Chico (US-05, 1056) and perceived peach flavor and aroma

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BrewNow

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I am trying to troubleshoot a flavor and aroma perception in my A-IPA using Chico yeast. I’m smelling and tasting peach and slight citrus. It is strong with US-05 and less so with 1056…but still there.

My pitching rate follows Mr. Malty guidelines and I always wash my yeast between batches. As for pitching temp - 57-62F. I let it rise to 63-64F and hold that temp range until krausen drops. Once ferment activity slows, I raise the temp 1 degree/day until I hit 68F to help clean up and get full attenuation. Hold 68F for about 3-5 days then slowly lower back down to 57-62F. The batches sit on primary for total of 4 weeks.

Does anyone have a different approach to ferment temps? I know in Brewing Classic Styles, most of the recipes using the Chico strain ferment at 67F. So I’m wondering if that will push back some of the esters I perceive in my beers?
 
That's pretty common with S05. If you want to avoid any hint of "peachy", you could just use a different yeast strain or try starting it a bit warmer.

I've noticed that S05 gets peachier at lower temperatures. I find it's easier to use a different strain when I want a really "clean" ale yeast at that temperature. I often use Wyeast's pacman yeast when I want a very clean finish at 62 degrees.
 
I get Pear... Some folks don't seem to taste it? I've only use liquid now w/starter and it goes away
 
i get peach/apricot with that strain at low temps, more so with 05, but it's still there with 1056 (never tried WL yeast). like Yooper said, warmer temps (~68) should limit that greatly, especially with 1056.
 
I’ve definitely noticed some fruity (I wouldn’t necessarily call it peachy, just an overall fruitiness) smell and taste with US-05 in a blonde ale I made. I split the pitching on that batch with notty, and didn’t notice fruitiness as much from the other fermentor. I never really thought anything of it, but the ferment was probably near 62, so everyone’s else’s experience corroborates my findings.

I kinda liked it though (its always fun convincing people that you don’t fruit your beers, except when they claim it taste like apples!), and wouldn’t mind it at all in an American IPA, especially if you were going for a West Coast style. What kind of hopping did you do BrewNow?
 
Strange. I use US-05 in a lot of my beers, and I've never noticed any esters. It's always seemed to be very clean to me.
 
i get peach/apricot with that strain at low temps, more so with 05, but it's still there with 1056 (never tried WL yeast). like Yooper said, warmer temps (~68) should limit that greatly, especially with 1056.

Just went downstairs to bump up my temp! I will try starting a little warmer on the next go-around.
 
I’ve definitely noticed some fruity (I wouldn’t necessarily call it peachy, just an overall fruitiness) smell and taste with US-05 in a blonde ale I made. I split the pitching on that batch with notty, and didn’t notice fruitiness as much from the other fermentor. I never really thought anything of it, but the ferment was probably near 62, so everyone’s else’s experience corroborates my findings.

I kinda liked it though (its always fun convincing people that you don’t fruit your beers, except when they claim it taste like apples!), and wouldn’t mind it at all in an American IPA, especially if you were going for a West Coast style. What kind of hopping did you do BrewNow?

For the latest batch (and the next one) I followed:
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 oz. Warrior Pellet 16.00 60.7 60 min.
1.00 oz. Centennial Pellet 10.50 8.0 10 min.
1.00 oz. Simcoe Pellet 13.00 8.2 5 min.
1.00 oz. Citra Pellet 10.00 0.0 0 min.
 
Just went downstairs to bump up my temp! I will try starting a little warmer on the next go-around.

FWIW, i think the peach/apricot flavor can be nice in some beers. i have an amber ale that i fermented at ~60 with s-05 cuz i used citra hops and i want to see how that flavor plays off the tropical character of the citras. i've also noticed in darker beers and beers with a lot of hops flavor/aroma (so really any big flavor beer), the peachiness isn't really noticeable.
 
This is actually the 1st time I've used Citra so I didn't really think about the complement with the 1056. Anyhow, I'm a little sensitive to the aroma the yeast gives off so it seems to dominate the beer. I used US-05 in Janet's Brown (hoppy American Brown) over Christmas and noticed the peach came through very clearly. It seemed to pair better than on my IPAs.
 
if you're sensitive to it, but you like the yeast, just work on finding the temperature sweet spot where you get good beer, but the peach is limited or gone. try 65-67 degrees, letting it warm a few degrees by the end of fermentation. should ferment nice and clean at those temps.
 
I had read an article that fermenting at the bottom of a yeasts temp range produced a cleaner profile, so I fermented my first brew in the 59-63 range. It is a Cream Ale and goes to bottle this Saturday. Now I can't wait to see if I need to name it Peaches & Cream!
 
Thanks for posting this. I just fermented a rye pale with US-05 in the low 60s and swore all week that I was getting a slight peach/apricot aroma and flavor, and couldn't figure out why until now.
 
so THIS is why my rye ipa smells like peaches!
based on hydrometer samples, i find it works splendidly with the hops!
 
it is, very nice an clean. especially at temps 65-70ish. take it down really low, say 58-62, and it can give off a faint peach-y note.

