My Experience So Far

[rendo]

Cheers Ant,

That sounds like a nice toucan....that would be a pretty dark beer though hey....? I am thinking of trying it.

Also, you said you have experimented with different yeasts? I havent done this yet. Is there a real noticable difference? Not just placebo effect? I guess there must be, but havent tried yet.

Any recommendations? Or a real powerhouse yeast that you always fall back on? Do you 'recycle' your yeast? I am thinking of doing this in the future maybe...

+1 for rendo's suggestion. Fridgemate is brilliant.

My tip for a "recipe" is a toucan: 1x Coopers Dark Ale and 1x Coopers Stout. Each one knocked off the disappointments in flavour that each has on its own.

I would add that I do "fancy up" my kits by always using different yeast than that supplied by Coopers.

Cheers,
Ant.

 

[antains]

Cheers Ant,

That sounds like a nice toucan....that would be a pretty dark beer though hey....? I am thinking of trying it.

Also, you said you have experimented with different yeasts? I havent done this yet. Is there a real noticable difference? Not just placebo effect? I guess there must be, but havent tried yet.

Any recommendations? Or a real powerhouse yeast that you always fall back on? Do you 'recycle' your yeast? I am thinking of doing this in the future maybe...

I haven't recycled a yeast, yet. I'm with you, though: it's a definite plan. One of those experiments that should be done.

I use Fermemtis Saf Yeasts. They're sachets of dried yeast. It occurs to me that I made a mistake in my last post. It's not Safale lager... It's Saflager (s23 to be precise).

That one works well at 11deg.

Otherwise, for ales, I use their S04 Safale. I have used the US-05 yeast a couple of times. Still haven't decided on one or the other. I use the style of beer and notes on the forum as a reference for which one I should use.

And the difference is definitely noticeable for the better.

 

[Clownfish]

Thanks for all the comments. Sorry for the delay in responding, have been away for a few days.

All have been made using the standard yeasts. Again, I have no plan to change. Yes, the European Lager was done in Summer, so that may be the problem. I might try again in Winter when it will be a lot cooler.

As I stated, I am very happy with my results and I do not have the time (nor inclination) to do fancier brewing. I will continue to experiment (I made some chilli beer that was very interesting) but it will be with additives.

 

[robv]

Nice post Clownfish
I've just done a "toucan" with 2 x morgans mid strength and added 500g dex,fermented it at 11 degrees in the fridge and it came out fantastic - got rave reviews from some who don't normally touch homebrew.

Cheers
Rob