MajorPowell
Active Member
When I purchase an extract kit, how do I know which yeast to select from the options? I have no idea what the differences are. Any tips or general guidelines on this?
Which Yeast?
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Kesigage
Member
I wonder this as well. I just did a double batch and pitched the wrong yeast in both. After doing some research and calling the vendor I got the kits from, it really didn't matter.
I know some beers like a Hefe require a specific yeast, but can you use one type of yeast for most of your brews?
(MajorPowell - Didn't mean to hijack, but I think we have the same question. Sort of...)
Well, obviously, a wheat ale or hefeweizen yeast for wheat beers. US-05 is good for most American style ales, unless you want to use liquid yeast. Then there are a greater number of yeasts to choose from. Do you want certain flavors from the yeast esters? Or do you want clean? The descriptions of yeasts on various supply sites can help you decide.
Besides what percentage of alcohol the yeast can tolerate. This also helps determine which one to use. I like the dry S-04 rehydrated for English style ales. It can be a beast! I've had it finish my ESB in 10 days & well cleared.
So a little research into what various yeasts are good for & what esters they give can be very helpful. Also, what flocculation rate they have also determines how fast they'll settle out when they've finished fermenting.
Besides what percentage of alcohol the yeast can tolerate. This also helps determine which one to use. I like the dry S-04 rehydrated for English style ales. It can be a beast! I've had it finish my ESB in 10 days & well cleared.
So a little research into what various yeasts are good for & what esters they give can be very helpful. Also, what flocculation rate they have also determines how fast they'll settle out when they've finished fermenting.
Stays clean too, up to like 76F or so for me when it spiked in the past. But it's medium flocculation, & can sometimes take it's time settling out.
Kesigage
Member
I would like to use a heat tolerant yeast, so looks like US-05 would work. But what about using it in Reds, IPAs, and Belgium style beer? Is there a liquid yeast equivalent?
mrgrimm101
Well-Known Member
I use US-05 all the time. It is a dry yeast so I always rehydrate it to increase the viability. I've used US-05 in IPAs, stouts, strong ales, porters, pale ales, etc. It is a great, clean yeast with a neutral flavor. I've used S04 a few times, which will have more fruity, estery flavors, more along the lines of English style ales. Another good choice for a fairly neutral, if not slightly fruity dry yeast would be Nottingham.
There are indeed liquid equivalents to most, if not all, dry yeast strains, and vice versa. Regardless of whether it's dry or liquid, yeast strains are most often classified by the style they are to be used in. American, California, English, Belgian, Trappist, Abbey, Saison, Scottish, etc.
I generally try to choose the yeast that lends itself best to whatever style I am brewing.
This is where you're going to have to do some research about the styles you want to brew and the flavors you want to get from the beer.
There are indeed liquid equivalents to most, if not all, dry yeast strains, and vice versa. Regardless of whether it's dry or liquid, yeast strains are most often classified by the style they are to be used in. American, California, English, Belgian, Trappist, Abbey, Saison, Scottish, etc.
I generally try to choose the yeast that lends itself best to whatever style I am brewing.
This is where you're going to have to do some research about the styles you want to brew and the flavors you want to get from the beer.
When a kit vendor gives options, generally consider them to be fungible, particular for a new brewer.
Typically the options are between dry, White Labs or Wyeast and occasionally other brands.
Dry has the advantage of price and shelf life.
Me? After trying the three types, I became a pretty regular White Labs user. I like the smell of the newly opened liquid yeasts. My arthritic hands have trouble with Wyeast. (I haven't used the new White Labs packets.) And White Labs gives me a free yeast for every 10 labels (now one of which is from free yeast).
I recommend trying a different offered brand (not strain) until you pick your preferred brand.
Remember some recipes might push you to a different brand. I have a recipe deep in my queue that asks for a Wyeast strain that doesn't have a White Labs equivalent. Wyeast it will be.
Typically the options are between dry, White Labs or Wyeast and occasionally other brands.
Dry has the advantage of price and shelf life.
Me? After trying the three types, I became a pretty regular White Labs user. I like the smell of the newly opened liquid yeasts. My arthritic hands have trouble with Wyeast. (I haven't used the new White Labs packets.) And White Labs gives me a free yeast for every 10 labels (now one of which is from free yeast).
I recommend trying a different offered brand (not strain) until you pick your preferred brand.
Remember some recipes might push you to a different brand. I have a recipe deep in my queue that asks for a Wyeast strain that doesn't have a White Labs equivalent. Wyeast it will be.
LOL fungible....havent seen that word in a while
there are usually equivalent strains between most major yeast companies, both dry and liquid. What type of beer are you making? This entirely determines what type of yeast is suitable. But any good homebrewing site will give you recommended yeasts. Of course you can always pick anything you want to switch thigs up
there are usually equivalent strains between most major yeast companies, both dry and liquid. What type of beer are you making? This entirely determines what type of yeast is suitable. But any good homebrewing site will give you recommended yeasts. Of course you can always pick anything you want to switch thigs up
MikeSkril
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I use the resource Mike linked often. My advice is to research some clone recipes of beers you know well and compare the yeast strains they use.
Sometime I experiment with different yeasts a bit. I used Belgian yeast in an attempted imperial stout. It was supposed to be tolerant up to 10% ABV. I hit the OG I wanted, but hit a wall during fermentation and only ended up with about 6.5% ABV.
I did get the fruity esters I wanted. Now it's just a sweet american stout that has something similar to banana flavor. I'm happy with it.
