US-05 Fan Club

[neumann]

I don't know if there is a US-05 fan club but if there is, sign me up. I'm sitting next to an American amber ale and it sounds like it might get up and run away at any minute. I liked the way WLP001 worked but US-05 seems like it's way more powerful (part of that could be my lack of a started with 001 but that's part of the appeal of US-05). I will have to wait and see how it turns out but all US-05 may become my new go-to yeast for all of my American styles.

 

[goose1873]

+1... i love us-05...if you like apa's--- its a must have

 

[Pappers_]

I've got a light american ale and a wheat pale ale that I used US-05 for and they both turned out very well.

 

[kyleobie]

+1 on 05. I like it better than Nottingham. It seems like you can go higher with the fermentation temps and still get a really clean beer - which is perfect for my apartment situation. Sign me up for the club.

 

[bob1852]

agreed. US-05 is my go to dry yeast for American Pale Ale's and IPAs.

 

[oldschool]

I'm going to use it for the first time this weekend. Actually my first time using dry yeast at all. I'm going with dry because i hate making starters and one packet of yeast is 2.75. no brainer to me.

 

[dunnright00]

So no starter huh? Do you hydrate it?

 

[bob1852]

So no starter huh? Do you hydrate it?

making a starter for dry yeast is not needed. just follow the directions on the package.

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

Just pour the packet in, and be sure to hook up your blow-off tube. At 24 hours I had a tower of krauzen out of the fermentation lock.

 

[weirdboy]

US-05 is one usually my yeast of choice for American style beers.

I usually hydrate but you can sprinkle it in, too. You'll just get a bit more lag.

 

[bgough]

Sign me up as well! It just took my 1.081 Black IIPA down to 1.015 in 5 days at 68*.

Great yeast. I always re-hydrate it though because I think it starts faster.

 

[rcm_rx7]

Just converted from Notty to US-05 after my last batch. I still love Notty but I was really impressed with US-05, and the beer is the best I've made yet.

 

[BobBailey]

Try racking onto a US-05 cake. I've had active fermentation in as little as 10 to 15 minutes. Also ferments cleaner and attenuates better the second or third use.

 

[Beerrific]

I have used US-05 a lot. It has its advantages (as listed here), but it has disadvantages also. I tend to pick-up some weird aromas from this yeast. But it drops out after some cold conditioning. It also does not drop clear as fast as wlp001. But again, after some cold conditioning it will drop clear. If I could get the convenience of the US-05 (no starter, better shelf life) with the quality of the liquid (faster, cleaner fermentation), I would be very happy.

 

[kyleobie]

I started sprinkling instead of rehydrating and didn't notice much of a difference in lag time. It got going in well under 24 hours and took my latest APA down to 1.010. Anyway, great yeast!

 

[daveyohill]

Another S-05 fan here. I've used it for my last three all grain beers after using S-04 for the past year. I love it. The last beer was a 1.056 American Brown that I pitched on an S-05 cake from a 1.060 APA. This took off really quick. I left it in primary for two weeks and after three weeks bottled it is just the tastiest cleanest beer I've made. I know there has been a lot of dialogue lately about pitching on prior yeast cakes but results are all I care about.

 

[goose1873]

Try racking onto a US-05 cake. I've had active fermentation in as little as 10 to 15 minutes. Also ferments cleaner and attenuates better the second or third use.

I disagree...I agree with reusing but think it is worth the 10 minutes and clean the fermenter. Also a yeast cake contains way more yeast then are needed and overpitching is not always a good thing. Typically 8oz of unwashed yeast slurry (or ~250 billion cells) is plenty.

 

[smizak]

I wanna be in the club!!!

Seriously, I've heard people complain about the weird esters with US-05, and I've yet to ever see (smell) it. I've entered plenty of my beers into competitions too, and I've always had comments like "very clean", "well fermented", etc. from judges, so I don't think it's me not perceiving it.

I've started to notice a trend with the "ester" and US-05 combined with "fermenting cool" in a couple of posts. I wonder if the yeast at cool temps is not metabolizing some ester pre-cursor that at high 60's doesn't make into the final beer.

 

[Scooby_Brew]

I decided to go all US-05 when I got tiered of spending $40-$50 for a 5 gal batch of home brew. I developed a bunch of recipes with US-05, starting from Cream Ale through American Wheat, APA, IPA, American Stout, American Brown, Amber, Barley Wine, etc. This way I reuse the yeast and a pack of US-05 lasts me for 6-10 5 gal batches of totally different brews.
Amazingly enough, you can also brew all those different styles of beer with just 2-3 types of hops, so you can save some more mullah by buying hops in bulk.
Today I go to my LHBS and spend ~ $35 on grains for a 10 gal batch and call it a day. .

 

[wilserbrewer]

Today I go to my LHBS and spend ~ $35 on grains for a 10 gal batch and call it a day. .

