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STLRAB

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I just brewed and bottled my first two batches of beer using Mr. Beer barrells and modified MB recipes which are below. I used the MB yeast that came with the HME. I am going to brew to more batches of the same but want to use different yeast to see the difference in taste if any. Want to use dry yeast since I am an FNG to brewing. Any suggestions?

LB OktoBier Fest
1 can MB Oktoberfest HME
20 oz. Bavarian Wheat DME *
¼ oz. Hallertau pellet hops*

LB Bavarian Bronze
1 can MB Oktoberfest HME
1 lb Golden Light DME*
1 Full pouch MB Booster
¼ oz Hallertau pellet hops*

Thanks in advance
 
Most dry yeasts are fairly neutral as far as the yeast's flavor contribution to the brew. At best, you'll get a very subtle fruity ester from dry yeasts like S-05, S-04, Nottingham, etc.. You really need to get into the specialty liquid yeasts if you want to get a noticible flavor contribution to the beer, and even then not many beer styles are known for the yeast's flavor contribution.

I'd go with a 1007 German Ale yeast for the OktoBier Fest, and the 1028 London Ale for the Bavarian Bronze.
 
It all depends what you want to brew. I can relate to wanting to start with dry yeast and I think you can get some decent be it limited dry yeast to make some good beer. They make a dry yeast from safale called us-05 which is a pretty neutral strain it's good for beers like pale ales- ipa- American browns think beers which the flavor comes mostly from Malts or hops. They also make S-04 which is a English strain think esb-English browns etc. I like this strain it had a subtle but definite yeast contribution. There are a lot more dry yeasts like Belgian profiles - Us-06 for wheat beers which the yeast definitely will contribute to flavor as well as a few lager strains though I was never fond of them. Best of luck.
 
You will get better results with either Fermentis or Danstar dry yeasts than with the Mr. Beer yeasts - good choice!

For the top beer, with the Wheat DME, if you want to try something like a German weiss beer, you could ferment it Danstar's Munich yeast. It should give you esters and banana flavors typical of a German weiss beer, and perhaps leave your beer a little hazy. http://www.danstaryeast.com/products/munich-wheat-beer-yeast

For either beer, you could try Danstar's Nottingham yeast, a versatile yeast that will provide a cleaner yeast profile, especially if fermented in the low 60s F. http://www.danstaryeast.com/products/nottingham-ale-yeast

Good luck!
 
Thank you all for the info. Obviously very green when it comes to brewing but want to soak in as much as I can for I am hooked.
 
I think I'm going to go with the Safale S05. With me using the MB barrel which is only 2 - 2.5 gallons do I use the entire pac or just half since most recipes are for 5 gallons?
 
I think I'm going to go with the Safale S05. With me using the MB barrel which is only 2 - 2.5 gallons do I use the entire pac or just half since most recipes are for 5 gallons?

If you can precisely control your fermentation temps, I'd pitch the whole pack of US-05 @ 64*F and let it run for a week around 62*F. then bring it up to 66-68 to finish over the following two weeks.

If you can't, and are stuck doing it around 70*F, you can pitch half of it in to one batch, tape the packet closed and put it in a sanitized ziplock in the fridge.
 
A Safale T-58 European Ale is decent in Oktoberfest style beers ;).


And don't let anyone tell you that there is anything wrong with dry yeast. It works as well or better than liquid. They just don't have as many styles ;)
 
And don't let anyone tell you that there is anything wrong with dry yeast. It works as well or better than liquid. They just don't have as many styles ;)

It's certainly less involved to get the necessary cell count.

I've been using dry so far, but there are some styles I am planning for later this year that will get liquid. Third in line on my mental brew list is doing a schwarzbier or maybe even a bock (since I'm now set up to cold condition). I'll very likely use liquid w/ starter for those (the bock for sure) and have been messing with my DIY stirplate project with that in mind.

Right now, I have a pack each of US-05, S-04, Windsor and Nottingham in the fridge. I figure I can cover a good many ales with those four.
 
STLRAB said:
I think I'm going to go with the Safale S05. With me using the MB barrel which is only 2 - 2.5 gallons do I use the entire pac or just half since most recipes are for 5 gallons?

It depends in the gravity of the beer. Check out the calculator on www.mrmalty.com input all your variables and it will tell you how many grams of yeast you should use. Under pitching AND over pitching can both cause off flavors and issues.
 
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