[Steve L]

I'm brewing a scotch ale this weekend and unfortunately my LHBS had almost no liquid yeast so I'm using dry. I have US-04 and US-05. I typically use liquid yeast so my dry yeast experience is limited. I'm planning a 1.070ish scotch ale mashed at around 156F. I want to ferment in the low 60's and my LHBS said US-04 might be better with a lower flocculation but at lower temps throws off acetaldehyde? Looking for a bit of experienced guidance!
Thanks gang

[denny]

IMO, WY1728 is the absolute best choice for a wee heavy.  Of the 2 you list, 05 would be much closer to that than 04.

[HoosierBrew]

1728 rocks.

[denny]

1728 rocks.

And you can ferment it at 52-55F so you get a very clean, malty beer.  Personally, I wouldn't make a wee heavy unless I used Simpson's Golden Promise and 1728.

[Iliff Ave]

I have never had any acetaldehyde issues with S04 and I use it and US05 a lot. Also, S04 has much higher flocculation than US05 and will produce brighter beers quicker.

I have not brewed any scotch ales so I cannot give a good recommendation for yeast choice...

[69franx]

1728 rocks.

And you can ferment it at 52-55F so you get a very clean, malty beer.  Personally, I wouldn't make a wee heavy unless I used Simpson's Golden Promise and 1728.

That's a valuable point to hear Denny. I like the idea of making skotrat's wee heavy, but was not sure about finding the GP. I'm sure it's around here somewhere just have not used it yet. Now I know/ feel that I need/want it before making an attempt

[Steve Ruch]

IMO, WY1728 is the absolute best choice for a wee heavy.  Of the 2 you list, 05 would be much closer to that than 04.

Several years ago I brewed a batch of 80 shilling with 1726 and then the same recipe with WLP Scottish yeast and very much preferred the 1728.

[Stevie]

That's a valuable point to hear Denny. I like the idea of making skotrat's wee heavy, but was not sure about finding the GP. I'm sure it's around here somewhere just have not used it yet. Now I know/ feel that I need/want it before making an attempt

I can't get it locally and just ordered 20 lbs from MoreBeer. Price was ok and with some starter DME and StarSan, I hit the $59 free shipping.

[dmtaylor]

I haven't tried it, but I'll bet the Windsor ale yeast would make a great wee heavy.  Worth an experiment sometime...

When in doubt, split your batch and use two or more different kinds of yeast.  Then you can taste them all separately and see which one is the most awesome.  This is super cheap and easy with dry yeast.  Then you'll know what you like for subsequent batches.

[HoosierBrew]

And you can ferment it at 52-55F so you get a very clean, malty beer.  Personally, I wouldn't make a wee heavy unless I used Simpson's Golden Promise and 1728.

Yep, great temp tolerance.  Can of worms - never got the Wyeast 'smoky' character, not once.  And I agree - no Wee Heavy without 1728 and GP for me either !

EDIT -  Though I've never used it @ 52F. I've used it @ 56F a bunch of times and loved how clean it was. Good info.

[Steve Ruch]

I'm planning a Scottish ale later in the year and was going to give Munton's a go at it.
It's a moderate attenuator and works down into the upper 50s like Scottish ale yeast.

[mabrungard]

I used S-05 for a Scottish 70 last year and it was great. This was based on the recommendation from Jamil to use 1056 in that class of beers.

[69franx]

That's a valuable point to hear Denny. I like the idea of making skotrat's wee heavy, but was not sure about finding the GP. I'm sure it's around here somewhere just have not used it yet. Now I know/ feel that I need/want it before making an attempt

I can't get it locally and just ordered 20 lbs from MoreBeer. Price was ok and with some starter DME and StarSan, I hit the $59 free shipping.

Thanks Steve

[bengelbrau]

I just made a wee heavy, and tried S04. It had way too much fruity esters for my taste.

[brewinhard]

I would say that US-05 is the cleaner of the two yeasts especially when fermented cool.  I have made several low gravity scottish ales with it and found it to function well for this style when liquid is not available.