Us05 experience

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
When I started brewing I read about US-05 being the most common homebrewers yeast. I was mainly after the neipa whale, so I never used it, except for 1 stout, which I have since brewed with S-04. (I like the less clean S-04 for the stout.)

Last year I made a West Coat Pale and decided to try WLP001. Enjoyed it immensely and re-brewed it last month with US-05. It's literally one of the cleanest and best home brews I've produced. Fermented at 68, and it smells and tastes just like a commercial beer. 2 Row, a little Vienna and Crystal 20. I've since tweaked it to get a bit more malt backbone and higher IBU, but damn is it tasty. I don't get any tartness whatsoever. Can't wait to use it again. LOVE not making starters.
 
I use US-05 a lot and can't say I ever got a twang. Done every temp range the yeast can handle. Also co-pitch with Lager yeast on 3 or 4 different styles fermented in mid 50's. Also co-pitched with Belgian Trappist yeast that I pushed the temp too high for the US-05, pushed a little past 76/78 IIRC trying to get the most fruit out of the Belgian but got bubble gum also from the 05. In the beginning before temp control S-04 would throw some twang as it ferments too hot for my basement ambient temp. Just my experience. :mug: I've got a diacetyl detector built into my taste buds so I know the feeling of picking up on a flavor some others don't catch. That's partially the reason I co-pitch the 05 with the few hybrid lagers I do, besides me having to have a huge amount of lager yeast I get the flavor profile I want from the lager yeast but the US-05 also pulls it's weight then helps on the clean up so I don't get even a hint of diacetyl.
 
I don't want to deflect this topic, it is far too important for that, but I'm British and choose yeast for what they might give to a beer, so would anyone care to help me understand what "Clean" describes about a yeast's characteristic?
I think of "clean" as little or no flavor contribution from the yeast. One would use a clean yeast where the flavor of hops and/or malt are preferred to be dominant.
 
I have tried US-05 side by side in a split batch with both wlp001 and Wyeast 1056. The liquid yeasts were way better in both cases. Did not like the US05 at all. My wife said it tasted more like “home brew” lol. I can’t put my finger on why but I had to agree. Split batches were treated identically other than having slightly different fermentation schedules and temps according to manufactures recommendations. It did improve some with age though, but still not as good.

I have never tried 2nd gen US05 but have heard it improves. I have yet to find a dry yeast for IPAs that I like at all first gen to be honest. Wyeast 1056 is my all time favorite for clean yeasts. I know, OP was wanting dry though.
 
US-05 has always worked fine for me. But I like S-04 as well, might want to try that. It was metioned above that it presented tart, but I'd more descibe as clean and dry with the grain bills I usually use. It seems to have slightly higher attenuation rate than US-05.
I also get good results with S-04 & US-05.



'Forum wisdom' regarding typical off flavors in dry yeast is beginning to feel a lot like 'extract darker than expected'.

People occasionally comment about it first hand, but seem to be unwilling to share full recipes and brew day data - which would be useful for additional troubleshooting and test batch brewing.



Given the amount information presented here, in a court of law, it's plausible that the complaint would be dismissed due to lack of evidence LOL (and perhaps with prejudice 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️).

"US-05: you are free to continue to make beer that delights people through out the world".
 
Last edited:
I have tried US-05 side by side in a split batch with both wlp001 and Wyeast 1056. The liquid yeasts were way better in both cases. Did not like the US05 at all. My wife said it tasted more like “home brew” lol. I can’t put my finger on why but I had to agree. Split batches were treated identically other than having slightly different fermentation schedules and temps according to manufactures recommendations. It did improve some with age though, but still not as good.

Interesting. What did you do as far as the pitch rate for the batches? Direct pitch or with a starter? What size batches and gravity? What style beer?

I have used 1056 and 001 a lot over the years, but never in a side by side. I have been moving mostly to dry yeast over the past year or two, and I have made some excellent IPAs and Pale Ales with US-05 (including a recent silver medal for an IPA made with US-05). I have played around with a few other dry yeasts for hoppy beers (BRY-97 and M36/Liberty Bell...a recent Pale Ale with Notty), but keep finding I like Chico/US-05 the best. A split batch with 001 vs 1056 vs US-05 might be fun.

I actually really liked the way that Pale Ale with Nottingham turned out. It was a 100% Simcoe and it is a bit hard to pick out what flavors are from the yeast vs the hops. Fermentation finished faster than I would expect with US-05.
 
I also get good results with S-04 & US-05.



