Danstar London ESB Dry Ale Yeast - Anyone use it yet?

[Shenanigans]

Just found out on another forum that I can get this yeast from an online store in Germany now too.

Probably wont get to try it until November or December though.

 

[FVillatoro]

I just ordered 5 fresh packs (expiration till 06/2018) from a Texan brew shop on Ebay!

They shipped today so I should get them in a few days!

ESB, Oatmeal Stout, and Porter here I come!

 

[Samaral]

I'm going to brew a porter with this yeast this weekend. I will post some updates.

 

[Shenanigans]

Great stuff :rockin:
Hopefully some positive feedback soon.

 

[MEPNew2Brew]

So far nobody has mentioned how the stone fruit character compares to the Yorkshire strain. If I could get the same doughy fruity esters from a dry pitch I'd order a few bricks.

Also for those that have a batch down with this stuff....how much krausen did you get? I know Yorkshire always blows through my airlock it krausens up so much.

I am skeptical. Love West Yorkshire Ale and ESB 1469. Maybe I haven't developed my skills enough yet. But they are two different yeasts that make different beers.

 

[duncan_disorderly]

Why would London ESB be like the Yorkshire strains?

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Maybe I misunderstood. I initially wasn't under the impression this was supposed to be a dry form of 1968. I thought they were just using London ESB as more of a marketing term so I threw out another good ESB yeast I hoped it was comparable to. Looking at it closer my post doesn't make much sense

 

[IkeKrizzule]

2 weeks in and now properly carbed. The ESB I made with this finished quite high at 1.018, and suffers a bit due to that sweetness. It does have some nice berry fruit esters. I mashed a bit higher, around 154, so I would try it again with a lower mash and see what that does.

 

[FVillatoro]

I got these in today!
I may plan for 70% attention and go from there - probably a stout or ESB in a few weeks.

 

[50quidsoundboy]

Maybe I misunderstood. I initially wasn't under the impression this was supposed to be a dry form of 1968. I thought they were just using London ESB as more of a marketing term so I threw out another good ESB yeast I hoped it was comparable to. Looking at it closer my post doesn't make much sense

The advertisements for this yeast (in the UK at least) contained an endorsement from John Keeling (of Fullers) so it seems clear that they're positioning this as a Wy1968 / WLP002 replacement, even though they're not saying it directly.

 

[duncan_disorderly]

They are marketing it as London ESB but marketing is, er, marketing.

I wouldn't want to guess what it is.

 

[Shenanigans]

Another few weeks and we should have more reports from our fellow brewers to help decide. Think I'll order some soon and brew a brown porter with it.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

The advertisements for this yeast (in the UK at least) contained an endorsement from John Keeling (of Fullers) so it seems clear that they're positioning this as a Wy1968 / WLP002 replacement, even though they're not saying it directly.

The advertisements for this yeast (in the UK at least) contained an endorsement from John Keeling (of Fullers) so it seems clear that they're positioning this as a Wy1968 / WLP002 replacement, even though they're not saying it directly.

Definitely didn't know that and that certainly makes the impression of being something like a dry 1968. With some of their other yeasts having names like Munich, West Coast Ale, Nottingham, Windsor....it's hard to tell if they're marketing terms to give an idea of what styles they're for or something more particular.

 

[FVillatoro]

2 weeks in and now properly carbed. The ESB I made with this finished quite high at 1.018, and suffers a bit due to that sweetness. It does have some nice berry fruit esters. I mashed a bit higher, around 154, so I would try it again with a lower mash and see what that does.

Thanks for the update.
Have you made this recipe before, or have you had any experience with the WLP002/WY1968 strains? I am trying to see if this Danstar strain attenuates less than the usual liquid strains to.

I may be going for an ESB to try it out vs an oatmeal stout so that I can let the flavor contribution from the yeast come through.

Thanks again

 

[Samaral]

I brewed a Robust Porter today. 1.062 og. I pitched @66 and I'm going to ferment @ 68. I pitched 4 hours ago and already have activity in the airlock. I'm hoping it ferments down to 1.016.

 

[rhys333]

Anybody know yet what the attenuation is with a low mash temp?

 

[FVillatoro]

I brewed a Robust Porter today. 1.062 og. I pitched @66 and I'm going to ferment @ 68. I pitched 4 hours ago and already have activity in the airlock. I'm hoping it ferments down to 1.016.

Alright! Keep us updated with the FG! What did you mash it at?

 

[IkeKrizzule]

Thanks for the update.

Have you made this recipe before, or have you had any experience with the WLP002/WY1968 strains? I am trying to see if this Danstar strain attenuates less than the usual liquid strains to.



I may be going for an ESB to try it out vs an oatmeal stout so that I can let the flavor contribution from the yeast come through.



Thanks again

Not this exact recipe, but I've done a similar beer with 1968 that finished more in the 1.014 range.

