US-05 Alternatives?

[thisispants]

Ive been making a few BIAB beers and I've been using US-05, this has led to most of the beers having a similar-ish taste.

At the moment I'm only doing small brews of about 12 L. Is there a US-05 alternative? I know there's a lot of liquid yeasts, but as I'm only making small brews I'm not sure it's worth paying more for liquid yeast...

Maybe it is....

 

[danestead]

What style of beers are you brewing? Is it safe to assume american pale ale or ipas?

 

[contrarian]

Yeast choice really depends on the kind of beer you are brewing and there is a massive selection of liquid yeasts. The trick is to use them a few times to get some value. If you have another beer ready to go and a spare fermenter just scoop out 1/4 to 1/2 a cup out with a sanitised cup and pitch it into your next batch. You can get infinitely more complicated than that but that should get you started.

If you want some variety in dried yeast there is a decent range, just try a few out based on style and see why you like.

 

[Yob]

There are a few options, going liquid and splitting/freezing provides to cheapest and most options, however, seeing you want dry, mangrove jacks do an ale yeast, danstar you can go Nottingham, (BRY97 is on recall) Craftbrewer have some dry ale yeast.. Shit I think I still have a pack in my fridge even..

Really though, liquid does provide cheaper options with a little(easy) work

 

[kiwisteveo]

just ordered some BRY-97 why is it on recall?, Yob,
Have some Nottingham working right now on a single hop Bravo, smells awesome.

 

[menoetes]

A lot of people have already suggested liquid yeast and if you can be tempted into it, then have a look at the Wyeast website. They have both a yeast strain and beer style guide that can help you find the best yeast for you. Checkout your LHBS too and see what strains they have, you might be pleasantly surprised...

Recycling liquid yeast is easy enough and doing so can quickly drop your yeast costs below buying a $4-$5 satchet of dry yeast for each brew. They also have a far larger variety to play with than with dry yeast.

Washing liquid yeast isn't too much work either if you are willing to put in the time. Hell you can even pitch onto your last brew's yeast cake is you are super lazy. Though that has it's own set of pros and cons...

 

[Yob]

just ordered some BRY-97 why is it on recall?, Yob,
Have some Nottingham working right now on a single hop Bravo, smells awesome.

apparently Dansar have recalled a batch to be destroyed. Performance issues were reported, much suspicion is on storage conditions but they have recalled the whole batch.

 

[indica86]

I used liquid for the first time recently.
WL009 and WL029 and both are tops.
REALLY like what the Kolsch did to a pretty benign Pale.
I'll be pushing both recycled to APAs then IPAs.
I bought those both for $7 each on useby run out, being lazy I can get 4 more brews out of each. So even at $10 a yeast that is $2 per brew.

 

[Spiesy]

A lot of people have already suggested liquid yeast and if you can be tempted into it, then have a look at the Wyeast website. They have both a yeast strain and beer style guide that can help you find the best yeast for you. Checkout your LHBS too and see what strains they have, you might be pleasantly surprised...

Recycling liquid yeast is easy enough and doing so can quickly drop your yeast costs below buying a $4-$5 satchet of dry yeast for each brew. They also have a far larger variety to play with than with dry yeast.

Washing liquid yeast isn't too much work either if you are willing to put in the time. Hell you can even pitch onto your last brew's yeast cake is you are super lazy. Though that has it's own set of pros and cons...

There's more to liquids than just Wyeast.

The Mr Malty website is a great resource, as it lists both White Labs and Wyeast strains and gives commercial examples.

But yes, a lot more variety available.

 

[Spiesy]

Ive been making a few BIAB beers and I've been using US-05, this has led to most of the beers having a similar-ish taste.

At the moment I'm only doing small brews of about 12 L. Is there a US-05 alternative? I know there's a lot of liquid yeasts, but as I'm only making small brews I'm not sure it's worth paying more for liquid yeast...

Maybe it is....

Not sure what beer style/s you're making, but if it's APA's (which US05 is primarily used for), I'd recommend dabbling in:

Traditional APA yeasts; WLP001, WY1056, WY1272, M44, BRY-97.

Or something a little different; WLP008, WLP060 or perhaps an English yeast - dry or liquid.

My personal favourite for APA and IPA's: WLP090 San Diego Super Yeast.

 

[menoetes]

Heck, you could even try buying a 3 pack of Coopers Pale tallies and harvest their commercial yeast, it's not hard and Coopers themselves have instructions on how to do it.

