yeast

[Adam's Apples]

My LHBS have always given me Safale-04 dry yeast when I have asked for yeast, which I have stuck with for the 7 brews I have completed so far. I have no reason to change yet, since I have always been happy with the results. I have used the yeast for dark mild, IPA and ordinary bitter style beers and have been happy with the attenuation and flavours of the final beer so far.

However, I have heard that, even when all other recipe ingredients and variables are the same, just selecting a different style / brand of yeast can make a difference to the beer flavour.

Upon closer inspection at my LHBS today, I found they also have Nottingham yeast, Muntons, Muntons Gold and Youngs yeast. I am hesitant to change yeast, which is silly, but maybe I should split a batch and try and gauge the effect on the beer.

Do any of you guys have a favourite or a list of preferred yeast for different beer types / styles? I will find out over time I guess, but I'm wondering just how much influence the yeast has on the final product. I'm always happy to experiment with grains and hop types, but it hadn't occurred to me to change the yeast I use! By the way, I have so far only used dried yeast, which I have always rehydrated.

Cheers

 

[bradsul]

I use Nottingham in pretty much everything that doesn't require a specialty yeast (hefe's come to mind). If I were you I'd steer clear of the Muntons yeasts, I used them for a while and S-04 and Nottingham are FAR superior IMO.

If I were you I'd go with Nottingham in any English style beers and go with S-04 in the American styles. Changing the yeast will definitely change the beer in many styles. Some styles it's much harder to tell (stouts for example).

 

[CBBaron]

S-04 is a good yeast for most english ale styles.
Nottingham is a cleaner and more attenutative English yeast that works well for bigger english styles and a number of other styles that use a clean yeast.
US-05 is a clean attenutative american yeast good for most american ales.
These are the only dry yeasts I use. If I need something with more yeast character I go with the liquid from both Whitelabs and Wyeast.

Craig