US-05 too dry for me. suggestions?

I like the many good qualities of US-05 but I wish it was a bit less attenuative and produced an ale that was slightly sweeter. My ales just seem too dry. Do you have any other dry yeast suggestions?

Dang....My first comment was "Hydrate it!"

Try s-04 or Windsor. You'll get fruity...but you'll also get less attinuation.

If you are an AG brewer, controlling your mash temp and time will help make a maltier beer with the same yeast. If you're doing extract....add more.

S-04 doesn't attenuate as much, and does produce some fruity esters. It's my favorite for most English style bitters.

Windsor attenuates even less, and is fruitier still...too much for my taste, but it may suit your needs.

Are you brewing extract or all grain? If the latter, try increasing your mash temps.

I'm all grain and mostly make west coast style ales from pale through amber and red to porter.

raise your mash temp by about 5 degrees, and mash for a SHORT period of time. It'll convert the sugars, but leave more unfermentable "Complex" carbs that will help with body too.

BigKahuna
I'm mashing between 155 and 158 now. I'm getting OG's between 55 and 60 that should result in a full bodied ale with 5.5 to 6 ABV but they just don't seem to have the body, mouthfeel that I want and I think it is because my beer is too dry. They seem thin but the numbers are there so I'm thinking that US-05 is just too drying. Maybe using US-04 or Nottingham would solve my problem. I feel like I am on the verge of great West coast style Ale but not quite.

Shorten to a 45 minute mash.

at 158, you'll convert in like 20 minutes....(Iodine Test) and then give it another 20. Should leave ya a nice malty Beer.

Beerbeque said:

BigKahuna
I'm mashing between 155 and 158 now. I'm getting OG's between 55 and 60 that should result in a full bodied ale with 5.5 to 6 ABV but they just don't seem to have the body, mouthfeel that I want and I think it is because my beer is too dry. They seem thin but the numbers are there so I'm thinking that US-05 is just too drying. Maybe using US-04 or Nottingham would solve my problem. I feel like I am on the verge of great West coast style Ale but not quite.

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What kind of FG's are you getting with US-05?
Typically, notty takes my FG's lower than US-05, so I probably would shy away from that one if I was you (personally, I love notty though)

Also, have you checked your thermometer recently?
I had one that was reading high, and hence I was mashing at lower temps that I thought.
I had a couple of beers finish at 1.006!

Definitely check that thermometer. Mashing up there ought to leave you with 1.020 FGs.

Beerbeque said:

BigKahuna
I'm mashing between 155 and 158 now. I'm getting OG's between 55 and 60 that should result in a full bodied ale with 5.5 to 6 ABV but they just don't seem to have the body, mouthfeel that I want and I think it is because my beer is too dry. They seem thin but the numbers are there so I'm thinking that US-05 is just too drying. Maybe using US-04 or Nottingham would solve my problem. I feel like I am on the verge of great West coast style Ale but not quite.

Click to expand...

Ok then send a recipe and we'll see what is going on. You should have plenty of sugar and less alcohol at 156.5F. Nottingham is better than s05 for less dryness and s04 is less yet. Then of course there is always oatmeal.

The best solution is to use the proper yeast with the proper mash temperature - agreed.

But, if you want to save your beer, you need to add some sweetness. You don't have to use maltodextrin, but that is an option. You can use simple cane sugar or honey. The key is to keep the beer cold after you add sugar, because the yeast will wake up and ferment it if the beer warms. I recently brewed a very hoppy brown ale with an O.G. 1.075 (McDole's recipe) and used Nottingham dry yeast. My mash temp was 153F. The F.G. was 1.008! All I could taste was bitter hops. Really hoppy beers need some sugar to provide balance. I added just 1/2 cup of honey (boiled with water first) to the keg and completely saved the beer.

You can use your brewing software of choice to calculate how much your addition will add to the specific gravity. BTW 8 liquid oz of honey weighs 12 oz.

In the future, if I use Nottingham, I will mash at a higher temperature. On the other hand, if I use S-04 I will mash quite low.