Pliny and dry yeast

[MacGruber]

Hi everyone,
I'm planning on brewing Pliny next Zsaturday. The recipe calls for either Wyeast American Ale or WLP 001 California Ale. I've used them both before in different beers but have been more successful with Wyeast with a starter because WLP exploded on me. Since this will be my first IIPA I'm afraid of under pitching. Has anybody tried to make Pliny using dry yeast? I'm assuming two or three packets would do it. I'm just nervous that my starter would not be enough if I use liquid yeast. So would you guys go dry or liquid?

 

[Yooper]

Hi everyone,
I'm planning on brewing Pliny next Zsaturday. The recipe calls for either Wyeast American Ale or WLP 001 California Ale. I've used them both before in different beers but have been more successful with Wyeast with a starter because WLP exploded on me. Since this will be my first IIPA I'm afraid of under pitching. Has anybody tried to make Pliny using dry yeast? I'm assuming two or three packets would do it. I'm just nervous that my starter would not be enough if I use liquid yeast. So would you guys go dry or liquid?

Either/or. It doesn't matter, as long as you pitch enough yeast of either type.

With 5 gallons of 1.075 OG beer, two packages of dry S05 is more than enough. For liquid, a 4 liter starter with one package of liquid yeast would be adequate. Or three packages of liquid yeast without a starter.

I think I've done just about every kind of yeast with the Pliny clone! I've used S04 at cool temperatures, nottingham, So5, WLP001, and Wyeast 1056. I ferment pretty cool (low 60s) and I've never noticed any yeast character in any of those yeast strains when doing the Pliny clone. It's so hop forward that I don't think it matters all that much, as long as you use a "clean" strain and control fermentation temperatures.

 

[MacGruber]

Yooper, which yeast strain did you perceive as your favorite? I'm just looking to make the best tasting/closest to Pliny I can since we get it once every never here in PA and every keg of it kicks in 15 minutes. I'm not worried about liquid so much as I've used all the strains in different beers before. But if dry makes Pliny just as well as the liquid cultures then I'll go with that because it's cheaper, easier and doesn't require a starter.

 

[Yooper]

Yooper, which yeast strain did you perceive as your favorite? I'm just looking to make the best tasting/closest to Pliny I can since we get it once every never here in PA and every keg of it kicks in 15 minutes. I'm not worried about liquid so much as I've used all the strains in different beers before. But if dry makes Pliny just as well as the liquid cultures then I'll go with that because it's cheaper, easier and doesn't require a starter.

I don't even remember which was my favorite! I'd have to guess, as I remember them all being very similar. I do remember that S05 didn't clear the beer as well as nottingham, though.

 

[MacGruber]

No problem! Thanks for the advice. I think I'm going to go with dry- it should save some cash since hops alone will be over $30. Plus, the dry is just easier to manage. You're right in that the hops should cover just about any noticeable yeast flavors. I appreciate the responses!

 

[Srceenplay]

I just kegged my Pliny clone last night. I used 1 pack of us 05 at about 67*. OG 1.074 fg 1.016
3 weeks in the primary. 1 of those weeks dry hopping. I day of cold crashing. My sample looked clear enough to me

 

[duckmanco]

I used us05 on my AG Pliny Clone and went from 1.073-1.013 which was probably due to my mash temp being a touch high. Honestly, 1.013 is too sweet for this beer. For that crisp hop bite, this one needs to get down to 1.010 or 1.011 IMO. If I were to do it again, is use Nottingham at 59-60 and which will attenuate like an animal AND drop clear without crashing which should be somewhat better for dry hopping.

 

[MacGruber]

Screen what was your mash temp and did you use corn sugar in the boil?

 

[MacGruber]

I think I'll try Nottingham if it attenuated moe and clears better. If I can't get Nottingham which is better, 04 or 05?

 

[Srceenplay]

Screen what was your mash temp and did you use corn sugar in the boil?

I'm just extract brewer. But I did have 1# of sugar in the boil.

 

[BrewKnurd]

Screen what was your mash temp and did you use corn sugar in the boil?