'Forum wisdom' regarding typical off flavors in dry yeast is beginning to feel a lot like 'extract darker than expected'.

People occasionally comment about it first hand, but seem to be unwilling to share full recipes and brew day data - which would be useful for additional troubleshooting and test batch brewing.



Given the amount information presented here, in a court of law, it's plausible that the complaint would be dismissed due to lack of evidence LOL (and perhaps with prejudice 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️).

"US-05: you are free to continue to make beer that delights people through out the world".
Or some people taste things differently, im no rookie to using us05 never said it doesn’t produce good beer it sure does, i was asking if people experience tartness from it like i do , more of a discussion about the character it produces not a us05 bashing post, you love us05? Great! Thats all that matters
 
back in #3, you mentioned
I am gonna switch my dry house yeast to something different

which is fine.

If you're still looking for a deeper explanation of the unexpected flavor, more information will be needed to assist in identifying some possible causes. In the mean time,

"US-05: you are free to continue to make beer that delights people through out the world".
 
back in #3, you mentioned


which is fine.

If you're still looking for a deeper explanation of the unexpected flavor, more information will be needed to assist in identifying some possible causes. In the mean time,

"US-05: you are free to continue to make beer that delights people through out the world".
Its not a unexpected flavor, every single beer i brew with us05 has it and i dont think its a problem, its perfectly fine just not what i want

Go free us05 and continue to do what you do people love you but i just like ya a little bit
 
Its not a unexpected flavor, every single beer i brew with us05 has it and i dont think its a problem, its perfectly fine just not what i want

Go free us05 and continue to do what you do people love you but i just like ya a little bit
Have you tried building up US05 in a stepped starter from a small amount of dry yeast? I know, it is not especially handy, but this would actually shine some light on the dry yeast controversial.

My personal thought is, that dry yeast is too stressed from the drying process to perform as good as it could during the first generation. Following generations did not face that drying stress, so these should yield optimum results, if what I think is true.
 
I don't recall a tartness from us-05 and I've used it more than any other yeast.
I just used Cellar Science Cali and it is pretty neutral like my experience with us05
Are you bottling or kegging? I have noticed some odd flavors when pouring from a bottled beer and I got some yeast in the glass.
 
My personal thought is, that dry yeast is too stressed from the drying process to perform as good as it could during the first generation. Following generations did not face that drying stress, so these should yield optimum results, if what I think is true.
In the 2017 - 2019 timeframe, over in AHA forums, there was discussion where people reported better results with re-pitches of some dry ale yeast strains.



A split batch using a single package of yeast (one half sprinkled or rehydrated, the other half with a starter) would be interesting. Having common (or at least well documented) for processes rehydrating and making the starter would help others reproduce the 'experiment'.
 
In the 2017 - 2019 timeframe, over in AHA forums, there was discussion where people reported better results with re-pitches of some dry ale yeast strains.



A split batch using a single package of yeast (one half sprinkled or rehydrated, the other half with a starter) would be interesting. Having common (or at least well documented) for processes rehydrating and making the starter would help others reproduce the 'experiment'.
Good idea!

But it would be probably better to lower the amount if dry yeast in the starter to make sure that the cell count that gets thrown into the wort is equal on both sides.
 
Has anyone purposely underpitched US-05? If so what flavor difference did you notice? Completion time, etc.. I remember someone posting on a different thread about using only one package regardless of the SG. Then just waiting it out.
 
Has anyone purposely underpitched US-05? If so what flavor difference did you notice? Completion time, etc.. I remember someone posting on a different thread about using only one package regardless of the SG. Then just waiting it out.

As far as most yeast calculators are concerned, all my initial pitches with US-05 are underpitched; One 11.5 gram packet for 10 gallons wort. This is however, not far off from yeast manufacture's instructions.

After that, I brew many subsequent batches cone to cone, these are probably technically overpitched.

I really have not noticed a flavor difference between beers brewed with initial pitch and those with yeast cake from prior batch(s).

Admittedly, I never tried to make an identical two batches in a row for controlled taste, but a lot of my ales are blondes and riffs on cream ales (except also use rye malt). These beers don't have a lot of complicated additional flavors to hide things, so I think I might have noticed any major
differences.

Kind of off topic, but I wonder if some of us more experienced brewers have become so discerning in taste from never having to quaff stale commercial brew, that subtle aspects of taste are picked up that "normal" beer drinkers would never notice.
 
I've always liked US 05 and after hearing Mitch Steele on a podcast I never felt a need to change for my house pale ale.
 
