Hi! just wondering which strain do you prefer for american styles and why? us05 or bry-97?
thanks!
I haven’t done any side-by-side comparisons to taste the differences between all the different dry yeasts, but I think most people will agree that US-05 is the “old reliable” one that people really like to use. It’s cheap and effective and clean for all American styles.
I could almost say the same for Nottingham ale yeast, which is the old “old reliable”. It is typically a great yeast as well, when it works, but a handful of times over the years they have run into quality issues (i.e., yeast was dead on arrival). When it works it works great. When it doesn’t… could be 5 gallons down the drain. That being said you could always keep an extra pack or two on hand for emergencies. It’s cheap insurance.
And don’t forget S-04 for British styles…and 34/70 for lagers (though I never had problems with “fruity” S-23 fermented cold - 46F). Really, I think the dry yeasts are so convenient that I almost don’t need liquids - I said almost…
Pretty amazing how good dry yeast has gotten since I started brewing. US-05 is one of my go to yeasts, but I think you can make qualioty beer from just about any dry yeast on the market now.
I think BRY-97 is really underrated, especially for beers that aren’t particularly hoppy.
Even factoring in the lag time on the first pitch, following the manufacturer’s pitching rates, I got aggressive fermentations that hit terminal gravity within 7 days and had a nice clean taste. Subsequent pitches had a significantly reduced lag time as well.
That being said, 500g of US-05 is literally almost half the price of BRY-97 and while it performs a little slower, still has decent flavor and doesn’t have the same sort of perception issues with hoppy beers.
I help out from time to time at a brewpub that uses S-04 for a lot of different styles. You wouldn’t know it was an english strain, ferments with very low esters on that system and temp.
I use S-05 often and love it. I haven’t been brave enough to try many others, since S-05 works so well. I have used S-04 a few times and I really like that one as well. It drops out and stays out really quickly and thoroughly. I used it to carbonate my pils for that reason.
I agree with Anthony on BRY-97. Plus, re-using it again reduces the overall cost.
I get tired of waiting for S-05 to drop.