Yeast other than US05

[southsidebrewingco]

Hello all,

Can anybody suggest a good substitute yeast for US-05 either dry or liquid. I recently made an ale using 1pound pilsner dme, 3.3 pounds pilsner lme, 8oz white wheat and 8oz honey wheat (steeped for 20 minutes) 1oz sterling hops and US-05 yeast. Fermentation temp was about 68 degrees for 14 days then I kegged the brew. I have about 14 psi on it for a nicely carbed easy drinking brew. Don't get me wrong its turned out pretty darn good with a nice straw color and pure white head that stays quite well. The reason I ask is that I detect a very slight band aid taste in the beer as I have when I use the 05 in some other brews. I would like make this brew again but with a different yeast to compare the taste. Please give me some suggestions!

 

[Gavin C]

Hello all,

Can anybody suggest a good substitute yeast for US-05 either dry or liquid. I recently made an ale using 1pound pilsner dme, 3.3 pounds pilsner lme, 8oz white wheat and 8oz honey wheat (steeped for 20 minutes) 1oz sterling hops and US-05 yeast. Fermentation temp was about 68 degrees for 14 days then I kegged the brew. I have about 14 psi on it for a nicely carbed easy drinking brew. Don't get me wrong its turned out pretty darn good with a nice straw color and pure white head that stays quite well. The reason I ask is that I detect a very slight band aid taste in the beer as I have when I use the 05 in some other brews. I would like make this brew again but with a different yeast to compare the taste. Please give me some suggestions!

Bandaid flavor is not related to the yeast. It is caused by chlorine and/or chloraminess in your water reacting with the grains to form chlorophenols which are tasted.

Easy to eliminate them.

Campden tablets 1 tablet will treat 20 gallons of most city water supplies.

Reaction to eliminate chorine/chloramine is instantaneous. Cost per 5 G brew is about $0.01

Add to water before any malts are added

Lots of alternatives to US-05 out there. That is not in play with the taste issue.

 

[TheMadKing]

^^ Agreed, treat for chlorine first, but in case you're describing a standard phenolic yeast flavor as "band-aid like", the solution to that is to ferment cooler with U.S. 05. I get a faint phenolic flavor from it in my APA when I ferment above 65 (and that's beer temp, which is always warmer than ambient ferm-chamber temp by a couple degrees). The easiest sub for US-05 is WY1056. I believe they are the same strain, just liquid vs dry.

 

[Atlmustang]

US-05 is a great yeast strain. Really rugged and can overcome a lot compared to other strains. I use it in all my american ales and I have never at all had a problem with it giving off flavors. I have pitched this yeast at 72-78 degrees and ferment it in a dark closet in my basement at 69 degrees. Always comes out consistent regardless of temp.

I agree with the two above. The issue is likely with your water.

 

[mongoose33]

In addition to the comments about water above, I think you're probably also fermenting too warm. Remember, your beer will be warmer than ambient temperature as fermentation is an exothermic process. I see my beer temp rise by 5 degrees or more from fermentation.

So, if you're at ambient temps of, say, 72 degrees, you'll actually have fermentation temps of 77 or higher--which is too warm.

You can cool down using a swamp cooler--very simple to do. Get a large turkey pan from the dollar store. Place fermenter in it, fill the pan with water. Drape an old t-shirt over the fermenter so it extends into the water. It will wick up that water and evaporate, cooling the wort/beer. I usually start by getting mine completely wet and I might dribble some water on it from time to time to keep it cooling.

In my case, it generally drops the temp 5 or 6 degrees or so. Here's a photo showing what my (admittedly inelegant) setup looks like. I have ambient temps around 65 degrees in my basement. By using the swamp cooler I can keep temps there. The Inkbird you see in the background is being used solely to monitor the temp of the wort/beer in the swamp cooler. If you look closely, it reads 64.2 degrees. That's a great temp for S-05.

 

[southsidebrewingco]

The confusing thing is that I use bottled water so that should rule out the chlorine. Maybe im describing the taste wrong. I really want to try a different yeast just so I know for myself. Hell maybe its just me nobody has ever complained about the beers I have let them try. Any other dry yeast that I could give a try?

