[Three]

Yeah, it's pretty awesome. I just ordered a bunch of dry yeast, some of the Mangrove Jack's. Want to try out the Workhorse, the Newcastle dark ale, and the Bohemian Lager strains. I'd like to do only dry yeast if I can get away with it.

beersk,

I would love to hear how these work out for you......

Jumping back to this thread for a general US-05 question.  As noted above, 05 has always given me great results.  My most recent batch (a low-gravity, high dextrine session rye IPA) did not drop clear after three weeks.  I bottled and will just sit it out I guess, but I'm curious why this might have happened.  Was it this particular recipe?  Was it this pack of yeast?  Did I manage to infect it with a wild yeast or something else? (tasted fine - but that doesn't say much yet).  Final gravity was 1.015, so it had some viscosity - and the rye no doubt added to that as well.  Is that enough to slow settling that much?

I used US-05 in my last batch of APA. Not really a low-gravity brew though.  1.057 fermented to 1.012.  It dropped pretty darn clear in 11-12 days at 62 degrees. I would have to think with time it will condition out nice and clear.

[klickitat jim]

I fear this thread!

I'm afraid of this journey going full circle, selling my flasks and stir plates at a garage sale, and eventually getting so simplified that I die with a keystone in my hand. No dry yeast for me, even if you prove its better

[beersk]

I fear this thread!

I'm afraid of this journey going full circle, selling my flasks and stir plates at a garage sale, and eventually getting so simplified that I die with a keystone in my hand. No dry yeast for me, even if you prove its better

No need to be closed minded, man. But, do whatever suits your fancy and makes the beer you like.
I just don't like shipping liquid yeast in the summer months and really only when it's cool out, like mid to late fall or early spring; winter is fine too, I guess. Whichever way you do it, there's more than one way to get to the same destination. You can take the long scenic route or the short and more direct route or any variation in between.

[Three]

I fear this thread!

I'm afraid of this journey going full circle, selling my flasks and stir plates at a garage sale, and eventually getting so simplified that I die with a keystone in my hand. No dry yeast for me, even if you prove its better

I apologize in advance as I must babble.....

NO FEAR!  It's just another tool.  I've never had a bad batch of beer using dry yeast.  There just isn't the greatest selection of strains available (yet).  But I think with temperature control you can get a lot of versatility out of the current strains.  So I think (for me) some time spent in experimenting and seeing just what can be done will be a benefit to the tool kit.

I love the liquids though.  Just an awesome selection of strains.  In use here 99% of the time.  Because of some planned high gravity brews I'm getting a 5L flask next week.  It may require a yet another stir plate.  Also, because I haven't complicated this simple process enough and I want to spend even more time doing something beer, I'm starting to  plan out how to get a mini lab set up to do yeast slants and other fancy yeast tricks.  Maybe try washing and reusing some.

So, last night a friend that has been checking out homebrewing the last few brews says he would like to brew tomorrow.  No time for a starter and I'm not going to pay for 2-3 pouches of liquid yeast.   And as I would rather brew than not.  NO FEAR! Armed with a few packages of US-05 or Nottingham we will be good to go.

[beersk]

I fear this thread!

I'm afraid of this journey going full circle, selling my flasks and stir plates at a garage sale, and eventually getting so simplified that I die with a keystone in my hand. No dry yeast for me, even if you prove its better

So, last night a friend that has been checking out homebrewing the last few brews says he would like to brew tomorrow.  No time for a starter and I'm not going to pay for 2-3 pouches of liquid yeast.   And as I would rather brew than not.  NO FEAR! Armed with a few packages of US-05 or Nottingham we will be good to go.

Exactly my point. Most of my brew days are fairly spontaneous, at least what I brew is. I feel like brewing schwarzbier this weekend...okay, haven't made a starter, so I'll use some harvested 34/70 or I have some packets of it too...or I can use US-05 also. I don't usually do a whole lot of planning when I brew. More of, well, what do I feel like brewing this week...no local homebrew shop to buy yeast, so I can't just go grab whatever and make a starter.

[Three]

Exactly my point. Most of my brew days are fairly spontaneous, at least what I brew is. I feel like brewing schwarzbier this weekend...okay, haven't made a starter, so I'll use some harvested 34/70 or I have some packets of it too...or I can use US-05 also. I don't usually do a whole lot of planning when I brew. More of, well, what do I feel like brewing this week...no local homebrew shop to buy yeast, so I can't just go grab whatever and make a starter.

I with you.  I for the most part plan out two or three brews a month.  I have a good inventory of grains and some of the hops I use a lot.  So if needed, I can head to my LHBS and get yeast, and whatever hops, etc to make my recipe complete.  (I'm fortunate to have two LHBS available.  They are 20 miles away though so 5-6 bucks in gas each trip).   If the dates are recent on the liquid yeasts they have in stock, I get a few to keep on hand.  This is all good when I plan out a brew.  I make a starter, maybe have to do a step starter.  All good and the beer is great.  But I find I am starting to get more spontaneous.  So, I keep a few packs of 04, 05, and notty in my fridge just in case.  Maybe want to try a few things and experiment splitting a batch using different yeasts to get a comparison.  Or split a mash and make two three gallon batches hopped different, etc.  So this works out really well.  And the beer doesn't suck......

