yeast to avoid?

AleDave said:

I bought Yorkshire Square because it's from my favorite brewery and reused it in a few different beers. Results tasted fine but the yeast tended to settle easily and I had to give the carbohydrate a shake a few times in the first weeks.

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You know that Tadcaster has to rouse their yeast daily for that exact reason. It's highly flocculent and really drops fast. I've avoided that strain for that reason, but I bet it makes an amazing ale. Not that it's bad, cuz it's not, but because I'm lazy and don't wanna wreck a beer cuz I forgot to rouse the yeast every day. I love Sam'l Smith's beers... check out my profile pics, I have a great li'l tribute I made to them using labels and coasters, it's hanging in my bar room.

us-04 for sure
can't get rid of the sour flavour three months later

wyeast kolsch and cali lager are my favourites so far
us-05 is a nice standby too

thetragichero said:

us-04 for sure
can't get rid of the sour flavour three months later

wyeast kolsch and cali lager are my favourites so far
us-05 is a nice standby too

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I have only used -04 once and have a strong tart flavor in my beer as well. I wasn't sure where it was coming from, and it actually compliments the beer nicely but I won't be using it again on account of subpar attenuation.

I had the same result with us-04 and wb-06. Just a sour flavor that wouldnt go even after 1 month between fermenters, and 4 months bottle conditioning.

I find us-05 works really well for just about any ale, even hefs.

lou2row said:

bread yeast.

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/thread

ColeBeer78 said:

I only had one batch of yeast give me problems.... Nottingham. Never again!

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I use notty frequently, what did it do to you?

TimpanogosSlim said:

I use notty frequently, what did it do to you?

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I am also wondering what the issue is for people with notty...I use it in all my "IPAs" that get above 7%, never an issue, certainly not the dryness someone commented on

Calichusetts said:

I am also wondering what the issue is for people with notty...I use it in all my "IPAs" that get above 7%, never an issue, certainly not the dryness someone commented on

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Dynamite is great. You can use it for construction, demolition, mining... hell, you can even use it for fishing - but if you use it improperly, you can blow off your hand or worse.

Calichusetts said:

I am also wondering what the issue is for people with notty...I use it in all my "IPAs" that get above 7%, never an issue, certainly not the dryness someone commented on

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I guess some people have a different appreciation of dryness. I for one loathe sweet beers. Hand me a fruity lambic and i am looking for an ice cream to drop into it.

But i have never thought of notty as producing an excessively dry brew. More just right.

thetragichero said:

us-04 for sure
can't get rid of the sour flavour three months later

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bottlebomber said:

I have only used -04 once and have a strong tart flavor in my beer as well. I wasn't sure where it was coming from, and it actually compliments the beer nicely but I won't be using it again on account of subpar attenuation.

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sentfromspain said:

I had the same result with us-04 and wb-06. Just a sour flavor that wouldnt go even after 1 month between fermenters, and 4 months bottle conditioning.

I find us-05 works really well for just about any ale, even hefs.

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Try fermenting cooler. 04 is an amazing yeast. Albeit it doesn't attenuate as well as 05, but it's an English yeast and those tend to attenuate less than American yeasts.

I'm a boring brewer. I use US-05 almost exclusively these days because I have a ton of it (half a cake in the fridge and a bunch in fermenters) and it works well without any fuss.

Both times I tried Windor I wasn't pleased with the results. Very poor attenuation.

As far as wine, mead, etc? I like EC-1118 and Montrachet.

NordeastBrewer77 said:

Try fermenting cooler. 04 is an amazing yeast. Albeit it doesn't attenuate as well as 05, but it's an English yeast and those tend to attenuate less than American yeasts.

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+1. 04 is really good at 60-62. Not sure about the tartness others are saying. I find it pretty clean, slightly malty, and just a bit "English". Flocs like crazy too.

TimTrone said:

+1. 04 is really good at 60-62. Not sure about the tartness others are saying. I find it pretty clean, slightly malty, and just a bit "English". Flocs like crazy too.

