Fermentis S-04

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discgolfin

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So I brewed a 10 gallon home grown hop pale ale..and did S-05 5 gallon and S04 5 gallon..I love S 05 and first time using S04...but man this yeast is great..fermented fast ale this beer was crystal clear at 5 days... S05 is still cloudy...kudos on this yeast..

Jay
 
S-04 is my go to english yeast. I love it, gonna be trying Wyeasts 1028 London Ale and test my luck.
 
I really like S-04 for any of my maltier type brews. I did an ofest with it and it actually turned out pretty... ofestish....
 
+1 to both of the Safales. I keep 3 S-04s and 3 US-05's in my fridge at all times.
 
I just recently pitched S-04 into an APA and saw bubbling in 4 hrs. No starter just rehydrated. So far I'm pretty impressed.
 
Yep S-04 is a fast flocculator, makes a compact cake after about a week whereas S-05 takes about three weeks to drop out completely for me. Both yeasts are awesome, I rarely use anything else.
 
S-04 is my favorite Ale yeast because of the sediment compaction. Not to mention the fact that it is very consistent and if you ferment around 65 it is very very clean.
 
last time i used it, it tasted horrible, metallic weirdness. i could only blame the yeast.

then i saw the carboy after sitting out for a couple more days. pellicle heaven. guess i got an infection.

i'll have to try s-04 again, i guess.
 
I brewed a stout on Sunday and pitched S-04. It took off like a bat out of hell, filling the blow off tube and catch bucket with krausen. Today the krausen has fallen, there is a neat cake forming, and activity is noticeably slowing. I'd be willing to bet that it's only a few points from FG. Gotta love this stuff.
 
My best beer brewed to date was a mild which I (naturally) lost most of my notes for... now making great beer requires that a bunch of things come together correctly but I definitely remember using S-04, so I trust it!

What temps are you folks fermenting it at?
 
I'm actually fermenting quite high - around 74°F, and I just pulled a sample in the interest of this thread. I'm down to 1.014 from 1.047 in two days, and the flavor is VERY clean.
 
I usually go around 65 and yes it is very clean and great. I have been using 05 for all of my ales and wanted to give 04 a shot..and yes this yeast is the best for english or malty ales..the difference in FG was 1.015 for 05 and 1.017 for 04 so close but a bit higher...


Jay
 
Safale Wheat is good too. I just made an Am Wheat at 44 points with it and it is clearing nicely in the primary after 2 weeks. I am racking tonight.

Safale is a Great Brand!

- WW
 
This yeast is legendary, you can dry hop with it right in the primary without any hop bags, just throw them in, and it will take the hops to the bottom, and seal them like cement. It will take off, and fully ferment in 3 days, you can have a finished beer in a week. Clean, no off flavors at all, true to profile, no deviation from the strain from pack to pack.(I kind of notice this in liquid yeasts alot).
Most of all, you can use it for alot of beers, I mean alot, alot. I mean a hell of alot of beers. Anything English, scottish, irish. Most American, and especially IPA's, makes a friggin great IPA. Hell, it makes a great IPA in a week. Keg it and force carb that IPA baby, you'll be glad you did.
 
I love S-04 and personally I find it finishes every bit as dry as US-05.


This yeast is legendary, you can dry hop with it right in the primary without any hop bags, just throw them in, and it will take the hops to the bottom, and seal them like cement. It will take off, and fully ferment in 3 days, you can have a finished beer in a week. Clean, no off flavors at all, true to profile, no deviation from the strain from pack to pack.(I kind of notice this in liquid yeasts alot).
Most of all, you can use it for alot of beers, I mean alot, alot. I mean a hell of alot of beers. Anything English, scottish, irish. Most American, and especially IPA's, makes a friggin great IPA. Hell, it makes a great IPA in a week. Keg it and force carb that IPA baby, you'll be glad you did.



I'm interested in the bolded, because I also notice that this yeast flocs to a hard cake like nobody's business.

Are you throwing the dry hops in at the same time as pitching? If so, that sounds like an an awesome idea. If not, I think I'm going to try it anyways...
 
I give it 3-4 days to ferment, then I throw the hops in. I actually do this to every beer that I dry hop, I see no need to have a secondary for an ale, unless it's the bottle or the keg. The thing about 04 is that you can throw anything in, orange peel pieces, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, you name it, it will completely fall out of suspension, and seal it in the cake. If your kegging, still throw a hop bag on the end of the drain tube, but if your bottling, even if a little hops makes it in, the yeast in the bottle will drop that right to the bottom. For other yeasts, when I bottle I use a hop bag on the end of the drain tube. I really can't say enough about this yeast. If had to brew with one yeast, it would be this one.
Unfortunately i'm in love with WLP005 for my ESB's and Ambers, damn I love that stuff, but gotta stirplate that bastard, it falls out of suspension very quick (Not in a good way), and it's a god damn hop MoJo stealer. The malt flavors and esters you get from it though are Phenomenol. The S-04 comes close though.
 
Very good to hear.

Typically I always dry hop in the primary - I can find very few uses for a secondary.

Glad to hear a yeast recommendation for ESB's as well. I've been using S-04 for my ESB's, and while they're tasty, they lack that traditional British character for me. Good to know about WLP005's hop stealing capabilities.
 
one of my favorite beers to make is the Mac and Jacks African Amber, and the WLP005 is dead on as far as esters and malt flavor, the only problem is that after about 3 months the dry hop aroma goes away. God damnit, I need that Cascade nose, so I started throwing in another ounce of cascade at flame out, and I still dry hop. The S-04 will not steal hop nose or flavor, it's fantastic for IPA's, but as you said lacks a little in the traditional esters, and is more like the 002 that way.
Make an ESB with the 005, ferment around 70-72F, and this yeast will make you remember why you started brewing.
 
I'm actually fermenting quite high - around 74°F, and I just pulled a sample in the interest of this thread. I'm down to 1.014 from 1.047 in two days, and the flavor is VERY clean.

im stuck using s-04 a lot these days (no s-05 and im too cheap for liquid yeast at 4x the price), i fermented around this temp, maybe even a bit lower and just had a carbed glass of it. seems a bit harsh, i believe from the temp. if i ever used it again i would keep it as low as possible..

also, like someone else said, it fermented dry for me. went from 1.049 to 1.009
 
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