Yeast recommendations for a newbie

[rookiecd]

Hi All, I've been reading about yeasts and I'm totally confused about what to buy. I've read some that say to use a fast acting yeast like Nottingham and others use slow acting yeast. I've only made one batch, an Irish Red Ale, and I used whatever dry yeast that came with the kit (I think it was Munton's). The batch came out great and tasted fine. I generally like beers like the ales and the porters, but I'm totally confused about the yeasts. There are so many varieties that I don't know what to choose. I don't know if I was just lucky or if I should be looking for a particular yeast for a particular kind of beer. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[ayoungrad]

Since you are just starting, I would recommend dry yeast.

Fermentis makes great yeast. US05 works perfectly for most American ales. S04 is good for beers needing a little more yeast character.

 

[wailingguitar]

Nottingham is good, I have never used S05 as such, but I have used the Wyeast version of the same yeast and find it nice... Safale S04 is my fave dry yeast. I quite like it what it does for my beer and use it not only for convenience, but because it's a good yeast

 

[maffewl]

You really can't go wrong with Notty, S-04 & S-05 as far as dry yeast goes... but my personal favorites are Wyeast 1450 Denny's Favorite and WLP007 Dry English Ale (This is the yeast that Stone uses).

 

[wolfman_48442]

I think Nottingham is dangerous for a beginner, because unless you either have temp control, or have a space that's at a constant 50-55 F (to keep fermentation at 60-ish), Nottingham can give off some really nasty flavors that can be really discouraging, especially if it's one of your first brews.

S04 or S05 all the way for getting your feet wet!

 

[bferullo]

i have used both s04 and s05. either are great. both are my go to dry strains.

 

[ayoungrad]

WLP007 Dry English Ale (This is the yeast that Stone uses).

OT: WLP007 and SO4 are stated to be the same strain. And I agree it's close to Stone's strain...

But elsewhere on the net I've read that the closest yeast to the Stone house strain (stated to be confirmed by someone from Stone) that can be purchased is WLP002. Of course, that strain is clearly different from their house strain because it does not attenuate nearly enough to be the Stone strain. I guess I need to learn how to harvest yeast at some point.

 

[maffewl]

I guess I should say that WLP007 is purportedly Stone's yeast strain as that is what I've most commonly heard. I can't guarantee that it actually is. However, I do know that it is one of my favorite house strains along with Denny's Fav. like I mentioned.

I'm going to have to agree that with Notty, you need to keep the ferm. temps. on the lower side. However, you don't need a fermentation chamber or basement... when I started, I used a swamp cooler (a $6 tub bought from Lowe's in which I filled with water and placed the fermenter into, then changed out frozen water bottles 2-3 times a day) that kept the temps around 55-60 degrees. So I would not say it is dangerous or beyond a new brewer to use such a yeast. Find the strain you would like to try out, read about it, get excited, and have fun!

 

[william_shakes_beer]

Back to the OP: Everybody has their favorite yeast strain. When I first started I used whatever the recipie called for. 9 batches later I have elected to begin farming. I have harvested Nottingham, a white lab belgian and plan to select a hefe when I do my next batch of that. My purpose is to settle down on 3 strains and learn their abilities and limitations in greater detail. In short, I'm in the process of answering that question for myself. Your mileage may vary. Kinda like golf: Brewing takes a short time to learn and a lifetime to understand.