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It get's 'tart' when you ferment too warm, like many other British yeasts. If you treat it right, it's easily the cleanest of the English yeasts I've used. I think it's amazing fermented anywhere from 58-64 degrees, anything over 66 and it gets really fruit-y and even tart like they were saying. I find that to be true with many British strains. Keep 'em cool or they'll come back to get ya. Ever try 1968 over ~68ish? 1968 is an A+mazing strain of yeast, but if you let it get too warm your beer will taste like butter, and be very tart.

For me any dry yeast (just my preference) and East coast ale too Tart.

Add another to the windsor tally

Also, my experience using Wyeast French Saison 3711 was so much better than what I've heard about regular saison (3724?) that I've never even considered using the original.

Brewenstein said:

For whatever reason I have had bad luck with S-04. Not sure why, but I have been having attenuation and flavor issues (and ferm temps were never above 68*). Won't be using it for the foreseeable future.

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I'm gonna join the I hate S-04 group. I had read so many good things... Ferments quick, flocs out well, etc. etc. I tried it once in an IPA and it just made the most awful, overly yeasty, bread-like taste that overpowered ANY other taste in the beer. Now to be fair my fermentation did get a little warm for a few hours as it was quite vigorous, but it was cooled down quickly, and it doesn't sound like you had much better results fermenting below 68 so I'm just gonna have to say I don't like this yeast at all. Won't try it again...

EDIT: after reading more of the thread it seems like temperature was probably my issue. If you don't have temp control it's probably a good idea to stay away from this one. If you do, it might be ok!

NordeastBrewer77 said:

It get's 'tart' when you ferment too warm, like many other British yeasts. If you treat it right, it's easily the cleanest of the English yeasts I've used. I think it's amazing fermented anywhere from 58-64 degrees, anything over 66 and it gets really fruit-y and even tart like they were saying. I find that to be true with many British strains. Keep 'em cool or they'll come back to get ya. Ever try 1968 over ~68ish? 1968 is an A+mazing strain of yeast, but if you let it get too warm your beer will taste like butter, and be very tart.

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Thanks for this! Tart is my experience with my first two batches. I am working on better temp control but I would not have tried to keep this as cool as you suggested.

The good news is I have been inspired to build a fermentation chamber and plan on a starter for my next batch.

ChessRockwell said:

I'm gonna join the I hate S-04 group. I had read so many good things... Ferments quick, flocs out well, etc. etc. I tried it once in an IPA and it just made the most awful, overly yeasty, bread-like taste that overpowered ANY other taste in the beer. Now to be fair my fermentation did get a little warm for a few hours as it was quite vigorous, but it was cooled down quickly, and it doesn't sound like you had much better results fermenting below 68 so I'm just gonna have to say I don't like this yeast at all. Won't try it again...

EDIT: after reading more of the thread it seems like temperature was probably my issue. If you don't have temp control it's probably a good idea to stay away from this one. If you do, it might be ok!

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Well, at least ya went back and read the thread after posting..... it's all about temp control. If you don't have some way to control and maintain temps, almost every yeast out there is gonna give you a hard time. Granted, some yeasts are cleaner that others at temps over 70, but really, aside from a few strains most ale yeasts work best below 68 (that's beer temp, not ambient), and IME fermenting below 66 is better. With English yeast (s-04 IS English), below 64 is better, IMO.
I'm going to post a few links because it really seems that a lot of brewers are blaming quality yeast for their not knowing about (or using) temp control.

Cheap, simple way to maintain proper temps

Fermenting cool makes good beer

TimpanogosSlim said:

I use notty frequently, what did it do to you?

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It had extremely low attenuation. Didn't finish up the beer. It sat in the Primary for 4 weeks and only reached a F.G. of 1.026. My thermometers were all calibrated, my mash temps were dead on, my O.G. Was spot on, I pitched the correct amount of yeast per mr. Malty, they sat in a fermentation chamber with only 1/2 degree fluctuation in temp.

Did everything right and can't figure out what happened.

ColeBeer78 said:

It had extremely low attenuation. Didn't finish up the beer. It sat in the Primary for 4 weeks and only reached a F.G. of 1.026. My thermometers were all calibrated, my mash temps were dead on, my O.G. Was spot on, I pitched the correct amount of yeast per mr. Malty, they sat in a fermentation chamber with only 1/2 degree fluctuation in temp.

Did everything right and can't figure out what happened.