When I brewed it I did a step mash at 145 and 154. If you're doing single infusion, I would recommend a relatively low mash temp to encourage a highly fermentable wort.

 

[MacGruber]

I'm planning on a single infusion at 151

 

[g-star]

I'm drinking mine now. Made with 18g S-05, mashed at 151F, finished at 1.011. Came out great, though still hazy from the massive dry-hopping.

 

[badbrew]

I'm just extract brewer. But I did have 1# of sugar in the boil.

Mind linking the extract recipe?

 

[Srceenplay]

Mind linking the extract recipe?

It was a more beer.com kit.

I don't know if they if they have the recipe online.

 

[badbrew]

It was a more beer.com kit.

I don't know if they if they have the recipe online.

They don't that's why I ask. If you happen to see the extract/ grain bill and wouldn't mind posting it...:rockin:

 

[BigBill]

Was kicking around a Pliny brew plan for a small batch as I am not sure I want a full 5G. Any recommendations for commercial test to harvest for Pliny? Also if one wanted to first use said yeast for another beer and then rack the Pliny wort onto the yeast cake what would be a good suggestion for the first beer? Can I brew a lower OG IPA or even a pale ale? Any specific suggestions for either?

 

[g-star]

Any recommendations for commercial test to harvest for Pliny? Also if one wanted to first use said yeast for another beer and then rack the Pliny wort onto the yeast cake what would be a good suggestion for the first beer?

You want to harvest yeast from a bottle for a Pliny clone?

Why??????

It's just the standard Chico yeast. Use WLP001, WY1056, or S-05. In such a hop forward beer, the yeast just gets out of the way and contributes almost nothing to flavor.

No need to make life harder than it is.

 

[BigBill]

One persons view of making like harder is another persons view of a challenge. Really just comes down to costs and frequency of brewing. I decided I want to brew more, but to do that I am mixing in a few smaller batches e.g. 1G & 3Gs. On the 1G if you buy yeast it is 5x times as expensive so my thought was to harvest some yeast to cut costs. I am already going to do this for some 1G sour batches (to a degree) so I figured this is the next logical step. The way I figure it a 6 pk of Sierra Nevada costs the same as the yeast and then you get the beer and the bottles for free....

 

[MacGruber]

I went with US-05. I'll be making it on Saturday. I'll keep you all updated.

 

[MacGruber]

Update: I brewed it yesterday along with 5 gallons of Hefeweizen. Original gravity was 1.074. I made a yeast slurry with two packs of US-05 and pitched at 9:30 last night. It's fermenting in the basement with a steady, ambient temp of 66 degrees. I checked at 5 a.m. this morning and it was going nuts...I'm glad I used a blow off tube. I had great hot break and cold break but lost a lot of liquid in the 90 minute boil. Upon reflection, I need to get a bigger kettle and probably a six and a half gallon carboy too. My kettle is a 7 gallon kettle an I lost a lot due to it's size. Still, I think it's off to a good start. I hope the yeast brings it down to 1.011.

 

[badbrew]

Hope you filtered the hops.

 

[MacGruber]

I used pellets but didn't use a cheese cloth. They should settle out. At least I hope they will.

 

[MacGruber]

Pliny is fermenting like crazy and my basement smells like a hop forest! The recipe says to dry hop in secondary for two weeks in two stages. I haven't done secondary in a year or so in favor of the long primary. Is secondary beneficial/useful in this case for dry hopping? Or should I just dry hop in primary? I would like to hear some opinions so that I'm not scrambling when this thing is done fermenting.

Also, how long did others' Pliny clones take to finish fermenting? Two weeks? Three?

 

[MacGruber]

Pliny is fermenting like crazy and my basement smells like a hop forest! The recipe says to dry hop in secondary for two weeks in two stages. I haven't done secondary in a year or so in favor of the long primary. Is secondary beneficial/useful in this case for dry hopping? Or should I just dry hop in primary? I would like to hear some opinions so that I'm not scrambling when this thing is done fermenting.

Also, how long did others' Pliny clones take to finish fermenting? Two weeks? Three?