Brew Cellar American Ale

[ekul]

I have used this yeast on the rare occaison where i've put my brew in the fermenter and then realised i don't have any yeast, its the only yeast that my lhbs stocks.

Every time i have used it it has a really long lag time, sometimes 3-4 days. BUt after it takes off it seems to work fine with little negative effect.

I had a packet of this lying around so i used it in a faux aussie lager that i made for rellos visiting at christmas, didn't want to waste a good yeast on the brew, half of its fermentables is an old kit i had lying around and the other half is grain and rice.


So it still hasn't shown any signs of fermentation (usually the gladwrap should start to rise at day two) and there is a strong smell of mould coming from that fridge.

Anyway, i just wanted to say that this yeast is the rudes and will not give you the proper US05 experience.
You'd think it would be the lhbs's fault in not storing cold or something, but i know they do this. I have also been in there early and they haven't had any left but the truck was coming later that day. So i've used it when its fresh as possible. I think all the problems with this yeast are actually with the repackager, ie brew cellar. Its not even vacuum sealed!

So don't use it, get proper US05 (or some repackaged goodness from ross), brew cellar yeast is the same price anyway.

 

[Bubba]

I have used this yeast on the rare occaison where i've put my brew in the fermenter and then realised i don't have any yeast, its the only yeast that my lhbs stocks.

Every time i have used it it has a really long lag time, sometimes 3-4 days. BUt after it takes off it seems to work fine with little negative effect.

I had a packet of this lying around so i used it in a faux aussie lager that i made for rellos visiting at christmas, didn't want to waste a good yeast on the brew, half of its fermentables is an old kit i had lying around and the other half is grain and rice.


So it still hasn't shown any signs of fermentation (usually the gladwrap should start to rise at day two) and there is a strong smell of mould coming from that fridge.

Anyway, i just wanted to say that this yeast is the rudes and will not give you the proper US05 experience.
You'd think it would be the lhbs's fault in not storing cold or something, but i know they do this. I have also been in there early and they haven't had any left but the truck was coming later that day. So i've used it when its fresh as possible. I think all the problems with this yeast are actually with the repackager, ie brew cellar. Its not even vacuum sealed!

So don't use it, get proper US05 (or some repackaged goodness from ross), brew cellar yeast is the same price anyway.

Really?
I am surprised, I use this yeast all the time when I am not using liquid yeasts or recultured CPA yeast.
My LHBS stores it in the fridge and so do I, but I always buy it fresh, and it kicks off within 24 hours with no starter every time without fail.
I also find it has a higher attenuation than US-05.
It comes in a big 15g pack so perfect for a 23l brew.
I can only say I have nothing but positive experiences with this as a dried yeast US-05 substitute, and in fact I prefer it as it is in 15g and seems to kick off quicker.

 

[Armstrong]

Anyway, i just wanted to say that this yeast is the rudes and will not give you the proper US05 experience.

So don't use it, get proper US05 (or some repackaged goodness from ross), brew cellar yeast is the same price anyway.

It is US05 ... just packaged in their own sachets

 

[HoppingMad]

Use this yeast all the time. Sure you can get a lag time, but you get that with Fermentis Safale US-05 too.

As mentioned above the yeast is repacked Fermentis Safale US-05. It is actually better value for money than the Fermentis product as you get 15g of it instead of the usual 11.5g.

If you're getting a long lag time often its either due to not rehydrating their yeast in warm water first, or pitching into wort at the wrong temperature (you've shocked the yeast initially and it's taken time to adjust). For good yeast handling and temperature range info for this product, consult the pdf sheet available from Fermentis, as Brewcellar's packs are pretty useless for instructions. Info is available here: US-05 pdf sheet link is on base of page - click EN

Heard a recent discussion from Chris White (Whitelabs) and Jess Caudill (Wyeast) at the recent ANHC conference, and despite neither of these guys manufacturing dry yeast they both agreed that if you don't rehydrate the dry stuff you're pretty much killing half the yeast cell count in each pack. So if you sprinkle direct to wort and don't put it in water first I'd be buying a Brewcellar over a Fermentis every time. Then you will have more yeasties to sacrifice in every brew.

Hopper.

 

[earle]

I don't know whether its repackaging, transport or storage before I got it but I've only had bad experiences with Brew Cellar yeast. On the other hand I've never had problems with Craftbrewer repackaged yeast which I use in exactly the same way, spinkled on top of the wort. Even though its not 15g its still a lot more than a 7g kit yeast.