Does anyone else dislike US-05?

[junior]

I ferment at 66, leave in primary for 60 days, bottle, let sit for 30 days. End up with clear wonderful ale.

 

[sabotenfighter]

90 day turnaround? That is completely nuts unless you are brewing very high gravity beers.

 

[EDF713]

I ferment at 66, leave in primary for 60 days, bottle, let sit for 30 days. End up with clear wonderful ale.

This is exactly why everyone complains about this yeast.

 

[Michigan_Wolfman]

I've never had any problems using US-05. I primary ferment @ 65F for 5 to 7 days, take a hydrometer reading to confirm FG has been reached, and leave it alone for another week to settle out before bottling.

 

[Turkeyshot]

I have no problem with US-05 I always ferment around 68-72 degrees and have no off flavors. Even if it gets up to 75F or a littler higher near the end it always comes out clean. I do agree that it can over-attenuate at times, but nothing more than a few points. Also after bottle conditioning my beers for a couple of weeks they always come out pretty clear and I really have no complaints about this yeast.

 

[EtchyLives]

My only interesting observation with this yeast is that at 68° it took quite awhile to take off. I followed the re-hydrating instructions to the letter, pitched it into wort that was at temperature and then waited. I checked the next morning and there was a thin layer of foam/krausen in the carboy but no churning activity in the wort. No big deal since there was clearly something going on. End of day 1 and the krausen was a little thicker but still no churning. Wort was still dark. By the end of day two there was a thicker krausen but still nothing like most other yeasts I use (I am what you might call a yeast whore) and just a few little chunks I could see floating up and down in the wort but no lightening of the wort at all. It wasn't until day 3 when the wort started lightening up and the krausen got thick.

Also, it took almost a full week and a half for the wort to floc out and none of that happened until I raised the temp to 72° for the d-rest for a few days. I read about you guys going grain to glass in 2 weeks with this yeast and I know that I DEFINITELY won't be doing that.

For the record here's the recipe, which isn't a "big beer" by any stretch:

Ruthless Rye, 90 Minute Boil
OG 1.064; FG 1.015

9.5 UK Pale Malt
1.5 Rye Malt
12oz Crystal 80
1oz Chocolate Malt
8oz rice hulls
1oz Columbus FWH
0.5 Chinhook, 0.5 Amarillo, 0.5 Columbus At flame out; whirlpool for 5 minutes
1.5 Citra, 0.5 Columbus, 0.5 Amarillo Dry Hop for 7 days

Mash at 154
Ferment at 68° for 4 days, Raise temp to 72° for 10 days (dry hop)

 

[olotti]

I've never minded 05 as it may be a little slow to get going it does its thing in a couple days I also don't mind hazy beer and I use a lot of the fruitier hops so maybe I don't pick up on the peach as much since it blends with the hop flavors. I also use Conan too and never get peach out of that either. I do cold crash my primary for a couple days if not longer and even bottles in the fridge after 2 weeks with either Conan or 05 ad still pretty hazy but I also use wheat, oats and flaked wheat in my grain bill so I'm not expecting a clear beer. So for me when I don't want to make a starter 05 is my go to.

 

[jigtwins]

I read about you guys going grain to glass in 2 weeks with this yeast and I know that I DEFINITELY won't be doing that.

Exactly how I feel. I just cant believe that this yeast can ferment and drop out to go grain to glass in a short time frame. I have never had any luck with fast turn arounds except with a few english yeasts.

 

[olotti]

Exactly how I feel. I just cant believe that this yeast can ferment and drop out to go grain to glass in a short time frame. I have never had any luck with fast turn arounds except with a few english yeasts.

As a guy who bottles I never believe this I mean it takes 10 days for the bottles to carb that's after a 10 primary plus cold crashing then if you want your bottles to clear in a fridge prob another week. That's what a month from brewing to drinking. So that's 10 in primary, 10 to carb and a week for the beers to settle out in the fridge, I need to start kegging.

 

[KangerBrew6]

As with alcohol, I believe that US-05 is being blamed for a lot of things that it just has not done. It is a very good dried yeast, which in my opinion and experience produces a wonderous beverage. WLP001 beats it for dead though.

 

[Biscuits]

I don't have any issues with US-05 as a yeast, I just personally think it is boring.

 

[jigtwins]

As with alcohol, I believe that US-05 is being blamed for a lot of things that it just has not done. It is a very good dried yeast, which in my opinion and experience produces a wonderous beverage. WLP001 beats it for dead though.

I'm not blaming this yeast for anything. Just do not like the properties it has. I have made some beers with it that did taste good. I find there are better strains out there.

 

[MrPowers]

So far, whenever I have brewed with US-05 my first thought after tasting it is: "this would've been better if I'd used White Labs Kolsch yeast."

It never fails. That's why I try to avoid US-05 when I can.

 

[Rhaop]

So far, whenever I have brewed with US-05 my first thought after tasting it is: "this would've been better if I'd used White Labs Kolsch yeast."

It never fails. That's why I try to avoid US-05 when I can.

Wlp029 is a great yeast for pale ale and wheat beers ime

 

[indevrede]

I made a delicious Double IPA (OG 1.091) using 50% Maris Otter, 50% German Pils, and 12 oz of Falconer's Flight hops in 5 gallons. I used S-05 and fermented cold (low 60s) and I got this wonderful peachy flavor from the yeast that complemented the hops.

