another 30mins and its going well pitch that. Said Real Ale needed the blow off tube within 24 hours.

+1

I don't recall ever reading a stuck coopers kit post on the forum. Coopers yeast seems to be pretty bombproof

 

[lukehgriffiths]

I have used a fair few of the white labs yeasts that are expensive but good... the range is huge so you could select a kit appropriate one. If bottling learn how to reclaim yeast from bottles as that makes the cost worthwhile.


Nowadays I tend to use reclaimed Butty Bach yeast buy a bottle, enjoy and harvest yeast!

 

[Covrich]

Like hops, there is so many varieties of yeast so many to experiment with.

Nottingham (gervin)/ US05 is a great yeast to always have aside for well most styles.. robust and neutral. You can make a lot of styles with those yeasts..

However it is worth trying many different strains for certain styles.. Like luke says above many liquid strains you can try even for English style ales, all bring their own unique flavour profile and finish..

Same with say Belgian styles there are many belgian strains which you can pick from for taht given style.

First of all think about what you are making and pick a yeast to suit that style,just like hops and grains yeast should be something you can agonise over for choice

 

[BeerCat]

I couldn't brew a Stout i liked until i tried White Labs Irish Ale Yeast but that could be just my incompetence. The WLP001 is also really good. Ive done lots of St Peters kits which i believe use Muntons yeast 6g packs and never ever had a problem with them though.