taking suggestions for yeast

[mellofello]

I've been brewing using Weiss amber LME. Three batches each one adjusting the hops. I'm fairly happy with the hops now. Next batch I'd like to try four different yeasts. (I have 4 fermenters, 15 gallon batches) What would you suggest ? I've just been using Munton's ale yeast so far.

I guess to explain further, I figure by keeping the extract and yeast the same til now it helps me compare the different hops. Now if I leave the extract and hops the same and try different yeasts I can get an accurate comparison how the different yeast affects my beer. Once I decide on that maybe I'll fiddle with adding some specialty malts or something. Or start working on a lager or something different.

This may seem a little bone-headed when there are plenty of perfectly good recipes I could just copy, but it seems important for me to better understand how the different ingredients affect my beer and taste it for myself.

 

[djsethall]

+1

Experiment and have fun at it. I like the way you are taking each ingredient seperately and tweeking your flavor profile.

 

[dcp27]

personally I'd move away from muntons yeast, its not the greatest. if you want to stick with dry, how about the fermentis range: S-04, S-05, S-33, and T-58.

http://www.fermentis.com/FO/60-Beer/60-11_product_rangeHB.asp

 

[brewd00d]

i have always had excellent quality from Wyeast with their smack packs. they have a generous line of liquid yeasts with give you a huge variety to choose from.

 

[step]

I think a little insight into the recipe would allow folks to chime with a little more information on why they put "their" particular yeast in "your" wort

 

[ThePearsonFam]

and a feel for what you are looking for in the beer.

 

[mellofello]

I was thinking of Wyeast or White Labs. I wasn't commited to the dry yeast, it just seemed like a cheap way to get started. This fermentis looks very interesting though ! I hadn't heard of it. Thanks for the tips.

It is fun to experiment, I haven't made anything that would win awards yet. But I haven't had any trouble finding people to drink it either !

 

[Wyrmwood]

personally I'd move away from muntons yeast, its not the greatest. if you want to stick with dry, how about the fermentis range: S-04, S-05, S-33, and T-58.

http://www.fermentis.com/FO/60-Beer/60-11_product_rangeHB.asp

Personally, I've had great success with Munton's. For lower to mid gravity beers it works great and is relatively neutral in flavor. If you wanted something similar, but with better attenuation, try Nottingham. The Fermentis yeasts recommended are great yeasts, but are far from neutral. They contribute significantly to flavors. The s04 is a fruity "English" ale yeast, and s33 an t58 are belgian strains, yielding spicy flavors. I've not used the s05, but it is listed as an "American" ale yeast, so would probably be fairly neutral.

I agree with the first responder, experimenting and keeping things simple is a great way to learn and a great way to be able to duplicate results. In the "all grain" world, a similar concept is SMaSH (Single Malt, Single Hop).

Best of luck with it!

 

[step]

Besides the debate of which strain to use you also need to think about pitch rates and temperature control, as one strain can vastly very the characteristics it imparts based on those factors

 

[mellofello]

here's the recipe, sorry it is not in the usual format on these forums. I also have little reminders in it for dummy (me) so I don't forget stuff. lol. I guess what I am going for is a fairly simple ale, along the lines of a Newcastle. well balanced, not overly hoppy or complex tasting. Something you might want to sit and drink a gallon of... any advice or criticism is welcome. I've been happy with my progress so far, but there's tons of room for improvement no doubt about that.


Amber ale

15 gal. water
18 lbs Breiss Amber LME (l.5 gal)
Hops
2 oz. Perle
1 oz. Nugget
1 oz. Vanguard
1 oz. Saaz


Put 18 lbs Breiss Amber LME (l.5 gal) in hot water to loosen.

Clean keggle, stir spoon, immersion chiller, hop bag, thermometer, spoon

Sanitize 4 buckets, lids, and air locks.

Fill keggle 3/4 full of water and bring to a boil. Put immersion chiller in to sterilize.

Turn off flame and add 18 lbs Breiss Amber LME (l.5 gal). You can carefully use the hot water from keggle tap to rinse LME from jugs. turn flame back on after well mixed.

put some wort (12 oz.) in empty LME jug and set in ice bath. When cool add 3/4 teaspoon Super Moss and shake vigourously.

After wort returns to boil add 1 oz. Nugget and 1 oz. Perle.

40 minutes later add Super Moss mixture and stir.

5 minutes later add 1 oz. Perle, 1 oz. Saaz, and 1 oz. Vanguard. 5 minutes later turn off flame.

insert immersion chiller and run until 75 degrees fahrenheit (27 C) or less. remove chiller and stir well.

fill buckets a gallon or two at a time for more consistent mix and slosh back and forth to further mix and aerate. move to fermentation location.

sprinkle one package Munton's yeast in each bucket. attach lid and airlock.

allow minimum of two weeks for fermentation and settling of trub.

boil 2-1/4 cups corn sugar in 6 cups of water and allow to cool.. clean keggle and make 5 gallons of sanitizer in it. drop bottle caps, siphon hose, and stir spoon in sanitizer. use sanitizer to sanitize bottles and dump back in keggle. dump out sanitizer. siphon from buckets into keggle taking care to get as little trub as possible. add sugar solution and stir. fill bottles and allow minimum of one week to condition.

 

[mellofello]

Besides the debate of which strain to use you also need to think about pitch rates and temperature control, as one strain can vastly very the characteristics it imparts based on those factors

I'm lucky to have a counter in the basement which seems to always be about 64 degrees. Moving into summer that may be a problem though. Pitch Rate ? I've been putting one packet of yeast per bucket, the buckets got 3.75 gallons wort each.

 

[step]

My two suggestions would be Wyeast 1332 "Northwest Ale" or Wyeast 1450 "Denny's Favorite" both of which I would ferment on the low side as long as you use a proper pitch rate

 

[step]

Pitch Rate ?

http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

 

[C-Rider]

What I find interesting and strange is experimenting with 15 gallon batches.

 

[mellofello]

Thank you all for the advice and tips. I've posted questions here three or four times, and this forum has never failed to quickly point me in the right direction or give me ideas.

 

[mellofello]

What I find interesting and strange is experimenting with 15 gallon batches.

Let's just say me and my pals are thirstier than yer average blokes. :cross:

 

[tonyolympia]

As a new brewer, I have to say I LOVE this idea. My next learning project was going to be to brew a bunch of recipes out of "Brewing Classic Styles," and maybe I'll still do that, but I also want to try an extract-SMaSH sort of project where only the yeast is varied (along with adjustments in pitching rate and fermenting temps).

To the knowledgable brewers out there: is there a style of ale that is simple enough for this? I.e., one kind of extract and one kind of hops that are flexible enough to allow for yeast experimentation, and yet will get me close to a specific style?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.