[drjones]

could just be starch/protein haze instead of yeast. or perhaps the us-05 is just slowly chewing away at those dextrins. Majorvices posted about having issue with us-05 over carbing in the bottles for him regularly. maybe it's more capable of metabolizing more complex sugars/starches then we generally think?

Thanks Morticaixavier, I agree this is looking like a starch/protein issue.  The FG stayed for two weeks prior to bottling - so I'm pretty sure not much fermentation was going on, though.  Drank some over the weekend and it tastes and smells terrific (about 5.5 oz hops in this small beer, about half chinook).  I'm wondering how this might relate to the experimental 160 degree mash temp - though I did do a successful iodine test because of these exact concerns.  Did the high temp not play well with the rye proteins, perhaps?  The recipe included 8 lbs MO, 1 lb Munich, 1 lb rye, and 8 oz C20.  I'll just have to see if it settles out in the bottles.  I plan on sharing it with the band soon, so it should move quickly, anyway

[morticaixavier]

could just be starch/protein haze instead of yeast. or perhaps the us-05 is just slowly chewing away at those dextrins. Majorvices posted about having issue with us-05 over carbing in the bottles for him regularly. maybe it's more capable of metabolizing more complex sugars/starches then we generally think?

Thanks Morticaixavier, I agree this is looking like a starch/protein issue.  The FG stayed for two weeks prior to bottling - so I'm pretty sure not much fermentation was going on, though.  Drank some over the weekend and it tastes and smells terrific (about 5.5 oz hops in this small beer, about half chinook).  I'm wondering how this might relate to the experimental 160 degree mash temp - though I did do a successful iodine test because of these exact concerns.  Did the high temp not play well with the rye proteins, perhaps?  The recipe included 8 lbs MO, 1 lb Munich, 1 lb rye, and 8 oz C20.  I'll just have to see if it settles out in the bottles.  I plan on sharing it with the band soon, so it should move quickly, anyway

The rye will give you cloudiness (protein) and the hops will give you cloudiness. It's not the mash temp though I mash at 162 for my small beers and the drop bright just fine. I use a bunch of Irish moss in the boil. did you dry hop?

[jplowe]

I have my fermentation chamber set to 58 but its been dipping down to 56.  On the package i believe it said 53-70 something.  Is lower better for US-05 or will cause off flavors?  I'm planning on letting it ferment a few days cold and ramp up to 60 or 62 for a week then a day or two a bit warmer.

[tommymorris]

I have my fermentation chamber set to 58 but its been dipping down to 56.  On the package i believe it said 53-70 something.  Is lower better for US-05 or will cause off flavors?  I'm planning on letting it ferment a few days cold and ramp up to 60 or 62 for a week then a day or two a bit warmer.

Low temps often lead to mild peach/stone fruit flavors.

[evil_morty]

I rehydrated for a while thinking it was the way to go for yeast viability.  Then I was reading about a lot of people not doing it and like the results so I tried it out.  No problems.  I even did this on 10 gallons of 1.070+ wort with 2 packets of US-05.  No problem.  I've probably done 5 or 6 batches without rehydrating now and I like the results.  I suspect that with rehydrating I'm more likely to cause a problem than make the beer better.

As for rehydrating being extra work - it's a little bit of extra work.  I find it to be a PITA to sit there and try to get the water at just the right temp for rehydration.

As for temperature I have typically been getting the wort down to about 60F, pitching, and then setting the temp controller to 62F (probe taped to the side of the fermentor).  I let the yeast slowly bring the temp up to 62F and then I hold it there for a couple of days.  Then I slowly allow the temp to rise as I see airlock activity starting to back off.  I do this until I'm in the upper 60s and then let the beer mature for a few days.  Unless the basement is really cold I don't typically need a heater to make any of this happen.

[S. cerevisiae]

I have never had a beer made with US-05 that I actually liked.

[evil_morty]

I have never had a beer made with US-05 that I actually liked.

that's unfortunate.  I use it often and people seem to really like my beer.

[erockrph]

I have never had a beer made with US-05 that I actually liked.

To me, it's the same thing as US 2-row and Cascade/Centennial hops. It's just fine. I like the beers it makes. But I can go to the store and pick up literally hundreds of other beers that taste similar.

It's a great "emergency yeast" for impromptu brewdays, but if I'm going to brew for myself I'd much rather choose something that's different than the majority of craft beer out there.

[S. cerevisiae]

that's unfortunate.  I use it often and people seem to really like my beer.

I do not care what anyone says, beer made with US-05 has an edge to it that is not present in beers that are made with Wyeast 1056, White Labs WLP001, or "Chico" cultured from the bottle (one is not going to detect this edge if one is making beers with the equivalent of 6 ounces of hops or more per 5-gallons of wort anymore than one will pick up slightly tainted meat used in a highly-spiced dish).  I believe that this edge, along with the tendency to produce the peach ester are the result of aerobic propagation in a bioreactor.  It's the same reason why S-04 has a few strange tendencies compared to Wyeast 1098 and White Labs WLP007.  S-04 is Whitbread "B," but something happens during aerobic propagation that alters it behavior slightly.