S-33 in a Bitter?

[menschmaschine]

Another recent thread mentioned S-33 and it got me wondering. Anyone tried it in an OB, SB, or ESB? Results?

I never realized this is an English yeast strain. I always have an eye out for a good dry British yeast for Bitters. I've used Nottingham, Windsor, and S-04. They're all OK for Bitters, but just OK IMO. I'm looking for a dry yeast with a pleasant fruity/estery profile. So, I wanted to see if anyone has tried S-33 in Bitter-style beers and what their results were.

 

[Ashz]

I have a pale ale still in the primary on S-33 right now. Jury is still out in my opinion. Samples taken from the same batch that sits on Nottingham look completely different at this point.

The nottingham is pretty much done, crystal clear, and I haven't even cold crashed. Finished at 1.01. The 33 is extremely cloudy and sits at about 1.016. Tastes are each unique, though not bad with the 33, it's just different than the nottingham. I will wait until it is done, carbed, and do a side by side comparison.

I have not done a bitter with it though. I wouldn't be opposed to trying it. I would probably do another split batch as I did with the 10 gallons of Pale ale. If it's a recipe that you know then try it out.

My next bitter is about three batches away though. Let us know if you try it.

 

[menschmaschine]

How long have they been fermenting? It sounds like S-33 might act similar to Windsor in regards to flocculation and attenuation, though hopefully not quite to the degree of Windsor.

The recipe I'm thinking of trying it in is my house Ordinary Bitter recipe. I've used probably 4 different yeasts in it and I always come back to WLP023 (Burton Ale). But making starters is not my favorite thing, so if I can find a dry yeast I like as much as the Burton Ale yeast, then that would be great.

 

[Ashz]

Exactly 18 days today.

 

[phasedweasel]

I'm drinking a Best Bitter right now I made with S-33. Mine came out extremely cloudy as well, and the gravity stayed higher than I wanted. It's only been in the bottle for about a week and a half though, so it hasn't cold conditioned yet.

I'm also getting a little more estery / banana flavor than I wanted, though this was fermented around 70°, which was higher than desirable but happened because of life.

 

[danorocks17]

i used 33 for an IIPA and was not really pleased with the results. It definitely has a lot of estery banana flavor, which was not what I was going for. I had previously used it in a Belgian trippel and it came out fantastic.

I personally would not use it for any kind of bitter, but that's just my opinion.

 

[menschmaschine]

So, as far as English-style beers are concerned, S-33 is sounding like Windsor with banana. Glad I asked. It looks like I'll still be making starters for my Bitters.

Ashz and phasedweasel, I'd be interested to know if you end up being pleased with the final results.

danorocks17, at what temperature did you ferment it?

 

[waldoar15]

I used S-04 on an ESB. It's pretty clear, but still needs another week on the gas as far as taste goes. It's still a little on the green side.