Dry Yeast Making Dry Beer?

[zyx345]

I brewed my last two batches with Safale US-05. They were as follows:

-IPA using 12# of grain, mashed at 152 and finished around 1.011. Single Pitch, rehydrated.

-RIS using 18.5# of grain mashed at 155 and finished around 1.016. Double Pitch, rehydrated.

Both finsihed beers came out tasting a little on the dry side. The taste was less sweet and malty than I was expecting.

Does dry yeast tend to make dryer tasting beers as compared to liquid yeast?

Would a lower attenuating dry yeast such as Windsor have made a big difference or work in an IPA or RIS?

 

[Denny]

Attenuation is only one aspect. Hopping rate is another.

 

[tonyc318]

I would say the mash temp would have a bit to do with how it finishes also. Mash at the low end and get drier finish. Personally, i like a IPA to have a bit of a dry finish so that I feel like drinking more. That might just be my preference though.

 

[corax]

US-05 is fairly attenuative, but no more so than its liquid siblings, WLP-001 and Wyeast 1056.

You can certainly try a less attenuative yeast (I have no experience with Windsor). Or you can play with mash temperatures (try mashing at 158-160 degrees). Or just use different malts -- for example, Maris Otter will typically produce a more malty beer than US 2-row, all else being equal.

 

[AmandaK]

1) Is your thermometer calibrated?

2) 1.011 for an IPA is damn near perfect. I would not complain. Like Denny mentioned, perhaps the hopping rate was a bit higher than you wanted. (BU:GU ratio anyone?)

3) I would be happy with 1.016 for a RIS, but I like mine a little on the drier side of that style.

4) Yes, all things being equal, an lower attenuating yeast would have made a difference. Notty attenuates more than US-05 for example.

 

[zyx345]

1) Is your thermometer calibrated?

2) 1.011 for an IPA is damn near perfect. I would not complain. Like Denny mentioned, perhaps the hopping rate was a bit higher than you wanted. (BU:GU ratio anyone?)

3) I would be happy with 1.016 for a RIS, but I like mine a little on the drier side of that style.

4) Yes, all things being equal, an lower attenuating yeast would have made a difference. Notty attenuates more than US-05 for example.

Thanks to all for all of the replies. To answer the above,

1) My thermometer is a dial type that comes with a turkey fryer kit. I have two of them however I tested both in boiling water and they came in around 215 ish so I compensated for the few degrees off on the RIS and mashed at 155.

2) I did go a little overboard on dry hop for the IPA. My ending volume was also about a 1/2 gallon less than the 5 gallons the recipe called for for the amount of hops, so that could be what contributed to the dryness.

3) For the RIS, I prefer them to have a thicker mouthfeel and be slightly malty. Was hoping to hit 1.020.

4) Thanks for the info on nottingham. I'd probably not like that yeast if it attunates higher than US-05.

 

[generalzod4791]

Also you could change up your grain bill a bit, add some more crystal, a darker shade of crystal, bisquit malt, oh and those naked malted oats are excellent.

 

[Yooper]

Thanks to all for all of the replies. To answer the above,

1) My thermometer is a dial type that comes with a turkey fryer kit. I have two of them however I tested both in boiling water and they came in around 215 ish so I compensated for the few degrees off on the RIS and mashed at 155.

2) I did go a little overboard on dry hop for the IPA. My ending volume was also about a 1/2 gallon less than the 5 gallons the recipe called for for the amount of hops, so that could be what contributed to the dryness.

3) For the RIS, I prefer them to have a thicker mouthfeel and be slightly malty. Was hoping to hit 1.020.

4) Thanks for the info on nottingham. I'd probably not like that yeast if it attunates higher than US-05.

Unfortunately, thermometers aren't calibrated that way. My boiling temperature where I live is 210.5 or so. I'd check the thermometer with an ice bath and boiling and calibrate it if possible instead of trying to subtract degrees. Just because it's 5 degrees off (or whatever) at boiling doesn't mean it's off at mash temps. Or get a better thermometer. You could be mashing at a far different temperature than you believe.

 

[Denny]

Unfortunately, thermometers aren't calibrated that way. My boiling temperature where I live is 210.5 or so. I'd check the thermometer with an ice bath and boiling and calibrate it if possible instead of trying to subtract degrees. Just because it's 5 degrees off (or whatever) at boiling doesn't mean it's off at mash temps. Or get a better thermometer. You could be mashing at a far different temperature than you believe.

Great point! Attenuation is far more dependent on wort composition than yeats strain. Using the same yeast I can get anywhere drom 60%-90% attenuation depending on the wort. That includes grist and mash temp/length.