Safale US-05 fruity aroma

I was about to post here noting that I was concerned how my last batch that I just moved to the secondary had a fruity odor. I was worried that it might have an infection so I tasted the batch and it tasted fine.

Today, I looked up the characteristics of the Safale US-05 that I used, and see clearly from the web-descriptions that it produces fruity/estery tone during fermentation.

I am not so sure I like the fruity notes it produces-- but this seems to be one of the more popular yeasts out there. Does the fruity tones mellow out as the beer ages?

Assuming your fermentation temperature was in a reasonable range not higher than low 70's than you should be fine. Generally comes out nice and clean like any west coast style IPA you've had. I've used it 20 or so times and learned to rehydrate if your not using a started in order to avoid off flavors. If you have a stir plate and can do a starter than even better.
Cheers

HBC, at what temp did you ferment? Lower fermentation temperatures seem to keep the esters from doing anything too crazy, plus a little bottle conditioning tones it down too. That's been my experience.

Rick

HBC said:

I was about to post here noting that I was concerned how my last batch that I just moved to the secondary had a fruity odor. I was worried that it might have an infection so I tasted the batch and it tasted fine.

Today, I looked up the characteristics of the Safale US-05 that I used, and see clearly from the web-descriptions that it produces fruity/estery tone during fermentation.

I am not so sure I like the fruity notes it produces-- but this seems to be one of the more popular yeasts out there. Does the fruity tones mellow out as the beer ages?

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I personally ran into this with an amber I made. I didn't have time to do a starter with wlp001. There was definitely a slight fruity note and I controlled it at 64 degrees. It wasn't over the top and actually worked well in the amber, but it was there.

I was solid in the 64-66 range with this batch. I think the taste itself rules out most else.

I agree with the comment about it not being over the top, but definitely there.. I think that for a summer ale, the fruity tone would be welcomed. I suppose we need to keep going through the list of yeasts and learning the characteristics of each yeast.

HBC said:

I was solid in the 64-66 range with this batch. I think the taste itself rules out most else.

I agree with the comment about it not being over the top, but definitely there.. I think that for a summer ale, the fruity tone would be welcomed. I suppose we need to keep going through the list of yeasts and learning the characteristics of each yeast.

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For sure. I brew 10 gallon batches so maybe in my next pale ale I'll use wlp001 in one and saf-05 in the other, with a clean hop and see how it turns out.

HBC said:

I was solid in the 64-66 range with this batch. I think the taste itself rules out most else.

I agree with the comment about it not being over the top, but definitely there.. I think that for a summer ale, the fruity tone would be welcomed. I suppose we need to keep going through the list of yeasts and learning the characteristics of each yeast.

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Agreed, more is good when it comes to yeast knowledge. Also I think you'll notice the fruity flavor dissipates quite a bit during bottle conditioning.

Rick

WLP001, S-05, and Wyeast 1056 are all the exact same strain of yeast, just presented differently. Assuming the same pitch rate and temperature, they would perform identically.

I use S-05 frequently, and typically ferment it closer to 58F, and find that it is very neutral at that temp.

If you are fermenting in the 64-66 range, you are really fermenting closer to 67-76 with the exothermic heat from the yeast, so you'd expect some ester production. Cooler is always cleaner. If you want neutral from any Chico yeast, try it closer to 58F.

Ahh.. That would explain a hint of the estery aroma with my near 70's temps (if estery is even a real word-- it is today). I suppose it is probably best suited for a lager.

What yeast should I try next? I want something that can ferment well in the room temp range of 65-70 degrees without ester or fruit tones. I like nutty flavors, and mellow woody tones as well.

All sorts of opinions on this that I have read, some claim peachy fruity tones at lower temps and better more neutral results at around 68, I have been pleased fermenting 05 a bit warmer, YMMV but also a tasting early in the process will be different than a properly aged brew.

The odd thing is that this is somewhat couterintuitive, S04 yeast will throw esters at higher temps and be more neutral around 60, yet some claim 05 does very well in the higher 60's rather than the low 60's.

What type of hops did you use, and what style of beer did you brew? If you used any citrusy hops, you might be smelling those. The only time I notice fruitiness from yeast is at the higher temp ranges (or if that yeast is known for fruitiness; i.e. WLP500).