 

[wingedcoyote]

I like US-05 just fine. I ferment at ~65 and haven't noticed any significant fruity esters. All my beers get Whirlfoc, cold crashed to 0 degrees, and gelatin, and with that regimen my US-05 beers get just as read-the-newspaper-through-it clear as all the rest.

 

[ballsy]

Love US-05, ferment in upper 60's. I seldom use anything else. Love my beers from it and so do all my friends and neighbors!

 

[2doorsdown]

US-05 and Notty are my go to yeasts. I ferment my house pale at 67, US-05 for a two weeks in the primary, then straight to the keg and in the kegerator for a week. Comes out clear with no off flavors that I can decern. I've used S-04 and Notty for English Pub style ales, I prefer the Nottingham over the two. 66 for ferment temp. Low abv's for both. 4.7 for the pale and 4.5-5.5 for the English styles. Wish I had a Nitro system for some of the English ales though. I've used US-05 for a double IPA once. Came out as clear and clean, though I'd like to try it again with liquid West Coast strain to see the difference. I'm still a novice when it comes to yeasts.

 

[SilverZero]

I am trying to narrow down a bad bready/yeasty taste in my l last few brews and I think I've identified US-05 as the culprit. I never had a misstep with Notty but when I switched (to make a SNPA clone, naturally) I started picking it up and didn't like it. I'm going to do my next batch with Notty this weekend and see how it goes.

It's not really the "peachy" flavor people warn of at low temps, though I do ferment at 64F and ramp up to 68F or so over the course of 10 days, but it might be something to do with that. My last batch was a simple 2-row with a bit of crystal, but there's far too much of that bread flavor to blame the malt.

 

[junior]

This is exactly why everyone complains about this yeast.

Can you explain in more detail why you think I am doing something wrong? In fact I have a batch right now that is tow days going!

 

[EDF713]

Can you explain in more detail why you think I am doing something wrong? In fact I have a batch right now that is tow days going!

I'm not saying you're doing anything wrong. I just don't want to wait 60 days to clear.

 

[junior]

I'm not saying you're doing anything wrong. I just don't want to wait 60 days to clear.[/QUOT
Thank's for clarifying, You don't have to wait sixty days,but if you want a quality ale it will take sixty days in the primary, you can keg it and it two days have a pint, I don't keg. I bottle, I can probably wait two weeks for it to carbonate, and it would be fine. Why not wait 2 more weeks to produce a superior ale .

My .02

 

[junior]

I'm not saying you're doing anything wrong. I just don't want to wait 60 days to clear.

713, looked at my original post and I stand to be corrected, I posted 60 days in primary, me bad I meant to post 30 days. Sorry for the confusion. So it is a total of 60 days , 30 in primary, 30 in bottle.

 

[filthyastronaut]

I think it shines in a super dry hoppy beer, but has its place elsewhere if you can control your mash temps well. I think Bry-87 is much cleaner, it's undetectable in my latest porter. A Blonde Ale I made recently really shows the kind of fruity esters US-05 can put out, and many people who have tried it guessed that it's Belgian in some way. I think it's alright, but you need to use it where it works best.

 

[EDF713]

713, looked at my original post and I stand to be corrected, I posted 60 days in primary, me bad I meant to post 30 days. Sorry for the confusion. So it is a total of 60 days , 30 in primary, 30 in bottle.

Even still, you are a far more patient brewer than I am. I do agree that S5 requires more patience and the right temps, especially for lighter ales.

 

[Zibe]

Just made a pale ale with 05 after solely using notty for a while. Followed my tried and true notty schedule of a two week primary with two days of that a coldish crash at 39deg. Kegged with gelatin and force carbed and now 3 days later it tastes like a Belgian it's so yeasty and cloudy. My notty would be crystal clear. Sign me up for dislike and how long is this gonna take to floccing flocc?

 

[Beerthoven]

I think US-05 performs well, but I agree with some others here that it is just a bit too boring for me. The only American yeasts I use anymore are Wyeast 1272 American Ale II and Wyeast 1332 Northwest Ale (which is actually from an English brewery). Wyeast 1028 London Ale is also a good fit for most American-style ales.

 

[jigtwins]

I am trying to narrow down a bad bready/yeasty taste in my l last few brews and I think I've identified US-05 as the culprit. I never had a misstep with Notty but when I switched (to make a SNPA clone, naturally) I started picking it up and didn't like it. I'm going to do my next batch with Notty this weekend and see how it goes.

It's not really the "peachy" flavor people warn of at low temps, though I do ferment at 64F and ramp up to 68F or so over the course of 10 days, but it might be something to do with that. My last batch was a simple 2-row with a bit of crystal, but there's far too much of that bread flavor to blame the malt.

I am with you on the bread flavors. I get it until the yeast has dropped and cleared. Which takes a quite a bit of time in the cold and fining or filtering to do it well imo. This strain just does not get it for me.

 

[hb771]

you have me worried about 05. I will find out soon. 1056 liquid was a fantastic yeast but expensive.

 

[officeboy]

Funny using 05 on a stout now and a week in fermentation is done and my beer is close to a nice dark black. 2 or 3 days in the fridge and it is packed down really well.