Agreed, nice job, now tomorrows project is to buy bulk malt and you will see about $15 more in your wallet.

 

[goose1873]

I agree...bulk hops (hops direct) ~.90 cents/oz. 55lb 2-row ~.90 cents/lb yeast wash and re-pitch (get about 10 batches per vial) ~.50cents per batch...dme for starter $.50/batch so...misc adjuncts ~1.50 per batch (or more)

5 gallons = about $12-14 depending on style...(of course time, propane, CO2 add a little...) still not bad though

 

[pilotdane]

Has anyone done a good, detailed comparison between S-04 and S-05? I've used S-05 quite a bit and love it but I don't have nearly as much experience with 04.

 

[smizak]

Totally different yeasts. S-04 attenuates less and is far more estery than US-05. Makes a good beer, but is not crisp like US-05, will leave a beer a little sweeter and more yeast character. S-04->English ales US-05->American ales.

 

[humann_brewing]

definitely great for a summer time yeast when you don't want to order liquid to be shipped in 100F weather

 

[bdnoona]

I love S-05. APA and IPA lover's perfect yeast. Why did the price go up so much though? I get charged $3 per 11.5g packet now.

 

[DFoster]

I'm a huge fan of S-05...its awesome out of the packet or washed. I really don't see myself straying from that yeast very often.

 

[samc]

I love S-05. APA and IPA lover's perfect yeast. Why did the price go up so much though? I get charged $3 per 11.5g packet now.

Because liquid yeast is so much more and they figure they should close the gap.

 

[bradjoiner]

definatly a fermentis fan in general i use us-05 more than most but love to use the s-33 when ever it fits all aroundtheir yeasts are easy to use and effective

 

[permo]

I love it too! If you like US-05 you owe it to yourself to get your hands on some rogue pacman....... nottingham is my go to yeast, followed by pacman and US-05.

Belgian beers are a whole different story!

 

[eanmcnulty]

I have been using US-05 exclusively for the past six or seven batches. It is clean; it is inexpensive, and all I do is rehydrate it, but I don't know if I even need to do that. So many of you tell of just tossing it in dry.

Oh, I do have question: At what gravity point would I want to double pitch US-05? I figure at 230 million cells I'm good to 1.070 or so and probably higher. Does anyone have a recommendation?

Thanks

 

[bendavanza]

Most of my beers are 1.060 or higher and I typically drop 2 packs of US-05 in. I am a happy brewer. But the price increase $3+ made me take another look at Nottingham.

 

[Brewman79]

Its the ONLY dry yeast ill use

 

[smizak]

Most of my beers are 1.060 or higher and I typically drop 2 packs of US-05 in. I am a happy brewer. But the price increase $3+ made me take another look at Nottingham.

That irks me. Tell me they didn't start to gouge us when the Nottingham problem popped up? Grrr....

IMO, Nottingham mutes the hop character too much for my American ales. So I'm stuck with the $3+ US-05.

 

[jjones17]

definatly a fermentis fan in general i use us-05 more than most but love to use the s-33 when ever it fits all aroundtheir yeasts are easy to use and effective

I too love us-05. I tried notty after hearing all these raving reviews, and after 2 beers with no fermentatino after 84 hours I will never use again.

Now, you mention s-33 which I feel is often underappreciated. I love s-33, in fact I often use it in place of us-05 when I am looking for a slightly different character. I made an amarillo APA with S-33, and it was by far the best beer I have ever made (all gone now).

On topic, has anyone tried using HALF the packet of US-05 and saving the other half for a second brew? I do this and it works great. Of course, only on the 1.060 or lower beers. Half a packet of cells is PLENTY, imo.

 

[Doog_Si_Reeb]

US-05 saved my Arrogant Bastard clone when Pacman stalled! I think I let the temps get too low and Pacman gave up leaving the gravity at 1.040. I pitched a packet of US-05 to see if it could help and it took the gravity right down to ~1.013. I love using US-05 for APA and IPA. It's nice and neutral and works like a charm. It has replaced Nottingham in my home brewery.

 

[humann_brewing]

US-05 saved my Arrogant Bastard clone when Pacman stalled! I think I let the temps get too low and Pacman gave up leaving the gravity at 1.040. I pitched a packet of US-05 to see if it could help and it took the gravity right down to ~1.013. I love using US-05 for APA and IPA. It's nice and neutral and works like a charm. It has replaced Nottingham in my home brewery.

what temp were you at with the Pacman and what was your starting OG and did you make a starter?

I have used pacman at 60F with no troubles, it's a monster.

 

[permo]

what temp were you at with the Pacman and what was your starting OG and did you make a starter?

I have used pacman at 60F with no troubles, it's a monster.

I wonder about your temps too....I just had pacman take a 1.091 IIPA down to 1.010 at 60 degrees in about 7 days...