I was planning to ease back into the hobby after a year of trying to get in a brew day by brewing Herbal Joe’s Best Bitter, which I have made two or three times and really enjoyed ( Herbal Joe's Best Bitter - Beer Recipe - American Homebrewers Association ). I brew 3-gallon batches. The cost of Wyeast has gone up, and I’m considering either a dry yeast such as LalBrew Windsor or an Imperial liquid yeast such as House or Pub. I am not too invested in recreating the beer I made before - I just want an enjoyable Best Bitter. I could also stick with Wyeast 1968 and just accept it as the cost of a hobby (offset by all the phantom brews I didn’t make last year). Thoughts?
S-33?
Not available at the LHBS, though I see it on Amazon.
If there was a dry equivalent of 1968 it would probably be my house strain. I just love the ester profile from that yeast. There are a few dry English strains that will throw some esters if pitched on the low end of the pitching rate, but nothing gives that pear and stonefruit like I get from 1968. Windsor gives a little pear, and a fair amount of woody/nutty character. Lallemand’s Verdant IPA and New England IPA throw some esters as well, but I haven’t used them enough to dial in the right pitch rate for my system or to nail down their ester profile to my palate.
At this point in time, estery English yeast strains are just one of those things that I have to spring for liquid yeast on if I want certain results.
My LHBS said the LalBrew ESB is supposed to be the Fullers strain. I never tried it as 1968 is one of my favorite yeasts and don’t want to mess up a brew day on the chances it may not have the flavor profile I was looking for
Definitely food for thought. My batches are not expensive in terms of ingredients.
If you have the room I brew back to back batches to reduce the “per batch” cost of the yeast and simply rack onto the yeast cake. Typically brew a day or two after kegging so that is an option. I only do this once as I only have two serving taps so I don’t want a 3rd keg sitting around. Just a thought
Unless you can find an exceptional deal most brewing ingredients on Amazon are way overpriced.
This is doable, and I’ve reused yeast this way before (though it’s been a while). I recall getting a kick out of how fast the fermentation took off on a fresh cake. I have a splitter, hose, and bits and bobs just waiting for me to set up a second keg line one of these years, since my “kegerator” is an old fridge with easily enough space for two 3-gallon kegs on the lower shelf. I have been brewing so infrequently for so long that the need for a second line was moot.
I think you found a solution to your inquiry
Lalbrew ESB is absolutely nothing like 1968. I’ve tried several times, but I just can’t coax any esters out of it. It is really clean, like a slightly less attenuative Nottingham.
Yes, thanks. Sticking with the recipe. Might reuse the yeast cake, but even if I don’t, the ingredients are a relatively small part of the cost of this hobby for me, and they play a large part in the outcome of any brew.
Using a whole yeast cake seems a bit excessive, but I don’t know if any studies have shown the effects of that practice. I use about a third of a batch of yeast slurry at most for an ale (say about 8-12 ozs) and just less than half for a lager (16-20 ozs. at most and sometimes a bit less than that).
I had experienced some beer “flabbiness” at pitch rates in excess of that. By flabbiness, I mean insipid, low body, thin mouthfeel and what might be considered over-attenuation.
My own experiments showed me that pitching an entire slurry can lead to less flavor. Seems like some cell growth helps enhance flavor. I generally use 1/3-1/2 of the slurry.
Thanks - good to know. The last time I did this was over a decade ago and I pitched the wort directly onto the cake in the fermenter, closed it up and let it go. This was immediately after draining the wort into the bottling bucket (back when I bottled!). If I’m going to fiddle with it and risk contamination or trying to figure out what part of the slurry is yeast, sounds like starting over with fresh yeast might be best.
Yep exactly. Lallemand London ESB (RIP?) is not a super characterful yeast, but had a nice attenuation level in the upper 60s which is fairly unique, fits in between Windsor and “other stuff”. I might start using S-33 or M10 where I once considered the London ESB. I think S-33 is probably more fruity, and I’ve no experience with the M10 yet.
To the OP: Maybe S-33 really is the way to go?
I’ve no idea which if any of these are Fuller’s. Most likely zero of them.
I have not used it yet, but the way Fermentis describes S-33 (good for Belgian ales and strong ales, but POF-) sounds like Rochefort. I’d bet it would be closer to a dry WY1762 or WLP540 than Fullers.
S-33 isn’t Belgian, it’s English. For those of us (like you and me) who’ve been around long enough to remember… S-33 is almost definitely a sister to the old EDME ale yeast from the 1980s & 90s.
That is why I just pitch onto the slurry. Is the flavor that different. I don’t know as I don’t make the same beer back to back. I do know my beers do not come off thin or over attenuated at least not in the 30 years I have been doing this
No matter what their description, S33 is not a Belgian yeast. It comes from Edme, a British brewery. I’ve been suckered into trying it for Belgian beer. Not good.