Non-IPA for Lalbrew Verdant
- Thread starter Pehlman17
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
conlun
Member
Verdant is essentially London Ale III, so most english styles would work. Personally apart from NEIPAs I’ve used it in Best Bitters with good effect.
moreb33rplz
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2014
- Messages
- 667
- Reaction score
- 335
Just finished a bitter made with verdant, it was excellent
I do not like it in bitters, way to overpowering fruityness. This is just too much for a bitter which should be well balanced. This fruitsalad condition works well in american ipas, apas and also quite well in tropical stouts.
FloppyKnockers
Well-Known Member
I've tried it on a recipe I use for lagers. Turned out surprisingly good.
Unfortunately, it is.
Yeah I tried Verdant mixed with the more neutral Mangrove Jack's M42 to tame it a bit.
But it was still that tropical bubblegum flavour that just invades all the other flavours.
But it was still that tropical bubblegum flavour that just invades all the other flavours.
How would Verdant pair with both hops and some darker crystal malts? I was considering brewing up a sort of old-school hoppy American amber (something like Stone Levitation Ale for anyone who remembers that beer). I've been going back and forth between trying Verdant with it or going with something more clean/neutral like Notty. Thoughts?
As long as it is American hop forward, I would think it should work pretty well.
It's the only good UK dry strain in terms of the critical esters that I think are the hallmark of a good UK strain.
I'm not knocking SO-4, Nottingham, or Windsor, they're nice yeast, but they don't make what most describe as the "orange marmalade" fruity flavor that Verdant can make. Those other dry strains are either much, much more clean or more bready than fruity.
I've used Verdant in traditional milds, bitters, browns, and brown porters that I enjoyed. The first sachet that I used refused to clear on a well-proven recipe. That put me off for a while, but two subsequent pitches behaved as expected, clearing quickly with finings. It's a fully functional UK strain in a dry form factor. It's the miracle strain that we've been begging for for decades!
With that praise out of the way, while Verdant delivers the goods, it's kinda subdued. It's the best UK dry strain, not the best UK option. I much prefer WY1469, Imperial's Pub, or WY1968 for serious UK low-gravity work. That said, I plan to make a UK IPA this winter with Verdant. I think its milder flavor and greater attenuation will be ideal in a Burton-style IPA.
Lastly, I haven't really explored how to use Verdant in the same way that decades of experience have taught me to intimately know '69 and the Fullers strain. Frankly, I haven't seen the point. I'm able to get a year's worth of work out of either of the wet strains and UK yeast is super easy use, so Verdant isn't solving a problem for me. It's cool to have available, but it's not solving a major problem in the same way that dry lager yeast solve the gigantic starter problem.
I'm sure that if Verdant was my only option I could make better traditional UK beers with it, but with '69 and Pub widely available and easy to use, I don't see the point in investing the time.
It's a good yeast, not a great yeast, that doesn't solve a problem.
I'm not knocking SO-4, Nottingham, or Windsor, they're nice yeast, but they don't make what most describe as the "orange marmalade" fruity flavor that Verdant can make. Those other dry strains are either much, much more clean or more bready than fruity.
I've used Verdant in traditional milds, bitters, browns, and brown porters that I enjoyed. The first sachet that I used refused to clear on a well-proven recipe. That put me off for a while, but two subsequent pitches behaved as expected, clearing quickly with finings. It's a fully functional UK strain in a dry form factor. It's the miracle strain that we've been begging for for decades!
With that praise out of the way, while Verdant delivers the goods, it's kinda subdued. It's the best UK dry strain, not the best UK option. I much prefer WY1469, Imperial's Pub, or WY1968 for serious UK low-gravity work. That said, I plan to make a UK IPA this winter with Verdant. I think its milder flavor and greater attenuation will be ideal in a Burton-style IPA.
Lastly, I haven't really explored how to use Verdant in the same way that decades of experience have taught me to intimately know '69 and the Fullers strain. Frankly, I haven't seen the point. I'm able to get a year's worth of work out of either of the wet strains and UK yeast is super easy use, so Verdant isn't solving a problem for me. It's cool to have available, but it's not solving a major problem in the same way that dry lager yeast solve the gigantic starter problem.
I'm sure that if Verdant was my only option I could make better traditional UK beers with it, but with '69 and Pub widely available and easy to use, I don't see the point in investing the time.
It's a good yeast, not a great yeast, that doesn't solve a problem.
Last edited:
I don't know. To my palate, verdant has nothing to do with typical English esters. It tastes to me what an American idea of English esters would probably taste like, fruit salad on steroids. During my five years living the UK I haven't had any beer in the pubs that would go into the direction of verdant.
I really like verdant though, just not for English beers. If I use it in a bitter, I only copitch it with something neutral like Nottingham. 70%, notti and at max 30% verdant and the fruit salad is a bit more in the background.
Could work this way in a modern English bitter which showcases American hops very well. But for the classic cask bitters with noble hops like Golding's, this yeast is not suitable if you ask me.
I made a pale ale with Verdant. It was a fruit salad; almost to the point of cloying.
PizzaPapa
Member
It works great in stouts, especially ones like Oatmeal Stouts or Milk Stouts - ones where you want some residual body and sweetness. Probably would work out great in a London Brown Ale. The main thing to remember is just to ferment on the colder side and you won't get a fruity ester bomb. While it's literally named "Verdant IPA Yeast", it's more a marketing thing and works great in pretty much any "British" style beer and is how I tend to think of it more than anything.
I was thinking when I try it to aim for around 66F. Does that sound pretty good for this strain?
Beerstein
Well-Known Member
I pitched a stout on top of a verdant yeast cake that was used for IPA.
