Psudo-Pills yeast

[JR]

I have a big ass pot being delivered today and I am going to do a triple batch of NZ Pils with cascade and Nelson Sav.  It will ferment in 3 carboys in my temp controlled chest freezer.  I thought I may as well make this a learning experience and pitch 3 different yeasts and see what the difference is.  They will have to be fermented at the same temp - im thinking 14 degrees.

 

The question is which 3 yeasts should I use.  In the past I have used 1056 and US05 for this sort of job but a little googling suggested that the Kolch yeast and the German Ale yeast might also go well.  What yeast would you include in the comparison and why.  Are 1056 and US05 too similar to bother comparing?

 

Options:

US05

WY1056 (American Ale)

WY1007 (German Ale)

WY2565 (Kolsch)

WY1272 (American ale II)

 

[denimglen]

Sorry to jack your thread JR, but I wish more people who either lurk or occasionally post on here would talk more about positive experiences and things that tried and tested in their home breweries: just like Fairlane has done here... and furthermore not be judged by it.

Haha I've been lurking a bit lately actually - seems lately I type out half a post and go 'oh fuck it' and close the window (this post almost was one of those haha). Dunno why, but often feels like I'm repeating myself all the time - and I don't mean that negatively - just feels like I'm always jumping in where I should let some of the newer folk give some advice as I reckon teaching others is the best way to increase your own knowledge.

I personally don't mind it when people say things like "I used that yeast and I got a lot of sulphides etc and so might look at something else..." or "it didn't give me the characteristics that I was hoping for for that style..."

Agree with that. I'm probably a little negative about stuff sometimes but try and put it in perspective to my own brewery and techniques. Some yeasts/malts/hops that others favour just turn out crap for me I've found. My tastes, techniques and style all play a part in that, I know. So I try and pass that through in my recommendations.

And to the OP:

I prefer 1056 over 05 - just always seems to be fuller/rounder, faster fermenting, and my beers just seem slightly better for it, for me anyway. This may be a good reason to try both or chose the one you like more.

1272 - I personally am not too fond of it - just a yeast that doesn't 'work' for me, mainly in the final beer flavour, otherwise it's OK - makes beer, but I always wish I had used 1056. I wouldn't think it would perform to well at lower temps but I've never tried.

2565 - have never used it. I have used the WLP kolsch strain and was very fond of it, would well suit a psuedo-lager. I've heard that the WLP kolsch yeast doesn't like sub 15C temps unless you really look after it. I'm not too familiar with the WY kolsch strain numbers - I know WLP and WY have there normal kolsch strains which are different but the WY special edition strain may be the same as WLPs normal strain. Sorry can't help you there too much.

1007 - haven't tried this either but have heard good things.

I don't know if you've looked into it yet but check the fermentation range of all your chosen yeasts and take the lowest temperature which suits all your chosen strains. Would suck to have some that struggle and some that perform well, would make it a hard to compare the strains IMO.

[Greig McGill]

I hear ya Joseph, but as I think I've said to you in the past, I guess I just prefer to brew than talk about brewing. I generally just brew for me. I love getting together with brewers (eg, the WBC is always a highlight), but I really value doing my own thing in my own way. I love talking about beer - but not so much about brewing beer. I know, I'm a weirdo. ;)

Agree 100% on the constructive thing though. I don't think I've ever seen you be particularly negative? That said, I do lurk, and occasionally miss a ton of posts, so might have missed it. :)

[Chris Banks]

+1 for me!

[Tilt]

To offer the perspective of a relative newcomer to this forum, and a new AG brewer with plenty to improve on...

I'll start by saying that my experiences here have been all positive.

The NZ homebrew scene is pretty damn supportive as far as I can tell.
I haven't had any hesitation in asking questions here hoping to tap the collective knowledge of other RB forum members.

I'll admit I do lurk and scour the vaults for past threads to find answers to my questions - this is more due to not wanting to ask repeat questions that may have been discussed comprehensively some time back rather than being concerned about copping a criticism for relative ignorance.

I look at the AHB forum too - and its gotta be said that there are a few wankers on there who look for an argument to entertain themselves - no such thing here which is bloody great.

I'm not at the stage yet where I'm ready to experiment and share the experiences - but I loosely follow blogs like the mad fermentationist and can't wait to try some of this sort of stuff.

I'm confident when the time comes for me to try some more advanced brewing there'll be others here happy to critique, take the piss, share their knowledge and generally be good blokes - all good as far as I'm concerned!!

[studio1]

I've got a smack pack of Wyeast Kolsch in my freezer (yes freezer) you can have for free if you feel like building it up carefully.

[studio1]

also a frozen smack pack of Cal Lager

[jt]

1007 is a lazy flocculator so for a fair fight make sure you can cold condition/filter/fine it.

But that's only if you need to see straight throught your beer ?

[JR]

I think I will go the 1056 vs 1007 vs 2565 to start with. I expect the differences between these yeasts to be a bit easier for my unrefined palette to pick up on. If 1056 comes out the best then I will do 1056 vs US05 test as well.

Studio1 - I will greatfully take you up on the offer of the 1007 yeast. In return I could send you a bottle of each beer in the test. To get that going again would I just put it in a 1L 1.020 starter then into bigger starters from there?

[studio1]

I would start it in 250ml x 1.040 then step up to 2l x 1.040

[JoKing]

I agree. Thats a very kind step up for any starter.

[JR]

I brewed the beer yesterday and pitched 1056, 1007 and 2565. Im fermenting at 15 as that was the lowest temp for 1056 on the wyeast website (though I'm sure I have done a 14 degree ferment with it before...)

almost 24 hours since pitching and 1007 and 2565 have 2inch layers of foam on them while 1056's foam doesn't yet cover the beer. The other 2 clearly dont mind the cold while 1056 is a bit sluggish. From memory the others go down to 13 degrees.

Brewing was a last minute (2 days) decision so I didnt end up having time to grab that yeast off you Studio1. Thanks for the offer though, appreciated. I was just lucky DMH had all the yeasts there already (and they were not too old)