 

[southsidebrewingco]

This beer was fermentated in an ice bath so im pretty confident that 68 degrees was accurate.

 

[mongoose33]

The confusing thing is that I use bottled water so that should rule out the chlorine. Maybe im describing the taste wrong. I really want to try a different yeast just so I know for myself. Hell maybe its just me nobody has ever complained about the beers I have let them try. Any other dry yeast that I could give a try?

What is your fermentation temp?

 

[TheMadKing]

This beer was fermentated in an ice bath so im pretty confident that 68 degrees was accurate.

You might be sensitive to phenolic flavors like I am. I can taste the slightest hint of them in any beer, when other people call me crazy, and all Belgian beers taste bad to me (plastic-y, or like cooking beans smell)

Another thing you could try is overpitching. This should result in a cleaner flavored fermentation as well.

 

[mattdee1]

I generally like S-05, but I’ve also had some questionable results from it in a simple blonde ale where the beer came out tasting Belgian-ish, almost like a saison. The beer was still good and got enthusiastically consumed, but having yeast flavors like that pop up unplanned is annoying and disappointing. I know it was directly related to the yeast because it was a split batch; the other half was fermented with Bry-97 and came out squeaky clean and crisp.

If you’re looking for alternatives to S-05, you should give Bry-97 a try if you haven’t yet. It’s also a dry yeast, so the convenience factor is maintained. Bry-97 is the closest thing I have to a “house yeast” because I’ve used it so many times now, and never had a result with a yeast-related complaint. The yeast does seem to consistently have an oddly long lag time, which is mildly annoying, but only because I’m impatient.

 

[Kharnynb]

if you prefer a more "english" taste, danstar nottingham is a great dry yeast, I use it for most of my smash and basic pale ales.

 

[Gavin C]

The confusing thing is that I use bottled water so that should rule out the chlorine.

Not if it's bottled municipal water.

Bottled water is a non-specific term and tells us nothing about the chlorine/chloramine content.

If it is not related to chloramine the flavor could be realted to any number of variables in your yeast and fermentation management.

Assuming chloramines/chlorine were not in the water, the likeliest scenario is an overly warm fermentation temperature with a production of unwanted phenolic compounds, fusel alcohols and esters.

As yeasts go, US-05 is a very clean strain imparting minimal yeast derived characteristics to a beer when managed correctly.

Under pitching, pitching warm and fermenting warm are factors which may be in play. These are not strain dependent.

 

[hopbrad]

other dry yeasts for a clean ferment - s04, nottingham.
the most similar liquid yeast is wyeast 1056. there are tons of options for liquid. American or English would be your best bet. my favorite at the moment is Conan. not necessarily neutral compared to s-05, but I love it.
68 is a nice ambient temp to have. Cool-Brew bag is a great cheap investment. or if you have a cooler laying around. an even cheaper route would be to put your carboy in it with water and keep 2-3 frozen liter ice jugs on hand to rotate each morning and night. its only necessary for the first few days of fermentation.
General guideline for no off flavors on most ale strains, get it down to low 60's then on day 3+- letting it go to your ambient of 68 would be ideal.

 

[southsidebrewingco]

I think I will try the BRY 97 just to satisfy my own curiosity. Like i said maybe its just my taste buds giving me trouble. I also will try a lower temp for the first three days and then let it settle out at about 68 degrees. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[mlafnitzegger]

I use Dennys Favorite a lot. It has a nice clean flavor. To add a little tartness I use London III. Both are excellent yeast. Of course they are liquid and best to use a starter. I have used them without a starter but results in a longer fermentation.

Also I ferment at 64...

 

[kh54s10]

68 is a nice ambient temp to have. Cool-Brew bag is a great cheap investment. or if you have a cooler laying around. an even cheaper route would be to put your carboy in it with water and keep 2-3 frozen liter ice jugs on hand to rotate each morning and night. its only necessary for the first few days of fermentation.
General guideline for no off flavors on most ale strains, get it down to low 60's then on day 3+- letting it go to your ambient of 68 would be ideal.

68 ambient is not ideal, unless you do as you stated, start lower and let is slowly rise to 68 as fermentation ends.

At 68 ambient your fermentation temperature could go as high as 78. even 74 degrees could lead to off flavors.

