Not loving S-04...

[andycr]

So far I've brewed 2 beers with Safale S-04, and unlike it's cousin US-05, I'm not loving it. It seems to give a lot of fruity flavors, and not in a good way, even at low fermentation temps. I have a Hobgoblin clone that (immature, admittedly) tastes a bit like wine mixed with coriander.

I'm trying Danstar Windsor for my 10th and newest brew (Caribou Slobber), so it'll be interesting to compare and contrast.

So now I'm wondering - since US-05 and WLP001 are the same strain, is there an identical liquid version of S-04? That way I know what to avoid.

Thanks!

 

[tonyc318]

I've used s-04 in a beer that worked great. However, in two gluten free batches I made for SWMBO, they tasted like funky wine. It's been weird. I've been super diligent about cleaning and sanitizing. Even brewed a variety of other beers with out the same taste. Trying nitty on a GF right now. We will see if there is a difference.

 

[bigbeergeek]

It's a strain that a lot of brewers don't particularly enjoy -- I'm one of them. There are so many wonderful English strains out there to keep in your stable of rinsed yeasts that I'll pass forever on the 04. Now the 05 is a whole different matter

 

[BradleyBrew]

should be the same as Wyeast Whitbread I believe. I like S-04 for "mild" british ales. I think it struggles when starting to get into a old ale, RIS, or Barleywine style beers. Its a true British yeast so the fruit flavors are really part of that style.

 

[bierhaus15]

I've always found the Whitbread yeasts (s-04, wy1098/wlp007, wy1099) to have a distinctive 'twangy' flavor when fermented warm or under pitched. I can't stand the taste of the stuff and even when fermented properly, it is too boring for my tastes. There are so many excellent English yeasts out there, that nearly anything else would be an improvement over s-04.

Also, you may want to reconsider on the Windsor yeast. IMO, it's as bad as fermenting with bread yeast and it has some of the poorest attenuation and flocculation around. Makes decent ciders though.

 

[pvtschultz]

I'm in the same boat as the rest of the guys. I've used it once, probably under-pitched a bit, but definitely got those twangy notes in an American Wheat.

 

[JordanThomas]

I like S-04. You have to pay attention to your temps even more so than usual, though. It gets real strange apple tones if it gets in the high 60s during fermentation.

Did you let the temps get away from you?

 

[Obliviousbrew]

i´ve used an had no problems with ester I fermented around 65F. for me it is a nice strain and floccs like a rock.

 

[tre9er]

Yeah, surprised to see so many people not fond of S04. I know a lot of brewers that use it as their house yeast for everything from pales, IPA's to ESB's.

 

[beerloaf]

There is one beer that I use it for often. I have 12 gal sitting in a fermentor right now. My Strawberry Blond which was based on Pete's Wicked Ale recipe. It goes very well with the fruity character. I have not used it for non-fruit beers yet. It is a beast of a fermenter with very quick fermentation and a dry finish. I have always tried to keep it below 68*F and had finished fermentations in well under 2 weeks. In reality probably done a in a few days but it never hurts to leave it longer to let it clean up after itself.

beerloaf

 

[weirdboy]

Works fine for me. You have to be aware of the esters and use it on beers where they are appropriate. I typically ferment it in the low 60's.

 

[andycr]

I like S-04. You have to pay attention to your temps even more so than usual, though. It gets real strange apple tones if it gets in the high 60s during fermentation.

Did you let the temps get away from you?

Hmm. I'd like to say no, but I wouldn't have considered anything below 68 'getting away from me', so I guess it's possible it did that.

Also, you may want to reconsider on the Windsor yeast. IMO, it's as bad as fermenting with bread yeast and it has some of the poorest attenuation and flocculation around. Makes decent ciders though.

Really? That sucks. I noticed on the NB site it recommended Windsor or Northwest Ale, and since NW Ale yeast isn't available locally I used the Windsor...

What do you mean by as bad as fermenting with bread yeast? Not familiar with what happens when you use bread yeast.

 

[Padalac]

Do you ferment with the trub ? I think it could make difference for this yeast

 

[Obliviousbrew]

I don´t like Windsor it doesn´t attenuate or floc very well. That strain can´t work maltotriose.

 

[andycr]

Do you ferment with the trub ? I think it could make difference for this yeast

Yeah, there was some trub in it for sure.

 

[daksin]

I like how hard it flocs, but haven't been able to achieve the same "clean" profile with this yeast others claim with my setup. I stick with US-05 for my dry yeasts and go to the liquids for British yeasts where I have better control over the ester profile.

 

[solbes]

Wow, this kind of scares me a bit. Brewed a low gravity brown with it (carbing). And washed the yeast from that for my Scotch ale. Fermented the first in the mid/upper 60's and the latter in the low 60's. Fingers crossed I didn't screw this up. I was amazed at how quickly the brown fermented and how well it flocced out in under 2 weeks.

 

[Psych]

I love S-04's floccing, drops like a rock and it's burned through everything super fast. The downside is anything over 64f (bucket temp, admittedly) has given me off flavors. Some so bad that I had to leave the beer for a month to sit and hope it worked itself out, or blend with another beer.

