I purchased four packages of this yeast culture last fall. I gave two packages to BrewBama. It does not appear that this yeast culture has been a hit with brewers. I am beginning to wonder if my remaining packages of Verdant IPA should go with and expired smack pack of Wyeast 1450 (expired in June). I plan to brew another batch of my Czech Pilsner next weekend with Diamond Lager. I did not enjoy the batch I made with Fermentis W-34/70 as much as I have enjoyed the batches I made with liquid cultures, but most of our non-been aficionados loved that beer, so I know that the recipe is sound. Hopefully, Diamond Lager does not have the weird off-flavor that I experience with W-34/70. I really want to find a dry ale yeast culture and a lager yeast culture that meets my requirements because my lifestyle no longer supports brewing on a schedule.
Great! I just bought a pack of Verdant IPA.
Have you brewed with Verdant yourself? Or just going by what “they” say.
I have used Verdant a few times, and, for one and most importantly, enjoyed the beers it made. For two, to me it seems to be top-cropping and thus relative easy to use and harvest.
I used it in an APA, a Rye ale, a Porter, and a NEIPA. All were comparable to the beers I’ve made with liquid yeasts.
I’d really appreciate and value your opinion. I hope you use it and report back what you liked or disliked as I, for one but likely many more, appreciate your opinion on yeast.
I’ve yet to use the two packs Mark gave me but I do have plans for them in the near future.
I’m about to make an Emptier’s ESB with Verdant. Everything I’ve heard is that it is the first dry yeast with true British Ale ester/flavor expression. I can’t imagine it to be the sort of yeast that is doomed to fail.
Verdant has been a hit with me.
I know yuo’ve heard a lot about this before, but there are only so many dry yeasts available. i’d say try them all purposely, you must only have a few left you haven’t tried. then you can give some final judgements on whether there are any dry yeasts you like. i’d love to hear about diamond. haven’t used it yet.
i enjoyed S-189 a lot this winter. Try K-97 and WB-06. WB-06 is related fairly closely to duvel and it would be fun to try it without the expectation that it is a weizen, which has been misinterpreted from fermentis’ product literature and passed on and on for decades now.
In the past 15 years or so ive used many different liquid strains of UK yeast. I’ve never liked S04 or Nottingham or Windsor.
Verdant is imho up there with 1469, and I only use one or the other. I find it has nice esters and character and is very reliable in terms of performance ( it’s not fussy like some other UK strains ). Last 3 or 4 British beers have used verdant. Lots of people here in aus love it.
I only use it for British beers
I’ve used Diamond a lot. What can I tell you?
Thanks Denny. I have seen you mentioning it a fair bit. If I recall you said it was crisp and clean.
So far I’ve used W34/70 and S189. I ended up with one less than pleasant batch of W34/70 that was a repitch, though it might have been a bad recipe or bad process (I had only been brewing for a few months after years of not having, and on all new equipment). I thoroughly enjoyed the S189 beers. I would say the S189 made clean but not super clean, malty (without simply regurgitating the info on these yeasts already out there) beers that did not emphasize hops.
From what I gather of Diamond it would do well with pale lagers and pilsners? Did it flocculate well? S189 was extremely powdery but ended up being crystal clear after gelatin. It got 78% attenutation with 100% base malt and a ~150F mash.
Pils is what I usually use it with. Fermenting a batch right now. Drops very well. I don’t gelatin or anything other than Whirlfloc. I dont know if it’s really fair to blame 34/70 without multiple trials of the same recipe.
nice, also do you use it at the 34/70 mid 60s temps that people use with success? i’m strongly considering trying that soon
I have, but I don’t usually. It seems to be fine, but for some reason I feel like I get slightly better results with both at lower temps. That could just be confirmation bias.
i don’t have ability to artificially reduce temps to lager temps, but can get ideal and consistent ones from early december to at least the end of march. i did s189 at 55F. according to my notes i didn’t even do a diacetyl rest. let it sit for 2 months in total and it was a memorable beer. would you give s189 a try?
I’ve used S-189 for many years.
I did a red IPA a bit ago with verdant. I liked the beer, definitely true top cropper. Had more blowout than I expected.
I trust Denny’s experience with cultures because it mirrors mine to a point. I am a relative neophyte when it comes to modern dry yeast cultures. I maintained my own yeast bank for so many years that never had to venture outside of it.
Here is a photo of my old yeast bank:
Working with absolutely pure yeast cultures that are propagated aseptically leads to a warped sense of clean fermentation. I turned 60 this year. I am more interested in practical beer and the community that exists around it. I am done fighting the yeast culture wars. That being said, a true top-cropping yeast culture has an allure. The reason why true top-cropping yeast cultures exist is because the practice naturally purifies the culture due to the fact that wild yeast and bacteria do not floc to the top. I really appreciate everyone who contributes to this forum. Everyone has a unique brew house and brewing process. The cultures that yield consistent fermentations across this spectrum are the cultures in which the community should invest their time. Wyeast 1056 is a no-brainer. It is a very forgiving yeast culture that produces good beer. Wyeast 1469 appears to be the British equivalent of Wyeast 1056 when it comes to producing consistent results, albeit beers with British signatures. Hopefully, as other contributors have alluded, Verdant IPA is the answer to those who have been looking for true British-style yeast that behaves like a small British brewery yeast.
I just purchased several dry yeasts hoping to find one that I like for English porters and bitters.
I purchased Verdant IPA, Nottingham & Windsor (co-pitch), Nottingham & Lalbrew London (co-pitch), and New England East Coast Ale.
I’m not sure what I am searching for. I am hoping I will know it when I taste it.
This experiment might take me a year to complete since I will be mixing in APAs and Lagers along the way.
I picked up a few sachets of mangrove jack empire ale recently. The first batch turned out good. Lower attenuation than verdant, but the beer didn’t taste cloying. Kept a lot of body in a low gravity stout. I’m not sure what the source is but I’ve read it’s from Newcastle. I think verdant was originally London 3. Similar fruit flavors to my unsophisticated palate.
I’m planning to try a NEIPA with Verdant this weekend. I was going to do 10 gallons and split it between two yeasts to see the difference. I’m not sure what to put in the other half. I have 1450, US-04, and US-05 as options.