Choosing a dry yeast

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jldc

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Obviously there are a lot of liquid yeasts to choose from. OTOH there seem to be only 4-5 strains of dried yeast that are commonly used or mentioned in recipes.

What would make me pick Nottingham over Windsor or S-05, S-04, etc?

As a specific example, I'm going to brew a second batch of BierMuncher's Blonde. This will be a PM version. In my first go, an extract version, I used Nottingham. It turned out fine, really nice and was gone before I hardly got to try it. I'm probably going to stick to Nottingham, but I have Windsor and S-05 available.
 
Mostly you would choose one over the other for its flavor profile, and attenuation properties. As an example, I like US-05 for a drier/cleaner finish, and I use Notty if I want a little residual sweetness, and some yeast flavors imparted into the brew. Notty and US-04 seem to be quite a bit alike to me. I think that the US-04 flocs better than Notty though. But that is just my opinion, and not scientifical in any way.

Ant
 
I use dry yeasts a lot.Ther are getting to be a bunch of them out there all with specific brew styles they are intended for.I'm gonna leave you a link that will show some of them and describe what they are used for.The Windsor you have will make a much fruitier tasting beer than s-05 or Notty which are more crisp in flavor.
Dried Yeast :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies
I've personally used s-05,s-04,s-33,s-23lager,Notty.
 
I use dry yeasts a lot.Ther are getting to be a bunch of them out there all with specific brew styles they are intended for.I'm gonna leave you a link that will show some of them and describe what they are used for.The Windsor you have will make a much fruitier tasting beer than s-05 or Notty which are more crisp in flavor.
Dried Yeast :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies
I've personally used s-05,s-04,s-33,s-23lager,Notty.

Here's another link; NORTHERN BREWER: Dried Yeast

I regularly use Notty and S05

My last several beers;

Pub Ale: Safale - 04
American Wit: Safebrew T-58
Helles: Saflager - 23
Cream Ale: Safale -05
 
Safale US-05 is my go-to yeast for american-style ales, Nottingham is a close second and I consider those two almost interchangeable. Given the choice I lean towards the 05 for some reason but I can't really taste much difference between the two.

Safale S-04 is more of an english style, leaves the beer just a little sweeter and fruitier. I've had great luck with it as well, and it flocculates like crazy when it's done giving you nice clear beer. Smells like bubblegum to me while fermenting.

I've only used Windsor one time. Honestly I didn't really know what I was doing at the time and it didn't fit the profile of the beer I was making at the time, and it did not finish near as low as I wanted it to. I wasn't impressed so I haven't used it since but IMO it's more comparable to S04 IMO, but even sweeter and fruitier.
 
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