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Was it extract or AG? If extract, that just happens sometimes. If AG, at what temp(s) did you mash? And what was the recipe, either way?

NordeastBrewer77 said:

Was it extract or AG? If extract, that just happens sometimes. If AG, at what temp(s) did you mash? And what was the recipe, either way?

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Agreed. Either this pack of yeast was dead, or something went horribly wrong with the brew.

thegerm said:

/thread

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Two guys that never made JAOM!

I don't have any in the 'avoid' bucket yet. I know i am not a big fan of phenolic flavor, so i avoid belgian strains. But i think this is another aspect of avoiding yeasts, maybe you just don't like that style, or that yeasts representation of the style. Not the yeasts fault, just not what you're looking for.

First, +1 to Nordeast's opinion on ketchup. Vile stuff. If ketchup makes whatever you're eating taste better, I would explore starvation on a short-term basis.

I didn't like the Chimay yeast, but I didn't like the bottle of Chimay I got it from, so that was no surprise. The same wort, fermented with the Ardennes yeast, was phenomenal. I tried the 3711, and it was fine, but much too clean for my tastes. I've had great luck with the Dupont, but I do live in the eighth circle of hell. T-58 is a never-again for me, but that may be a temp issue. It's just not worth trying again to see if I can get something less-medicinal out of it when my fridge has three other Belgians I'm sure I can trust.

ColeBeer78 said:

It had extremely low attenuation. Didn't finish up the beer. It sat in the Primary for 4 weeks and only reached a F.G. of 1.026.

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Nottingham is extremely flocculant, and it can floc out before finishing.

Also, there was a bad batch a couple years ago, featuring completely dead packets. Since then I've always proofed dry yeast, and always have a packet or two of the ever-reliable US-05 on hand as a backup.

But I use Nottingham a lot, usually with great results.

kingwood-kid said:

I didn't like the Chimay yeast, but I didn't like the bottle of Chimay I got it from, so that was no surprise. The same wort, fermented with the Ardennes yeast, was phenomenal

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I don't mean to stray from the topic, but I just did the same thing, split a dark strong batch between 500 and 550. Just wondering what your fermentation temps were, what kind of beer it was, and what it was about the Chimay strain you didn't like? I've only used it once in a Tripel, which is still pretty young and a little harsh on the alcohol (to be expected) but so far I think I like it. Although for a strain that's supposed to be the most fruity/least spicy I found it pretty high on spicy-ness, which isn't a bad thing for me... What were the other differences you found between the two?

kingwood-kid said:

First, +1 to Nordeast's opinion on ketchup. Vile stuff. If ketchup makes whatever you're eating taste better, I would explore starvation on a short-term basis.

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I know, right?!

Wyeast 1450, Denny's Favorite 50. I did an amber and an APA with it back to back, and it had zero interest. I realized that I want some yeast character in my ales, and I don't like low flocculating clean strains.

Also, I have no idea what people are talking about with the thick creamy mouthfeel from 1450. I don't taste it at all.

ChessRockwell said:

I don't mean to stray from the topic, but I just did the same thing, split a dark strong batch between 500 and 550. Just wondering what your fermentation temps were, what kind of beer it was, and what it was about the Chimay strain you didn't like? I've only used it once in a Tripel, which is still pretty young and a little harsh on the alcohol (to be expected) but so far I think I like it. Although for a strain that's supposed to be the most fruity/least spicy I found it pretty high on spicy-ness, which isn't a bad thing for me... What were the other differences you found between the two?

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I made a pale/amber-ish thing with no late hops so I could see the differences between the yeast. 550 was cleaner, but still very flavorful. The 500 was definitely fruitier, which didn't bother me. The harsh, phenolic, cough syruppy edge did. T-58 had the same problem. All three yeasts were fermented in what I guess would've been the mid-to-high 70s.

tonyolympia said:

Wyeast 1450, Denny's Favorite 50. I did an amber and an APA with it back to back, and it had zero interest. I realized that I want some yeast character in my ales, and I don't like low flocculating clean strains.

Also, I have no idea what people are talking about with the thick creamy mouthfeel from 1450. I don't taste it at all.

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The only unique thing I found about Denny's is that it has remarkably low attenuation