I use US-05 on my IIPA sometimes, I like the results. Well, I pitched and aerated and I took off for a few days and came back to see that the auto valve on glycol unit failed and left the valve open and had crashed the beer to 45 degrees. And the US-05, while albeit slowly, was steadily fermenting.
Got it ramped up and fermenting away nicely now but pretty amazed that it would ferment at those temps. The yeast was rehydrated (see, Tom ) in about 95 degree water and I’m not exactly sure how long the lag was, but it was fermenting 2 days later at 45 degrees after pitch.
I have purposely fermented US-05 at around 54 degrees with good results before. But shocked to see it chugging along this cold. I seen some lager yeasts that struggle under 48.
Hey Keith, make sure you comment on the finished results. I have some friends who are brewing pro and seem to be having major problems with yeast handling. I suggested they use dry until they get the rest of their operation in order and they have pooh pooh’d the suggestion. I habitually have 04 and 05 on hand for those “just in case” disaster times and it has saved the day on a number of occasions when something unfortunate has happened to my propagated batch. Do I prefer my beers made with the liquid strains? Yes usually. But the differences are sometimes pretty subtle and it can be hard to pick a favorite.
Yeah, I prefer liquid yeast but for a IIPA I doubt anyone could tell the difference. I’ve used it for my regular IPA before with very good results, too. The liquid on the reg. IPA tastes just a little more “polished”, but the IIPA is so hoppy I just can’t tell the difference. AND while perhaps not the most ideal I’m perfectly satisfied subbing US-05 for my reg. IPA as well. Makes a great beer.
Yeah, wouldn’t want to run it that long for long. That said, the sample I pulled was amazingly clean! I didn’t take a gravity reading so no telling how far it dropped.
Will post back on results. FWIW I had something similar happen on 1056 though not quite as cold (in the low 50s) and it was fermenting too and finished out and tasted great.
I use 05 a lot less than I used to. I started detecting a really low peach ester from it and now I can’t get it out of my head when I drink a beer I used it for. It was so slight that I’m more than likely just psyching myself out. I’ve also heard that if you run it above 65 (which I rarely have) that ester is reduced or eliminated. I doubt, though, that you;d ever notice it under the hops in an IIPA. But it’s made me go back to using 1056 a lot more than I used to.
yeah, I get the peach ester thing. Just didn’t really bother me. You don’t get it with an Imperial IPA. I feel that there is just a little yeasty taste that isn’t there with 1056 on US05. But it is faint and you really have to look for it.
The first brewery I worked at didn’t have any way to heat the tanks, so in the winter we would pitch at 72°F and the temperature would continuously drop until it got down into the high 40s or low 50s. The only problem with consistently had was some sulfur that wouldn’t get vaporized without a warm rest. After a few months I built a glycol heater so that we could do dual-stage temperature control, but the “Helles” brewed with US-05 won a couple of medals in the meantime.
I’ve always thought of the ester character as apricot rather than peach, but either way it’s pretty subtle.
sean, i need to know how you built a glycol warmer? I have separate ports that I built into my system that I can plumb with warm water to raise temps, but I have never heard of a glycol warmer before. Apprise me on this…
My fermentation chamber is rigged so I can go from sub zero oC to over 100oC (I do mean Celsius). It is a computer controlled glycol recirculator. Got it from a guy I work with. I like being able to go warm in winter for ales and cold for lagers. It does not have the capacity for over a 1/2 barrel though. You could do a glycol warmer using a controlled heat source to heat the glycol and pump it through a heat exchanger in or around your fermenter. I’ve had to use it this winter to finish some sluggish ale fermentations when the basement got down to ~56.
US-05 is a go to yeast for most of my ales. I routinely ferment them in the high 50’s and after fermentation slows, let them free rise to the 60’s. it can be a slow flocculation, though, doing it that way.
It was just a spare glycol unit we had lying around (missing its compressor) with a 1500 W water heater element in the reservoir and controller/relay set for ~30°C. Each of the tanks had a single-stage controller and a pair of solenoid valves, one NO, one NC. So either warm or cold glycol was always flowing through the jackets (I did put a manual valve on each to save energy when they were empty). It was the only way I could think of to do it with a single jacket on the tanks, and it was far from an ideal solution. Turns out there are some things that will actually metabolize propylene glycol; I guess sub-freezing temperatures will kill them off in a normal chiller setup.
If I had two jacket zones like you do, I’d use water for the warm side.
The energizer yeast…for sure. That’s pretty much lager temp Keith. Doesn’t surprise me too much. I’ve fermented that yeast in my cellar at 58F before…no problem. It’s a good yeast to keep on hand for emergencies too…as I used it a few weeks ago to get a stalled RIS going again along with se sucrose. It’ll tolerate 11% ABV with no problem.
This has been my go to clean ale yeast for a while now. Usually quick-fermenting and decent flocculation. Just pitched 2 packs in my double IPA a few days ago and the airlock is chugging away. Looking forward to that one. It also makes a nice American wheat ale. Just like a Hefe without the banana/clove character.
) in about 95 degree water and I’m not exactly sure how long the lag was, but it was fermenting 2 days later at 45 degrees after pitch.