I used Challenger hops and was shooting for an IPA. Although the finished fermented product did NOT taste hoppy enough despite my calculations of IBU in the 48-range. I think it was too balanced with the malt level...but that is a different issue I am dealing with.

feel free to comment on how fruity that you think Challenger hops are...that could be the culprit.

backpedal a bit..I forgot to mention that I used the same yeast in my last batch that is in the fermenter now. It is just a simple American Ale. It had those fruity tones too when I opened the lid for a gravity test... that is when I also made the connection to the yeast being the culprit. And that ale has been in the 64-66 range consistently.

TopherM said:

WLP001, S-05, and Wyeast 1056 are all the exact same strain of yeast, just presented differently. Assuming the same pitch rate and temperature, they would perform identically.

I use S-05 frequently, and typically ferment it closer to 58F, and find that it is very neutral at that temp.

If you are fermenting in the 64-66 range, you are really fermenting closer to 67-76 with the exothermic heat from the yeast, so you'd expect some ester production. Cooler is always cleaner. If you want neutral from any Chico yeast, try it closer to 58F.

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In my case the ambient air is in the 50's and my temp is controlled with a thermowell and a thermometer that updates every 5 minutes. The beer temp was maintained between 63-64 and the slight frutiness was definitely noticeable, not overpowering, but noticeable. I know they're the same strain but I never had this with wlp001 and actually not even with s-05, in past beers. I have a pale ale going now with s-05, so I'll look for it again.

Still learning; if I have a sticky thermometer on the shell of my fermenter, is this not the actual temp of the liquid inside? That is what I am gauging my temp on.

Secondly, I have chosen this area (in my kitchen) to keep the fermenter since it keeps in that range. I have MUCH more area in rooms where upper 50's and lower 60's are constant. My cellar is 52-degrees and I assume that will stall the yeast there or make it more suitable for a lager??

US-05 is known to give off peachy esters in the low 60s, I have heard that Wyeast1056 does too but much less pronounced.

HBC said:

I used Challenger hops and was shooting for an IPA. Although the finished fermented product did NOT taste hoppy enough despite my calculations of IBU in the 48-range. I think it was too balanced with the malt level...but that is a different issue I am dealing with.

feel free to comment on how fruity that you think Challenger hops are...that could be the culprit.

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Challenger is an English variety, and I think it's a bit fruity but not overly so.

On a side note about your IPA, unless you are going for an English IPA I would use some of the American "C" hops and up the IBUs by about 20. 48 is more in the Pale Ale range IMO. Also do plenty of late addition hops if you want it to taste more hoppy.

I did do an addition recently with some dry hops.. I figured I would let those sit for a while and see if that adds some aroma/hoppy tones. But again, I added fuggles--- not the C style you indicated. I am just experimenting and having fun. I should probably just call it beer, until I know what the heck I am doing.

US-05 has produced clean tasting ales for me when fermented between 58F and 68F. This is the actual fermentation temperature, not ambient temperature. There are fruity aromas during fermentation, but the finished product always has a nice clean ale flavor. US-05 and WLP001 are my go to yeast for any ale with low yeast character, but I prefer US-05 for the simple fact that I don't need to make a starter to get great results. I just make sure to rehydrate, aerate well, and pitch the right amount? I'll sometimes get somewhat of a fruity flavor in a young beer with US-05, but it is gone after 3-4 weeks in the bottle. I make blondes, pale ales, stouts, IPA's, and IIPA's with US-05. There is enough malt and hop character to cover up yeast flavors, so I'm not sure how a light tasting beer would come out. Some people on here say low-gravity or lighter beers fermented with US-05 may end up with fruity flavors, so that's something to consider as well.

If you find that your finished beer has a fruity flavor that is not going away, then I suggest finding a way to lower the fermentation temperature a bit the next time, or maybe increase your other ingredients to mask the yeast flavor. I don't have experience with other ale yeast that may be considered clean, so I don't know if you can get an ale cleaner than this. It seems like many people use US-05 and get a nice clean finished beer. See here and here

edit: I responded before reading the second page and knowing what style of beer you were making. It seems like the beer you've made with US-05 would be normal to higher gravity beers with plenty of malt and hop flavor already.

julioardz said:

if you find that your finished beer has a fruity flavor that is not going away, then i suggest finding a way to lower the fermentation temperature a bit the next time

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