[dmtaylor]

Windsor yeast will attenuate further if you give it chance. The first 2-3 days are very vigorous and many people think it's done.
You really need to give this yeast 10-14 days to completely attenuate.

Disagree.  I gave my Windsor beer an extra ~10 days and nothing further happened.

[markpotts]

I can only offer my experiences as I find; and a lot of people I've spoken to over here find the same.
I'm only talking about another 2-4 gravity points here mind.

[dmtaylor]

I understand.  Sorry if I come off as a bit of a jerk sometimes.  I'm not too bad IRL.  Cheers.

[markpotts]

I understand.  Sorry if I come off as a bit of a jerk sometimes.  I'm not too bad IRL.  Cheers.

No offence taken Sir

[dzlater]

I just used Windsor for the first time last month to make Pete's Wicked Ale (the real recipe).  Gravity went from 1.054 to 1.021 in 48 hours -- no exaggeration.  This is a VERY fast fermenting yeast, and very flocculant.  And while the gravity seems very high for an ale, it tastes medium bodied and not at all thick/full.  Just a very easy drinking, relatively low ABV beer.  I really like it.  It's great where you want to brew a session ale with lots of flavor.  I'll be using it again.

I've used it twice and both time it took several weeks for the yeast to fall out.
I like it better then S04 and do plan on using it again but I will definetly fine with geletin in the future.

[Iliff Ave]

What is the difference between Nottingham and Windsor? I see that the Windsor is described as being cleaner with the same attenuation range and flocculation. I am just curious. I need to give something other than Fermentis a try. I use US-05 or S-04 in 80% of my beers. S-04 mainly for darker ones or for something where I prefer slightly less attenuation and slightly more character.

[dmtaylor]

I like Fermentis the best.  But Notty and Windsor are great too.  Notty always attenuates at exactly 77%, no matter what mash temp or grist you use.  Windsor attenuates far less, in the 60s, but it TASTES like it attenuated very well.  Windsor will result in a lower alcohol beer.  Notty results in a drier, higher alcohol beer.  As for flavor differences including esters 'n' stuff.... I'm not entirely sure yet.  I only used Windsor the one time.  But I get the impression that my results that one time are consistent with others'.

[Iliff Ave]

Ok thanks. S-04 usually gets me about 3% less attenuation on average than US-05. It's good to know that Windsor is a low attenuator.

[Joe Sr.]

Of the two, I prefer Windsor.  I get weird tart flavors from Notty and don't plan to use it again, though I have some in my emergency dry yeast stash.

That said I've made outstanding beer with the combination of Windsor and Notty.  These beers did not exhibit the odd tartness.  Take that for whatever it is worth.

[S. cerevisiae]

The level of attenuation that one can achieve with Windsor is saccharification rest dependent.  As mentioned above, Windsor is maltotriose challenged; hence, one needs to shift the saccharification temperature into the 146F to 148F range in order to increase mono and disaccharide production and limit trisaccharide production. 

With that said, Windsor and Nottingham go together like two peas in a pod.  In fact, I often wonder if the strains where isolated from a mixed culture.

Of all of the dry cultures that are available today, the strains that seem to handle aerobic propagation in a bioreactor the best are S-04 (Whitbread "B"), Nottingham, and Windsor.  I have given up on Fermentis US-05 (Siebel Bry 96) and Lallemand Bry 97 (Siebel Bry 97).  They are just too hit or miss in dry form when compared to cultured versions of the same strains.

[69franx]

The level of attenuation that one can achieve with Windsor is saccharification rest dependent.  As mentioned above, Windsor is maltotriose challenged; hence, one needs to shift the saccharification temperature into the 146F to 148F range in order to increase mono and disaccharide production and limit trisaccharide production. 

With that said, Windsor and Nottingham go together like two peas in a pod.  In fact, I often wonder if the strains where isolated from a mixed culture.

Of all of the dry cultures that are available today, the strains that seem to handle aerobic propagation in a bioreactor the best are S-04 (Whitbread "B"), Nottingham, and Windsor.  I have given up on Fermentis US-05 (Siebel Bry 96) and Lallemand Bry 97 (Siebel Bry 97).  They are just too hit or miss in dry form when compared to cultured versions of the same strains.

I have not yet used either of these 2 strains, but the info presented here is handy reference. Thanks S.C.

[narcout]

I have given up on Fermentis US-05 (Siebel Bry 96) and Lallemand Bry 97 (Siebel Bry 97).  They are just too hit or miss in dry form when compared to cultured versions of the same strains.

What inconsistencies have you experienced with US-05?  It seems to attenuate to a pretty predictable degree.   Is it a flavor issue?

[dmtaylor]

I get very consistent high attenuation around 80% with US-05.  So I too am curious, Sc.

[S. cerevisiae]

Is it a flavor issue?

With dry Bry 96 (a.k.a. Ballantine "Beer," "Chico," 1056, WLP001, US-05 ...), it's inconsistent flavor, which is mostly due to temperature sensitivity.  Cultured Bry 96 in liquid or solid media form is about as close to stupid proof as one can expect from a yeast strain, which is why it is one of the most popular strains in brewing.  Cultured Bry 96 will produce nicely flavored beers over a fairly large temperature range. With Bry 97 (a.k.a. Ballantine "Ale"), it's just overall unpredictable performance issues.  The strain does not seem to take kindly to aerobic propagation in a bioreactor and drying.  Dry Bry 97 also appears to lose viability much quicker than other dry strains.

[markpotts]

FWIW, there has been quite a lot of discussion here on the UK forums regarding BRY97. Consensus is that it produces good beer with a clean profile, but the lag time on pitching can be scary long; I've had fermentations take 36-48 hours to fully establish, and that is quite frightening; particularly to an inexperienced brewer who is probably using dry yeast for convenience and reliability.

I like the flavour profile of BRY97, I don't find that to be variable tbh......but the lag time does put me off somewhat.
I've had fermentation underway in less than 12 hours from 1 week old top cropped BRY97. I've retained some of the same cropping and had this stored for a few weeks now in the fridge. I intend using this early in the New Year.....so it will be interesting to see how the starter and fermentation perform.