I turned a Cream of the 3 Crops into a peach bomb with US05 in the mid-upper 50s. That batch was one of the main reasons I went and bought a chest freezer so I wouldn't have to try and balance ice bottles in a water bath. I just used it again on an American Wheat at 63 so I'll get to try it again after 18 months of hiding from 05.
 
This is all very interesting. I just had a taste from a new batch that finished fermenting about a week ago (using US-05), and it was an absolute peach-bomb. It's an interesting flavor, but decidedly un-beerlike at this point. I bottled last night, so I plan to try it in about a month. Can others who have experienced this flavor from cool ferm temps and US-05 comment on their experience after conditioning? Did the peach flavor persist, mellow, or go away altogether?
 
Bump.. How are people's experience with this off peachy flavor in terms of mellowing out in bottle conditioning??
 
I'd like to know this, as well. I have my first all-grain blonde ale in the bottles as of now, and there's a pronounced fruity/peachy note. Ferment was in the 60-64 range.
 
I was wondering if the peachy notes would fade in time with bottle conditioning.

Honestly, I think I'll refrain from US-05 in the future. This batch was far more estery than I wanted.
 
My batch of US-05 fermented in the lower 60's were also quite peachy.. Drinkable but peachy. It didn't fade notably with time (3,5 months now..)
I recently used US-05 again at 66-71 F not getting any peachyness..
 
Seems like multiple threads this week on how US-05 goes peachy when run cool.

There's a lot of beer brewed with that strain so obviously there's a good way to run it - and a not so good way. The consensus opinion seems to be to run it at 65-66 up to 68 and you won't get peach from the low end or estery characters at the high end. That's how I do it and I've always been happy with the results. It really does run clean when it runs in its wheelhouse...

Cheers!
 
I didn't intentionally ferment cold, it's just so cold in my basement that even with a brew belt and wrapped in multiple beach towels, I couldn't get it much higher than 60-62. I'd fermented with nottingham down that low with no issues, didn't know about the US-05 peach issue until too late.
 
Samme here! - Notty is definitely not as all as prone to this as US-05. Although I have gotten a hint of yeast-peach with notty as well when fermented very low..
 
I enjoy the apricot notes you get sub 65 but 67 or so should avoid it


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I've been trying to get the peach notes for quite some time. The first time I had an IPA with a good peach flavor was in Alaska during the summer. I've been searching the forums trying to find out if it was the hop combination, yeast strain, temperature, malt, water and nobody seemed to be on the same page and the threads took off in a totally different direction. I've finally found the right group discussion for what I was looking for. Thanks everyone!
 
Sub-62 you get peach easy. Under 59, it actually takes on a nasty characteristic. I did 3 batches this winter at 57 and I would say it took on rotten peach...at best.
 
Sorry to bump this 2 yr old thread, but I figured it's better to do that than make a new one.

I'm looking to get this peach flavor for an IPA I'm brewing soon. US-05 @ 62, right? Would bumping the temp up after the krausen drops help or hurt the peach flavor?
 
In my experience, the peach wasn't a pleasant peach flavor. It was more of an off flavor that was somewhat peachy.
 
I made a simple Blonde Ale using US05 fermented @64*F measured in a thermowell. After kegging yesterday it is giving me a peach/apricot flavor that Im finding to be a nice mix with the recipe I can't wait until its carb'd and ready to go. I have fermented the last 5 or so batches with US05 and haven't noticed the peach/apricot at all. One was a pumpkin beer so it very well could have gotten lost within all the spices. Then there were an Ipa with Galena, Chinook and Northern Brewer, a Coffee porter ( all at 64*F) then Janets Brown (fermented at 67*F)

I think if you are expecting the flavor and plan for it in your recipe its a great tool to use. If you don't want the peach/apricot in your beer and still like the ease of US05 just ferment around 67*F and you will be good to go.

Here is the bill for the Blonde Ale I just kegged:

Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 6.00 gal
Boil Size: 8 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
Mashed at 148*F for 75 min
Brought mash to 168*F then fly sparged

Amt
8 lbs Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM) Grain 1 86.5 %
12.0 oz Carapils (Briess) (1.5 SRM) Grain 2 8.1 %
8.0 oz Vienna Malt (Briess) (3.5 SRM) Grain 3 5.4 %
0.50 oz Magnum [15.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 23.4 IBUs
0.25 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 15.0 mi Hop 5 1.9 IBUs
1.00 Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 5.0 mins) Fining6 -
0.25 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 7 0.0 IBUs
0.25 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 8 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50.28 ml]Yeast 9

Chilled to 62*F pitched Yeast and fermented at 64*F for 14 days

Measured Original Gravity: 1.041 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.008 SG
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.3 %
Bitterness: 25.3 IBUs
Est Color: 4.1 SRM
Calories: 133.8 kcal/12oz
 
Apparently, US-05 is imbued with magical powers, as a lot of folks report it conveys a rotting peach flavor if run around 60°F, many folks report it produces a palatable peach flavor if run around 63°F, and lots of folks report a neutral outcome if run at 67-68°F. And now we have a report of lager-like performance when run at 52°F.

It's miraculous! :D

Cheers!
 
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