I ferment US-05 at 64-65 degrees. It is a yeast I use a lot when I don't allow time for a starter with liquid yeast.

OP, There are a lot of other yeasts that you could try. Read the descriptions of the flavors produced and pick one. Using only one yeast really limits what you can achieve.

 

[mongoose33]

68 ambient is not ideal, unless you do as you stated, start lower and let is slowly rise to 68 as fermentation ends.

At 68 ambient your fermentation temperature could go as high as 78. even 74 degrees could lead to off flavors.

I ferment US-05 at 64-65 degrees. It is a yeast I use a lot when I don't allow time for a starter with liquid yeast.

OP, There are a lot of other yeasts that you could try. Read the descriptions of the flavors produced and pick one. Using only one yeast really limits what you can achieve.

Whenever we see a thread about what homebrewers did that improved their final product, fermentation temperature control is always right at or near the top of the list.

I try to maintain -05 at exactly the same temps as you; I use a swamp cooler to help keep it there, and it largely does. I'd be pretty unhappy with this if I were exceeding 70 degrees.

The OP kind of glossed over fermentation temps; I suspect he's trying to fix the yeast when it's not really the yeast's fault. Now, if he's not going to make an attempt to control temp, or cannot, then perhaps a different yeast is in order, but then the question should be about yeasts for fermentations where temperatures can't be easily controlled.

 

[PlexVector]

I've had great success with US05. I generaly use two packets and pitch at 68F, and ferment at 62F for first 2-3 days and then ramp up to 68F the rest of the week. then hold at 68F for another week.

If I have time or plan ahead properly I use WLP001 in a starter. I've heard good things about San Diego Super Yeast and hope to try that soon.

 

[southsidebrewingco]

Whenever we see a thread about what homebrewers did that improved their final product, fermentation temperature control is always right at or near the top of the list.

I try to maintain -05 at exactly the same temps as you; I use a swamp cooler to help keep it there, and it largely does. I'd be pretty unhappy with this if I were exceeding 70 degrees.

The OP kind of glossed over fermentation temps; I suspect he's trying to fix the yeast when it's not really the yeast's fault. Now, if he's not going to make an attempt to control temp, or cannot, then perhaps a different yeast is in order, but then the question should be about yeasts for fermentations where temperatures can't be easily controlled.

I don't remember saying that I was attempting to change the yeast whatsoever. I do remember stating that I wanted to try a different yeast to see if I can pick up the same taste that i am detecting. I did not pitch the yeast at a high temp (68 degrees) and i'm pretty confident that a constant 68 degrees during fermentation should be acceptable. Perhaps 65 or 66 degrees will make a difference in the end product but for now I still want to try an experiment with a substitute yeast. My beer is very far from being undrinkable but like all of us we want to see what small changes we can make to improve it.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I would say WLP001 would be the closest yeast to compare with us05..I don't use liquid often but apparently the yeast drops out way faster than us05...Are you sure the taste isn't yeast bite? It has a bitter pretty nasty taste that hides the actual flavor of the beer and us05 yeast takes forever to drop out...just a thought

 

[mongoose33]

I don't remember saying that I was attempting to change the yeast whatsoever. I do remember stating that I wanted to try a different yeast to see if I can pick up the same taste that i am detecting. I did not pitch the yeast at a high temp (68 degrees) and i'm pretty confident that a constant 68 degrees during fermentation should be acceptable. Perhaps 65 or 66 degrees will make a difference in the end product but for now I still want to try an experiment with a substitute yeast. My beer is very far from being undrinkable but like all of us we want to see what small changes we can make to improve it.

Is that what you did, i.e., held it at a constant 68 degrees during fermentation? How did you do that?

If you didn't do something and just let the fermenter sit, then the actual fermentation temp rose 5-10 degrees higher than that.

My ambient temp is about 65 degrees. If I pitch a yeast like S-05 or S-04, fermentation temps will rise to 70 or a bit higher than that. And I suspect if I didn't have the fermenter sitting on a cold concrete floor they'd go higher.

My point--and that of others like KH54S10--is that unless you're actively preventing the fermentation temp from rising, you have another explanation for the flavors you're experiencing. In other words, fermenting too warm. Changing the yeast may not do anything to solve it.