 

[Samaral]

Alright! Keep us updated with the FG! What did you mash it at?

I mashed @151

 

[50quidsoundboy]

They are marketing it as London ESB but marketing is, er, marketing.

I wouldn't want to guess what it is.

yep, pretty high chance it's actually not a London ale strain, since it bears all the hallmarks of a NWO conspiracy. Wake up sheeple! Bush did the towers

 

[Samaral]

18 hours after pitching it is at full krausen and blowing the star san out of the airlock.

 

[duncan_disorderly]

yep, pretty high chance it's actually not a London ale strain, since it bears all the hallmarks of a NWO conspiracy. Wake up sheeple! Bush did the towers

Some people still think London Ale III is Boddingtons yeast!

 

[50quidsoundboy]

Some people still think London Ale III is Boddingtons yeast!

It's actually a secret CIA strain of yeast, swabbed from Frank Olson's underpants shortly before he was thrown out of that window

 

[duncan_disorderly]

It's actually a secret CIA strain of yeast, swabbed from Frank Olson's underpants shortly before he was thrown out of that window

I know. I took the swab. I never pushed him though.

 

[apolo]

How's the flocculation of this yeast? Recently available near me, I've been looking for a new English yeast with moderate attenuation that doesn't leave beer as fruity as Windsor..

 

[ukulele01]

I am using this for the first time in a Coopers Real Ale kit (partial mash). Rehydrated it at 40C, as per my usual practice (higher than what Danstar recommends), and it already had 3mm of krausen five hours later. Fermented at 21C. Next morning (~18 hours) it was climbing out of the airlock. At the 28 hour point I checked it again: airlock had stopped and krausen was subsiding. Wow! Will take a hydrometer reading when I get a chance.

Cheers!

 

[Boise1024]

Used this 2 weeks ago in a porter recipe, 1.068 OG mashed at 153 :
9lb Maris Otter
1lb Brown Malt
1lb Munich
1lb Caramel 60
1lb Carahell
12 oz Chocolate.
1 pack of Danstar London ESB rehydrated as per instructions.

Quite a lot of unfermentables in there, it fermented like a bomb the first 36 hours, took right off and managed to kraeusen out of my 6.5 gal fermenter at 68F. Then flocced right out and stopped bubbling. Measured gravity after 3 days, 1.024, no airlock activity. Decided to raise temps up, went as high as 77, stirred to get it back up in suspension, didn't restart fermentation, still at 1.024 two weeks later. The beer is quite sweet, I just pitched a good chunk of a US-05 yeast cake on it to try and get it to finish. Will update, but not impressed right now.

 

[FVillatoro]

Used this 2 weeks ago in a porter recipe, 1.068 OG mashed at 153 :
9lb Maris Otter
1lb Brown Malt
1lb Munich
1lb Caramel 60
1lb Carahell
12 oz Chocolate.
1 pack of Danstar London ESB rehydrated as per instructions.

Quite a lot of unfermentables in there, it fermented like a bomb the first 36 hours, took right off and managed to kraeusen out of my 6.5 gal fermenter at 68F. Then flocced right out and stopped bubbling. Measured gravity after 3 days, 1.024, no airlock activity. Decided to raise temps up, went as high as 77, stirred to get it back up in suspension, didn't restart fermentation, still at 1.024 two weeks later. The beer is quite sweet, I just pitched a good chunk of a US-05 yeast cake on it to try and get it to finish. Will update, but not impressed right now.

That is about a 63% apparent attenuation then. I don't think that we have seen attenuation past 66% yet (3 users here who gave FG numbers).

This seems similar to the Windsor yeast, and the ManGrove jacks Dark Ale (Imperial) English yeast - also a low attenuator.

So far this strain is not looking like the Fullers one... And doesn't seem to drop like a rock.

We'll see what it tastes like once carbed and conditioned.

Keep those reports coming fellas!

 

[ukulele01]

That is about a 63% apparent attenuation then. I don't think that we have seen attenuation past 66% yet (3 users here who gave FG numbers).

This seems similar to the Windsor yeast, and the ManGrove jacks Dark Ale (Imperial) English yeast - also a low attenuator.

So far this strain is not looking like the Fullers one... And doesn't seem to drop like a rock.

We'll see what it tastes like once carbed and conditioned.

Keep those reports coming fellas!

Considering that, like Windsor, it does not ferment maltotriose, we probably should not expect much higher attenuation. That is part of the reason I added turbinado sugar and dextrose to my recipe. This would not prevent me from using it again, provided the esters are nice. For me it is all about the esters.

 

[Hanglow]

Looks like if you want decent attenuation then mash in the low 140s and/or use sugar. Could be great for a lot of old british recipes tbf, that use a lot of simple sugars. Depends on how it tastes as well of course and how well it clears - not looking good on that front though