It's good for Pales & IPAs, I love it in fruity Pales myself (it works well with galaxy hops and the like). Best of all, if it doesn't work out you still got 3 tallies of a pretty nice beer out of it

 

[Yeastfridge]

I've used Mangrove Jack's West Coast Pale Ale dry yeast and was very very happy with it. Similar to US-05 but just a little something different. Crisper, maybe slightly drier.

 

[peas_and_corn]

I remember when most of my beers were fermented with us-05 or 1056. Then I discovered how much impact yeast with a more interesting ester profile makes, and I've been using as many different yeasts as I can. Try your standard pale ale recipe with an English yeast and taste the difference, experimenting is what makes brewing so interesting.

 

[fletcher]

for a bit of fun, i'd recommend culturing up some of coopers' yeast from a coopers green 6 pack and using it. lots of fun and a really nice yeast for an aussie spin on a pale ale.

a dry variety i'd recommend is the mangrove jack's m44 american ale yeast. REALLY clean and in my opinion, better than us-05 (which i've used in a LOT of beers like yourself).

liquid varieties (there are SO many to choose from) that i've liked so far for pales and ipas, is WLP080 (cream ale), and WY 1007 (german ale). haven't been too bothered to try the wlp001 and the wy1056 equivalent as they seem very similar to us-05 for my tastes.

just grab one that suits the style of beer you're making and have fun with it. can't hurt but might really surprise you with how nice it comes out

 

[Blind Dog]

Choice of yeast comes down to a range of factors but IMO matching the style of beer to a suitable yeast that you are able to use effectively (which usually means you can keep it in it's optimal temperature range and cold crash or lager if required) are crucial. Pitching the right amount, with the right amount of oxygen, into wort that's similar in temperature to the yeast are also important but seem to vary in importance from yeast to yeast

For dry yeasts, Nottingham in nice and clean but adds some complexity.

For liquids, well the worlds your lobster

 

[goomboogo]

Can you give the recipe details of the last few beers you've brewed? We may be able to offer some appropriate yeast options based on the beers you're brewing.

 

[thisispants]

I've brewed a bunch of extract beers, and I've also brewed a couple of BIAB beers, all pale ales.

The BIAB beers were superior, however they all had a similar tastes which I'm pretty sure is due to the yeast. I used various different hops for each brew. The taste isn't necesarily bad, just similar across the beers, this despite the different grain bills, pale malt for one brew, marris otter for the other.

Just looking for something different is all.

Thanks for the advice guys, I might try M44 mangrove jacks for my next brew!

 

[mje1980]

I really think wy 1007 is an underrated yeast. Very clean, good attenuation, and I really like how it pushes malt flavour, but because it attenuates quite well, the beers come out malty but on the dry side. I'm reviving a 12 month top crop of it in the stir plate now for a beire de garde brune, but plan on using it for summer, in some blonde ales, a kolsh style ale, and a dark ale of some sort.

 

[browndog]

I've brewed a bunch of extract beers, and I've also brewed a couple of BIAB beers, all pale ales.

The BIAB beers were superior, however they all had a similar tastes which I'm pretty sure is due to the yeast. I used various different hops for each brew. The taste isn't necesarily bad, just similar across the beers, this despite the different grain bills, pale malt for one brew, marris otter for the other.

Just looking for something different is all.

Thanks for the advice guys, I might try M44 mangrove jacks for my next brew!

US-05 is very popular due to the fact that it does not throw off any "yeasty" or "fruity" flavours. It is a neutral yeast. It is doing exactly what it is supposed to for you. That is unless you are fermenting outside it's ideal fermentation temp of 20C. If you brew correctly using US-05 then it will have no effect on the flavour of your brews and you need to look at your grist and hops.

 

[Spiesy]

I've brewed a bunch of extract beers, and I've also brewed a couple of BIAB beers, all pale ales.

The BIAB beers were superior, however they all had a similar tastes which I'm pretty sure is due to the yeast. I used various different hops for each brew. The taste isn't necesarily bad, just similar across the beers, this despite the different grain bills, pale malt for one brew, marris otter for the other.

Just looking for something different is all.

Thanks for the advice guys, I might try M44 mangrove jacks for my next brew!

Might not be US-05, mate. US-05 is a fairly transparent yeast, shouldn't be blanketing your beer with flavour - unless there's not enough flavour to start with.