I brewed a 5 gal. batch of Cream of Three Crops in April with US-05 and it was definitely tart. Mellowed a bit with age, but it's still there. I just brewed another batch last week and it's still in the fermenter. I lowered the lactic acid in this batch because I think I mashed too low last time. I'm interested to see how this one turns out.
Took a gravity reading today and fermentation is near complete. Tasted the sample and it was tart like the previous batch. Safe to say the tartness is not from carbonic acid for my batches. I suspect I never tasted it in other batches because I was masking the flavor with more malt and hops. Nothing scientific here, just trying to rule things out.
 
lactic acid

FWIW, there are brewers who prefer phosphoric acid over lactic acid for mash pH adjustments. IIRC, the 'flavor descriptors' they used didn't match exactly with the 'flavor descriptors' the are being used here. Maybe it's a combination thing: acid choice + malts + yeast.
 
FWIW, there are brewers who prefer phosphoric acid over lactic acid for mash pH adjustments. IIRC, the 'flavor descriptors' they used didn't match exactly with the 'flavor descriptors' the are being used here. Maybe it's a combination thing: acid choice + malts + yeast.
Hmm. I have boosted a couple lack luster sour's in the past with the tiniest dose of lactic acid and it really made a difference sour wise at first, but faded to a more fake not earned kettle sour "sour" with time. Any time I add acid for PH reasons I always use phosphoric just for the exact reason that I don't want to sour unintentionally.
 
Adding my 2 cents as I have just recently used US 05 in back to back beers. l was surprised that the pH finished at 4.0 for both, which is lower than what I typically get. Seemed to play well in the American Wheat but can definitely pick up a twang in the APA that I don’t really care for. My hypothesis is that it is the low pH that I am picking up as the twang.
 
Adding my 2 cents as I have just recently used US 05 in back to back beers. l was surprised that the pH finished at 4.0 for both, which is lower than what I typically get. Seemed to play well in the American Wheat but can definitely pick up a twang in the APA that I don’t really care for. My hypothesis is that it is the low pH that I am picking up as the twang.
In your case, are you doing anything on brew day to adjust the water pH, or to adjust water chemistry?
 
In your case, are you doing anything on brew day to adjust the water pH, or to adjust water chemistry?
APA was mashed with 1.5% acid malt and distilled water treated with CaCl. That got me to a mash pH of 5.2 that dropped to 5.1 post boil. Same mash approach for the wheat resulting in a 5.5 mash pH, treated with 10ml/11.5L 10% phosphoric post boil for a 5.3pH in the fermenter. So nothing crazy low.
 
Gotta say I've been moderately curious about this alleged "twang" thing with US-05.
Mostly because I never experienced that character and I've used quite a bit of US-05 over the years.
And fwiw, one can find a "twang" badge frequently pinned to S04 as well. .

I wager there's a crapton of commercial brews using bricks of US-05...

Cheers!
 
Gotta say I've been moderately curious about this alleged "twang" thing with US-05.
Mostly because I never experienced that character and I've used quite a bit of US-05 over the years.
And fwiw, one can find a "twang" badge frequently pinned to S04 as well. .

I wager there's a crapton of commercial brews using bricks of US-05...

Cheers!
I think “twang” can be found anywhere, I honestly dont even think its a “flaw” more of a subjective experience thing, some people pick things up while others dont, maybe the ones that do are the odd ones out with us05 🙋🏻‍♂️Im one of those
 
Interesting. What did you do as far as the pitch rate for the batches? Direct pitch or with a starter? What size batches and gravity? What style beer?

I have used 1056 and 001 a lot over the years, but never in a side by side. I have been moving mostly to dry yeast over the past year or two, and I have made some excellent IPAs and Pale Ales with US-05 (including a recent silver medal for an IPA made with US-05). I have played around with a few other dry yeasts for hoppy beers (BRY-97 and M36/Liberty Bell...a recent Pale Ale with Notty), but keep finding I like Chico/US-05 the best. A split batch with 001 vs 1056 vs US-05 might be fun.

I actually really liked the way that Pale Ale with Nottingham turned out. It was a 100% Simcoe and it is a bit hard to pick out what flavors are from the yeast vs the hops. Fermentation finished faster than I would expect with US-05.
I went through a small phase earlier this year where I wanted to see for myself whether I could switch to dry and stop messing with starters. What I found was it’s hard to compare yeasts. Different temps, fermentations schedules, pitch rates, characteristics, etc. But after 4 mediocre batches of dry, I quit. All liquid yeast batches came out good.
I did 2 US05 and 2 Nottingham batches. Each was 1 or 1.5 packets for the dry sprinkled direct and my standard stir plate starter for the liquid. They were 11 gallon batches split evenly through a hose with a tee connector to 5.5 gallon batches in SS Anvil bucket fermenters. All house IPAs. OGs ranged from 1.055 to 1.063. US05 fermented with a pretty steady line downward - notty was fast.