I second trying out some different yeasts and finding what you like. For instance, I'm not a huge fan of US05 (I find it a bit 'peachy' at almost every temperature) but my wife really likes it. I think hop forward beers that use Wyeast American Ale II (WY1272) come out really nice, the yeast has a very slight fruitiness that compliments tropical and citrus hop flavors, IMO. A lot of people find a house strain that works well in a variety of styles. I was using WY1272 for a lot of different styles of beer but I've gone back to trying different strains, recently I brewed a beer with S04 and my ESB is currently fermenting with WLP002. Yeast is such an important ingredient I find it's hard to settle on any one since I still have so many different ones to try out!
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MajorPowell
Active Member
Honestly I am brewing my very first batch! I bought an equipment kit from Norther Brewer that came with their Block Party Amber Ale recipe kit. But the question arose as I looked at other recipe kits on their site and others. I had no idea what to choose from the options for each kit.
Prior to this I have just helped a buddy on his brew days to learn the ropes and it seems like I remember seeing Nottingham and Wyeast in his various batches.
Nottingham is a dry yeast. Wyeast offers many different liquid strains.
Kits provide the option of either a dry or liquid yeast. If your first batch, keep it simple and go dry yeast. Liquid strains offer more variety, but you will need to make a starter (one more step that I wouldn't recommend you worrying about on your first batch). For the basic 5 gallon batch (OG less than 1.060) one pack of dry yeast will do the trick. For an Amber, I would think US-05 is your choice. Are you able to control your fermentation temps in a fridge, or will it be sitting at room temperature?
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MajorPowell
Active Member
I was going to keep it at room temperature, but I can control it in a fridge if necessary.
What is "room temperature" for you? I see some people doing the fermentation in the mid to high 70s and it never turns out well (aside from using certain yeasts that like hot temps)
I would try to keep it below 70, regardless of yeast strain (for ales). Keep in mind that the heat from fermentation will make the actual beer a few degrees warmer than ambient air
I would try to keep it below 70, regardless of yeast strain (for ales). Keep in mind that the heat from fermentation will make the actual beer a few degrees warmer than ambient air
Block Party Amber Ale uses Muntons Ale Yeast per chat session with Charles.
NB is good in their chats.
NB is good in their chats.
GHBWNY
Well-Known Member
For Belgians, there are some yeasts that are more specific to that style (golden, strong, blonde, tripel, dubbel, etc.). Again, depends upon whether you need alcohol tolerance, flavor from the yeast, flocculation, etc.. Union's suggestion to check manufacturers' websites for descriptions, etc. was a great help to me when I started going off the board with my own recipes.
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MajorPowell
Active Member
Thanks for the advice. I was going to keep it in my basement during fermentation which would put between 60 and 70 degrees. So I should be good to go in that regard.
I hope the batch comes out well
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MajorPowell
Active Member
That's good to know. Yeah, this one came with that yeast, but I was wondering for some other recipe kits I was looking at.
For simple temp control, do a search for -swamp cooler - . if your basement is in the 60 to 70 range I'd suggest placing your fermenter into a larger container ( plastic tote, larger bucket, cooler...) With water. This will help moderate your fermentation temp and keep it in the mid 60's.
Like the others have said, you should choose your yeast by your style - but you also need to consider the optimum fermentation temp and make sure you can stay in that range. If a liquid strain fits best don't be afraid to use it.... While a yeast starter is generally a good idea, it is not mandatory especially for lower gravity brews (<1.050 or so)... In my experience, temp control, sanitation, and procedure are more critical.....no need to get into finer details for your first batches.
Like the others have said, you should choose your yeast by your style - but you also need to consider the optimum fermentation temp and make sure you can stay in that range. If a liquid strain fits best don't be afraid to use it.... While a yeast starter is generally a good idea, it is not mandatory especially for lower gravity brews (<1.050 or so)... In my experience, temp control, sanitation, and procedure are more critical.....no need to get into finer details for your first batches.
Fermenting beer gets hotter than the air around it (fermentation creates heat) so your actual beer could get well into the 70's. A swamp cooler would be good (see previous comments from other people) and that makes US-05 that much more of an attractive choice since it stays cleaner at higher temps than most other yeasts. You'll get a bit of a tangy peach taste, but that's not really a bad thing. I like it personally.
I never got the peach flavor ester from US-05, whether low, like 64F, to highs of 76F or so. Definitely likes to brew clean, regardless. I think maybe water profile might have something to do with aiding the temp to produce that peach ester?
mrgrimm101
Well-Known Member
I've gotten the peachy flavors from US-05, but it fermented out at about 60F ambient. It could have dipped down to around 58F-59F at points.
Personally I think it US05 throws a compound that produces a "peachy" taste, in greater concentrations at lower temperatures. People have varying levels of flavor threshold, which is why some people notice it more.
It's not too hard to imagine, given the various levels that people detect compounds like diacetyl.
It's not too hard to imagine, given the various levels that people detect compounds like diacetyl.
That's part of it but different people are more sensitive to different flavors. My tongue seems to be really sensitive to esters for some reason (while completely missing other flavors), estery English ales are just nails on the chalkboard for me for example just an overwhelming blast of overripe fruit that drowns out everything else and ruins the beer (for me) while the people next to me barely notice it and comment on the great maltiness.
For me US-05 tends to be pleasantly fruity in the way that a lot of other people describe English ales, I can instantly taste it in craft brews.
English ales are known for fruity esters. It's normal for them to be that way. But US-05? I can taste a lot of things as my various ales warm in the glass, But not so much from US-05?...It's definitely a temp issue, at any rate. Possibly compounded by water used or it's make-up?
Check out White Labs web site, it has good breakdown of the different yeast and what beers it is better in. If you don't go White Lab you will have a good idea of to look for when shopping for yeast.
