Safale US-05 vs California Ale

[clint1019]

Recently I inquired about the use of White Labs California Ale Yeast at my local home brew supply store. The girl working that day recommended using Safale US-05 instead. Apparently they are the same strand of yeast, you are not going to get any difference in flavor using one vs the other, and the Safale is $3 and some change less than the California Ale.

Is this true? Can anyone confirm this?

 

[bob1852]

In general, US-05, WLP001, and Wyeast 1056 are considered to be the same strain; so, yes...

 

[smagee]

They're both "neutral" strains; I've used them basically interchangeably. You use those yeasts precisely because you don't want any specific flavors .

 

[jfowler1]

Yes, if not the same, extremely similar. Some podcasts talk about the US-05 giving a bit of a peach ester, but honestly, I used it for a year or so and never really picked that up. I understand it is a little more noticeable if your beer is not dominated by late hops or a lot of character grains, and I am sure that fermentation temperatures would also attribute to the level of "peach" that one would perceive. If anything, it might compliment the citrus character of the "C" hops you are most apt to use in American Ales. Personally, I started using White Labs yeast and starters because it is supposed to be a slightly better product, and opens up a whole world of strains, but I was always happy in the past to just rehydrate (with 100 degree F water) and pitch the US-05 into my American Ales. My brewing friend still uses it exclusively, and he has outstanding results.

If you have any questions about best practices for dry yeast, see this Q&A linked below with Dr. Clayton Cone from Lallemand (Danstar). I've seen dry yeast completely riddled with poor advice on this board, and even Safale insults the homebrewer by offering a completely different set of instructions to their professional clients.

http://koehlerbeer.com/2008/06/07/rehydrating-dry-yeast-with-dr-clayton-cone/

To ease your concerns about dry yeast, I will also offer an article from an older issue of Zymurgy. Tod Mott from the Portsmouth Brew Pub compared Cal Ale V (WLP001 would have been a better choice), WY1056, and a couple blends of dry yeast. He gets really into the details about attenuation, flavors, lag times, etc. It is a great read.

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/attachments/0000/1228/JAzym06_YeastDebate.pdf

Handle it right, and US-05 will give you great results.

Joe

 

[wildwest450]

Yes, if not the same, extremely similar. Some podcasts talk about the US-05 giving a bit of a peach ester, but honestly, I used it for a year or so and never really picked that up.

I definitely get fruity, "peachy" esters, but only when fermented at the very low end, 59-60f, strange as it may seem.

In the mid range where I usually ferment it, 63-65f nice and clean, it's a solid dry yeast.


_

 

[g-star]

S-05 is cheaper, has a higher cell count, and you don't need to make a starter for beers up to about 1.070, yet still provides that same clean taste. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

 

[Teacher]

I definitely get fruity, "peachy" esters, but only when fermented at the very low end, 59-60f, strange as it may seem.

In the mid range where I usually ferment it, 63-65f nice and clean, it's a solid dry yeast.


_

Hmmmm...maybe that's why I've never gotten those flavors. I've used 1056 and US-05 multiple times and never noticed a difference in the same recipes (though I admit I never did a split batch or even a side-by-side). But my fermentation temps were never that low.

 

[wildwest450]

Hmmmm...maybe that's why I've never gotten those flavors. I've used 1056 and US-05 multiple times and never noticed a difference in the same recipes (though I admit I never did a split batch or even a side-by-side). But my fermentation temps were never that low.

I did a pseudo pilsner with it. 100% pilsner malt and all Saaz hops. I actually "lagered" it at 35f for 3 weeks. It was pretty apparent, but not a bad thing, it was a great summer beer.

 

[bighand]

I use US-05 exclusively whenever I want a neutral american ale yeast. So much easier to rehydrate dry yeast vs. making a starter.

 

[boostsr20]

A friend and I split two 10 gallon batches. One was a Rye IPA and the other was a Black IPA. He used S05 and I used wlp001. The only noticeable difference was that mine came out a touch dryer. Other than that, they were very similar.

 

[Revvy]

It is the same strain, it's the famed "chico" strain of yeast. That's why it's really silly to spend the extra money on the liquid strain, when the dry is the same. And you can just as easily wash and re-use it as you can the liquid. AND you don't need to make a starter with it the first time.....

 

[clint1019]

Well, I guess I'll save some money and use the us-05. Thanks for all the info everyone.

 

[pfooti]

The only noticeable difference is US-05 doesn't seem to clear as quickly. I've noticed this myself, although it's not a huge difference and cold-conditioning your beer gets the yeast to drop. I've heard that the drying process tends to favor slightly smaller yeast cells, which might help explain why that happens. But all told, it's a great yeast. I've used it quite a bit.

 

[Gzuufy]

I make pretty much the same brew every three weeks or so, I'm told it's similar to IPA, my own recipe. I've been home brewing since about 2010, and do not consider myself an expert, far from it. I'm also a lazy brewer, I want brewing to be fun and am trying to keep it simple.

I'd been using California Ale Yeast, and was always happy with it until one tube I bought seemed very poor, even though there was a month or so to expiration. My next batch I tried Safale 05, which I'm sampling right now, but it hasn't cold conditioned long enough yet. This was not a side by side test. I used room temperature for fermentation, which may have been somewhat different between batches because they're sequential batches. They're very similar yeasts, but don't seem exactly the same.

I ferment for 3 weeks and when kegged Brix is typically 4.9 +/- 0.05 or thereabouts when using California Ale Yeast. With the Safale 05, Brix was 5.35 at the same age. Additionally, with Safale 05, it doesn't seem quite as crystal clear, though additional aging may clear it more.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

What would you say the differences are?

 

[brewbama]

I saw a comparison that brewed a split batch and inoculated one ferm with US-05 and the other with WYEAST 1056. They say the US-05 let more hop taste thru but were otherwise identical.

 

[Gzuufy]

What would you say the differences are?

I would agree with the following statements made by other members.

Jfowler1 wrote in regards to Safale 05, "a bit of a peach ester", I don't know that I'd characterize it as peach, perhaps it's a good description. Wildwest450 wrote in regards to Safale 05, "fruity". Manually changing fermentation temperature is a bit more labor than I care to persue, but the Safale 05 is ever so slightly sweeter.

Boostsr20 wrote in regards to California Ale Yeast, "mine came out a touch dryer."