I've found it works best for me when fermented LOW, like 60-62, and when it's in a beer that has a lot of flavor on its own, like a porter or brown, something with some chocolate/roast or lots of crystal. Sort of cover up the funky....

 

[NickT1]

Used it in a honey blonde ale I must admit did not enjoy the fruity undertones very much. Fermentation temp was admittedly a bit on the high side.

 

[elproducto]

Too bad, I love the stuff. It's replaced US-05 for me as my house ale yeast. I can ferment it cool say at 60 and get a very clean beer, or I can ramp it up and get some esters.

 

[Hammy71]

Put me in the camp of hating (yes, that's a strong word, but appropriate) 04. I've fermented it from 70F to 60F and in between to try to get this yeast to work for me. I've so wanted this yeast to make good beer, I mean....everybody loves it!! I'm tired of making beer that taste like sh&* because of this yeast and have completely written it off. If I want an English ale yeast, I go for WLP 002. Next to 05, 002 is my favorite yeast. Maybe some actually like the sour tangy taste that this yeast imparts on every brew ("fruity" my arse).....but I ain't one of them. Did I mention how much I despise this yeast?

 

[andycr]

Put me in the camp of hating (yes, that's a strong word, but appropriate) 04. I've fermented it from 70F to 60F and in between to try to get this yeast to work for me. I've so wanted this yeast to make good beer, I mean....everybody loves it!! I'm tired of making beer that taste like sh&* because of this yeast and have completely written it off. If I want an English ale yeast, I go for WLP 002. Next to 05, 002 is my favorite yeast. Maybe some actually like the sour tangy taste that this yeast imparts on every brew ("fruity" my arse).....but I ain't one of them. Did I mention how much I despise this yeast?

Really glad it isn't just me. I don't think I'll be wasting any more time with it, when there are so many other great yeasts out there. Never tried WLP002 so that's at the top of my list. I've heard great things about WLP029 German Kölsch as a clean, general purpose, low-ester yeast so I will probably try an APA with that soon rather than US-05.

Ideally for most of my beers I'd like something which ferments very cleanly at 68 (so I can be lazy and only use an evaporation setup for cooling) - one British style, one American (Chico) style. If I could have those two at that temp I would be happy for 90% of my brews.

 

[WDT]

I'm with the consensus here in not liking S-04. However i'm going to give it one last chance in the low 60s with a mild that i'm planning.

I can say I made a porter with S-04 almost a year ago and it was undrinkable until about a month ago, now it's kind of good. So the "time heals all" theory does work with S-04. Though aging a porter for 8 months is a little too long for me. I ended up dumping most of it and keeping a sixer of it to see what happened.

 

[bleme]

I ended up dumping most of it and keeping a sixer of it to see what happened.

Short on space or bottles or what?

Instead of dumping it, you could have made beer bread, beer soup, beer stew, beer marinade, fried beer, beer kabobs, beer salad, beer and potatoes, beer burger, beer sandwich...

 

[Geiger420]

Put me in the camp of hating (yes, that's a strong word, but appropriate) 04. I've fermented it from 70F to 60F and in between to try to get this yeast to work for me. I've so wanted this yeast to make good beer, I mean....everybody loves it!! I'm tired of making beer that taste like sh&* because of this yeast and have completely written it off. If I want an English ale yeast, I go for WLP 002. Next to 05, 002 is my favorite yeast. Maybe some actually like the sour tangy taste that this yeast imparts on every brew ("fruity" my arse).....but I ain't one of them. Did I mention how much I despise this yeast?

Thank YOU!!!!!! I have been brewing for like 3 years now and I started using the dry yeast.. I will give it that it ferments very quickly but I couldn't put my finger on this sour tangy taste I was getting in my beers.... I just brewed a Chocolate Milk Stout and it has that sour tangy taste to it and I couldn't figure it out... does this settle with time??

 

[pdxal]

S-04 has always performed well for me. Ferments fast and flocculates well, fermented in the low 60's gives a nice flavor and a little fruit. Not a strong attenuator, but leaving a higher FG in some styles works better.

 

[weirdboy]

I'm with the consensus here in not liking S-04. However i'm going to give it one last chance in the low 60s with a mild that i'm planning.

If you are looking for a dry yeast that is suitable for a mild, you might give Nottingham a shot instead of the S-04.

 

[WDT]

Short on space or bottles or what?

Instead of dumping it, you could have made beer bread, beer soup, beer stew, beer marinade, fried beer, beer kabobs, beer salad, beer and potatoes, beer burger, beer sandwich...

Yep, short on bottles. Ive vowed to never do it again.

 

[WDT]

If you are looking for a dry yeast that is suitable for a mild, you might give Nottingham a shot instead of the S-04.

Nottingham is fantastic!

 

[BradleyBrew]

Nottingham is fantastic!

I use it for a lot and really like it. Plus a local shop still sells the new vacuumed sealed packs it for a 1.59!

Double pitch for $3.18!