I used post pitch low oxygen practices with purged kegs on all batches. I wish I could describe the off flavor from the dry yeast but it was a little muddled and the hops were not as popping. Kinda tasted a little oxidized or a similar flavor, but not in your face. I may not have noticed as much if it wasn’t side by side with the liquid yeast batches.
 
The "tartness" trait some of you all are describing......is it like a green apple kind of tartness? I've tasted that with some of my past beers, but I never thought that could be attributed to the yeast and in a way I still don't but this discussion peaks my curiosity on that. I've read a lot of posts in the past here where US-05 had a undesirable peachy note to it if fermenting too low. I've kept my beers with this yeast between 68F-72F. This last beer I brewed (Two Hearted Ale type clone), I pitched US-05 at 75F and the temp dropped down to 72F. It was still flat when I tried it yesterday, but I didn't detect anything besides it being flat.

Ten years ago when I first joined here, You couldn't mention dry yeast without also including US-05 or S-04. Now we have a whole lot more options out there!
 
Just adding to this conversation. I've been experimenting with US-05 this year. I brewed an Amber ale earlier in the year and noticed a subtle tart/sweetness in the beer. I might say it was cider like, but just barely. Because I had two brews going and my fermentation chamber was full I let the Amber ferment in the basement where the ambient temp was around 64. The mash temp was 150. I had read about US-05's peachy flavors I assumed the flavors were due to a low ferm temp. The beer was still quite good, I was just not excited about the slight tart flavor.

More recently I brewed a Cream of Three crops batch and since I was using 05 again I kept the fermentation temp up around 67. Mash temp was 152. I noticed the tartness again, stronger than in the Amber, but I assumed this was due to the less robust flavors of Three crops VS an Amber ale.

I'm now trying some similar recipes with M44 and Nottingham to see if I notice the flavors there. I did a few brews with liquid yeast in between (Irish Red w/ Omega OYL-005 and another Amber with OYL- 004) and did not notice the tarntess in either of these brews.

Maybe as @MHBT mentioned, it's just something about my taster that picks up the tartness. Others who try the beers like them and are not that aware of the tartness unless I mention it.

Hmmm
 
Gotta say I've been moderately curious about this alleged "twang" thing with US-05.
Mostly because I never experienced that character and I've used quite a bit of US-05 over the years.
And fwiw, one can find a "twang" badge frequently pinned to S04 as well. .

I wager there's a crapton of commercial brews using bricks of US-05...

Cheers!
I know of one big brewery in CT that uses bricks of US-05. I got to chat with the owner/head brewer, and he said they use it a lot.
 
When I started brewing I read about US-05 being the most common homebrewers yeast. I was mainly after the neipa whale, so I never used it, except for 1 stout, which I have since brewed with S-04. (I like the less clean S-04 for the stout.)

Last year I made a West Coat Pale and decided to try WLP001. Enjoyed it immensely and re-brewed it last month with US-05. It's literally one of the cleanest and best home brews I've produced. Fermented at 68, and it smells and tastes just like a commercial beer. 2 Row, a little Vienna and Crystal 20. I've since tweaked it to get a bit more malt backbone and higher IBU, but damn is it tasty. I don't get any tartness whatsoever. Can't wait to use it again. LOVE not making starters.
Updated recipe if you're interested:

Pale 1.png
pale 2.png
pale 3.png


It's a kickass beer. I'm my own worst critic, and I love this beer. Looking forward to amping up the hops and going more bitter. Haven't even dry hopped yet. Made 20 gallons of it since June :)
 
Just adding to this conversation. I've been experimenting with US-05 this year. I brewed an Amber ale earlier in the year and noticed a subtle tart/sweetness in the beer. I might say it was cider like, but just barely. Because I had two brews going and my fermentation chamber was full I let the Amber ferment in the basement where the ambient temp was around 64. The mash temp was 150. I had read about US-05's peachy flavors I assumed the flavors were due to a low ferm temp. The beer was still quite good, I was just not excited about the slight tart flavor.

