However, there is a big difference between lager yeast strains and ale yeast strains that is not shown on that graph; namely, the ability to metabolize melibiose. Ale strains are melibiose challenged.
+1. Esters quickly come to mind. That chart only analyzes four simple sugars. Taste characteristics between the strains vary widely.
Before I get beat up too badly, my point was the sugar profile is remarkably similar. Yes, other items to consider, for sure.
The more we brew with W-34/70, the more we like it. It has become our house yeast.
Stand by for a full report on the S-04. Should be ready soon.
Indeed, I agree. Cheers.
Okay…just kegged this London Porter, with the S-04 yeast.
The first thing that makes this yeast a bit different is it’s very thick peanut butter like viscosity. I had to scrape it out of the fermenter bottom, as it would not drain through the yeast dump port. Never seen yeast this thick before.
A bit early to judge the flavor profile, but at first impression it is clean, allowing the malt to shine. Coffee, chocolate with a hint of caramel come through.
Very well balanced with the hops. Very smooth, an easy beer to consume.
I’ll have a better report after the beer is carbonated and aged a bit.
I’ve been drinking my Brown for about a week. I’m squinting, looking for anything to let me know I used S-04. But this beer is pretty clean and really the taste is all about the malts. Not getting bready, fruity, floral, nothing. Main fermentation was in the low 60’s with a bump to the upper 60’s at the end.
Beer has dropped pretty clear and that’s a nice plus, especially since a half-tablet of whirlfloc is my entire effort to aid clarity.
But as far as fermentation character, seems rather undistinguished to me.
I forgot to mention the total lack of any bread character, and there is none.
A good generic English Ale yeast from my perspective. You could probably use this in almost any ale, American or otherwise.
My final number came in at 1.018, for 5.0 ABV.
I like this yeast, and will brew up a nice Ale with it. Not an IPA, just a nice ale using Pils malt and Cascade hops.
No dry hopping allowed. This will be similar to a Euro-Pils, but with S-04 yeast, and great hops. Will ferment a bit warmer, say around 60 degrees.
Sounds similar to what I’ve just done. Yesterday I brewed a batch aiming for an Australian Sparkling Ale, actually I think it will be somewhere between that and a British Golden Ale (a.k.a. Summer Ale). Simple recipe of half American Pale malt, half Maris Otter, with very small additions of wheat malt and honey malt. It was a long 2-hour mash at an average 149 F. Cascade and Calypso hops, 60-minute boil additions only, nothing late. Pitched S-04 at 73 F, it since fell to 69 F and is hanging out there while I wait for activity. I purposely intend to ferment this one in the low 70s just to see what happens. The wort tasted very bitter and reminded me of breakfast cereal, like Lucky Charms but without the sweetness or marshmallows. High hopes. IF I remember I will try to keep ya’ll posted.
S-189 and 34/70 look similar at first glance, but there are some differences if you look.
I can say from experience that they are different. Split batches showed me that S-189 produces a more malty beer compared to 34/70.
Nottingham’s temp range is 50-72, yeast cake is more tightly packed than S-04.
I like this yeast very much, and will do another brew with it, but replicating my Fest Bier recipe (https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=35649.0), but will simplify the grain bill and employ Cascade hops.
American Amber Ale is the goal. Yes, S-04 is a British yeast, but it is clean, i.e., not overly fruity, and should do a nice job. This will not be an IPA, as we don’t do those in my brewery.
Stand by for a full report and analysis.
Okay, here’s a brief update. Took 4 days at 69 F to go from 1.044 to 1.009, for 80% apparent attenuation. I find S-04 is very neutral, and allows both the malt and the hops to shine through. I say this immediately after sampling this and one other homebrew with it. My old Scottish ale is malty as expected. The Aussie/British golden ale described above is lightly fruity in a non-descript way, with crackery malt and an herbal hop punch.
S-04 is super neutral. I would use S-04 essentially interchangeably with US-05, WLP001, 1056, or Nottingham – I’d use whatever is cheapest or most easily available. Not bready or objectionable in any way, shape, or form. Indeed, kind of boring, really.
Thanks for the input.
Brewed up a Fest Bier variant yesterday, with Cascade Hops and S-04.
The ferment activity took off quickly, much like a nuclear explosion. 2nd gen yeast.
The ambient temp is 64-68 degrees F.
It is in a spare bedroom upstairs, heat shut off. It’s the only place that has a constant temp in the range that works best.
Here is a phenom, never before witnessed in 3 decades of brewing.
A blow off tube is installed, terminating in a quart jar of water.
The bubbles are not one every 2, 3, or even 4 seconds. The bubbles are non-stop, in a continuous stream. Like a Browning .50 Cal Machine Gun, 850 rounds per minute.
Surprised you’ve never seen that before
Was going to say the same thing!
Well…never used this yeast before, and never used this yeast as a 2nd gen at this temp (66 degrees).
It is not a bubbling effect in the quart jar, it’s more like one long Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrp. Non-stop. It will be interesting to see how long this lasts.
Yes, this is a first for me.
Recall that 99% of my brews are lagers, at temps from 40 to 55 degrees.
I’ve seen it happen many times with many different yeasts. It has nothing to do with S04 specifically.
you want to see crazy co2 production, try kveik, the stuff makes my blow off tube hiss