Mangrove Jack Craft Series Yeasts

[Tahoose]

Got given a packet of the M44 west coast yeast by the mangrove jacks team at GABS on the weekend.

Will be looking forward to giving it a run.

 

[Forever Wort]

The Merri Mashers took away around forty packs of MJ dry yeast at the May meeting this week courtesy of Cryer Malt, it will be interesting to see the results!

 

[jphowman]

I need some advice from anyone who has used the Bohemian Lager yeast.

I pitched 2 rehydrated packet into 20L of 1.041 wort on Sunday morning. On Monday night I realised I hadn't aerated. The gravity hadn't moved so I aerated.

I just checked the gravity which still hasn't changed. This is not my first lager and I know to expect a longer lag time, but this seems excessive.
The yeast had a strong smell of acetely aldehyde while rehydrating and had a BB date of September.

Should I give up and pitch another yeast?

 

[Markbeer]

Did it start?

 

[jphowman]

I don't think so. I gave it another 8 hours and then pitched 34/70.

In the discussions on rehydration I read something for safyeast that said they make sure that their yeast has the maximum reserves before drying it out. For this reason they suggest that the yeast is pitched within half an hour of rehydration so it uses the reserves effectively.

What are the chances that Mangrove Jacks don't follow the same procedure? It might mean these yeasts need a small starter after rehydration to get them going.

 

[rheffera]

Feedback on my oatmeal stout fermented with the british ale yeast: Did not want to drop lower than 1.020 after all. Kegged. Tastes fine but a little sweet due to 8 points higher than expected. Sediment was compact.

 

[Markbeer]

Franks i do an active starter with everything. Next time u do a lager, make a 2 litre starter the day before with both packs. Keep your starter at 12 degrees. It should have krausen at 24 hours. Pitch the whole thing at 12 degrees and your lager will be fermenting within the day guaranteed.

I dont buy the whole depleting dried yeast reserve etc. All craft brewers using dried yeast repitch and successive batches turn out better than the original pitch.

 

[TimT]

They definitely seem to have a lag time. My pale ale a couple of weeks ago took around three days to start (partly I think this was due to fluctuations in temperature) . My pumpkin ale, brewed two days ago, took around a day to get reasonable signs of yeast life (foam at the top). Another 12 hours in and there's a gigantic layer of foam - no huge carbonation yet though. I don't expect it will reach high krausen for another day yet.

(In between those two ales I pitched some MJ Newcastle yeast on a burnt honey mead and it took off fairly quickly though).

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

I still haven't bottled mine (too lazy, I hate bottling etc).

But I noticed that it got up and running in a day or so - I rehydrated - I've joined that mob in a bag way. Not a massive krausen, but temps were pretty low when I fermented it.

It was done pretty much in a week from that. I've left it sit for a couple and it's in a cold place. Will see how it goes, but it tastes estery from the fermenter.

 

[RobB]

Has anyone tried the Newcastle Dark in something which isn't dark? It seems to have been trialled by a few people in dark milds, but I was wondering how it would go in a low gravity bitter.

 

[TimT]

Has anyone tried the Newcastle Dark in something which isn't dark?

Well it took like a duck to water when chucked it in my burnt honey mead. (The colour of said mead is a dark brown but that's about all it shares in common with a heavy malty dark ale). I wanted a yeast which would add a little character and be comfortable with fairly high gravities and which would hopefully bring out some dark roasty coffee and toffee esters. I can't vouch for the final product yet - it's still fermenting - but the smell is quite enticing. I wouldn't have thought of it for a low gravity bitter, to be honest, but at the very least these yeasts seem quite adaptable.

 

[TimT]

Day three of the pumpkin ale - the foam's cleared up, but only veeeeeeeeeeeery slow carbonation. This one's going to be around for a while. I think the yeast just likes sleeping in in the morning, as it were.

 

[TimT]

Day five and the initial foam - apparently some kind of starchy froth rather than a yeast-rich cloud - has dissipated entirely to be gradually replaced by a brown gunky yeasty foam. The bubbles have been creeping snail-like through the airlock for a few days; only now are they speeding up a bit - from one a minute two days ago to about four a minute now.

There's something about this strain of MJ yeast particularly, I think, that gives it a long lag time. My pumpkin ale (MJ British Ale yeast) is sitting on the heat plate next to my bochet (MJ Newcastle yeast). The bochet began fermenting almost immediately; the MJ has apparently not yet reached its krausen after five days fermenting!

Not too fussed about it mind - just a bit surprised.

 

[Spiesy]

Just pitched M44 into an APA last night.

This time round, I'm doing it as they recommend… just dumping it in.
Wort has yeast nutrient. Wort has just been dumped into fermenter (no direct oxygenation). Temperature of wort 17 at pitching, then set to 18.
23l of 1048OG wort.

I'll see how this goes, and then next time I'll rehydrate, oxygenate and repeat… see if there's a difference.

 

[Edak]

Just pitched M44 into an APA last night.

This time round, I'm doing it as they recommend… just dumping it in.
Wort has yeast nutrient. Wort has just been dumped into fermenter (no direct oxygenation). Temperature of wort 17 at pitching, then set to 18.
23l of 1048OG wort.

I'll see how this goes, and then next time I'll rehydrate, oxygenate and repeat… see if there's a difference.

i am guessing about a 36hour lag then. Hope all goes well. I will pass on m44 from now on. Us05 is my APA yeast...

 

[Spiesy]

Yep, somewhere between 24-36hrs before a thick krausen was seen.

 

[Byran]

I just made a couple of beers on a pack of the M44 to give it a try, same story seemed like a slow starter but still caned up the gravity in about 4 days. I had the first batch crash chilled after 6 or 7 days. I used slurry to ferment another brew and it was the same, took a day or so to fire up but was more fiery than the dried stuff. Again only took 4 to 5 days to finish. One beer was a hoppy apa and it was clean and smooth with light ester brewed outside in sydney about 16 to 20 degrees. No probs. The second was an aussie ale clean as not much ester either fermented the same. Both cleared up really good, im considering this yeast better than US05 on current performance, flocculation and flavour profile.

 

[indica86]

Side by side brews with US05 and M44 this time.
US05 signs in 12 hours.
M44 56 hours before any sign.

 

[Lecterfan]

Has anyone tried the Newcastle Dark in something which isn't dark? It seems to have been trialled by a few people in dark milds, but I was wondering how it would go in a low gravity bitter.

It goes well. Plenty of malt. I've not tried it in a dark yet. Pretty lazy attenuator, but then I've found that with all the MJ yeasts that I've used so far (burton, british, bav wheat, newcastle dark).

 

[Spiesy]

Side by side brews with US05 and M44 this time.
US05 signs in 12 hours.
M44 56 hours before any sign.

56hours? Mine was 36, and that was without rehydration or oxygenation.

Regardless, it's not all about the lag. The end product is pretty important, I'm keen to see how this turns out.