More recently I brewed a Cream of Three crops batch and since I was using 05 again I kept the fermentation temp up around 67. Mash temp was 152. I noticed the tartness again, stronger than in the Amber, but I assumed this was due to the less robust flavors of Three crops VS an Amber ale.

I'm now trying some similar recipes with M44 and Nottingham to see if I notice the flavors there. I did a few brews with liquid yeast in between (Irish Red w/ Omega OYL-005 and another Amber with OYL- 004) and did not notice the tarntess in either of these brews.

Maybe as @MHBT mentioned, it's just something about my taster that picks up the tartness. Others who try the beers like them and are not that aware of the tartness unless I mention it.

Hmmm
I taste tartness in almost every green net right or of the fermenter. After bottle conditioning, it is usually gone.
 
I can share my own experience as well: I have used US-05 over 40 times as a homebrewer and have used it 10 times in the last year, in bigger batches ( 550 liters ). I have not experienced any twang, tartness or other particularities with it. As a homebrewer, I used to pitch 2 sachets for beers that had an OG of at least 1.055-1.060, and incrementaly raised the quantity with any increase in density. Fermentis recommends a pitch rate of 50-80 gr/hl. For my bigger batches, I use a whole 500 gr brick for every batch, which is around 600 liters of wort. So I pitch at the high end of the recommended scale.

However, I have a few friends that do not like US-05, and changed to something else. What I have noticed with US-05 is the somewhat slower fermentation when compared with other strains, weird attenuation in complex worts, where mash temperature was high. Also, some different / sharper* perceived hop flavour and aroma, in some hop combinations - this is when compared with the likes of S-33, BRY-97, Nottingham, Verdant - the caveat being that hoppy beers fermented with US-05 seem to take a bit longer conditioning that with other yeast. Nothing wrong with that - just a few more days.
 
What temp are you fermenting at?

There seems to be a bit of a mentality shift on HBT regarding US-05. In the past, people almost always insisted keeping it below 66-68 because of the flavor profile. As of recent I seem to see people talk about how forgiving it is 68+. I’m not sure what’s driven the change but I’m in the below 68 camp. I ferment it in the mid 60’s and find I clean and enjoyable.
Same here. I fermented a cream ale & an APA this year with it @ 65-68 and very clean flavor.
 
I swear every yeast strain has been described by someone on this board as having every type of off-flavor at some point or another. The consensus is there is no consensus.

I've used US-05 a lot, I usually ferment at 65 (fermenter wall temp), and I primarily use it in APA and IPA. I haven't noticed tart, I get expected attenuation, and it takes a long time to flocc out compared to other yeasts I use a lot
 
I swear every yeast strain has been described by someone on this board as having every type of off-flavor at some point or another. The consensus is there is no consensus.

I've used US-05 a lot, I usually ferment at 65 (fermenter wall temp), and I primarily use it in APA and IPA. I haven't noticed tart, I get expected attenuation, and it takes a long time to flocc out compared to other yeasts I use a lot
That's because there are so many other factors than just the yeast. We are definitely not all brewing the same!

Try hitting your keg with Biofine Clear. My US05 beers are brilliantly clear less than a week in the keg. I use an oz per 5 gallons, but I think the dosage is like 1/2 or even a 1/4 that. Whoops. Been working for me. I use it in every beer except my neipas.
 
Ancedotals can lead to curiosity which can lead to suspicion which can lead to casual experimentation which can lead to better beer.



It may not be possible to have a consensus since people taste beer differently.

Some of the 1st person ancedotals have remained consistent over the years. Anything that's 'hear-say' can be discarded without thought. It's the difference between "I get peach flavors from US-05" and "You will get peach flavors from US-05". Over time one can identify a number of people who seem to be quietly looking into this topic. Follow them across multiple forums.

Yeast provider product information sheets can be good sources of yeast flavor profiles. Sometimes the information is on web pages (rather than PDFs) at the provider's web site. It's been a while since I've listened to yeast provider videos, but there may be additional information there as well.

Split batches of the same yeast, with different pitching techniques, may be interesting. Over in AHA forums, there was discussion a number of years ago on flavor differences between 1st pitch and re-pitches.

Split batches with a dry pitch and an overbuilt starter may be a starting point that offers new insights. It's highly unlikely that dry vs re-hydrated will yield fresh insights.

Be sure to record the 'best by' date of the yeast and 'lot' information. In additional to full recipes (including water profile), mash temperature, fermentation temperature, and additional ingredients (yeast nutrient?, clarifiers?, ?) could also be noted.
 
Back
Top