Hi guys.
So i have been here for a while and i started brewing mead and discovered Mangrove Jacks M05 yeast. Thats what got me into mangrove jacks yeasts when i started brewing beers. I have only been doing so for half a year but i have done a bunch of batches and every time i try to find info on a new MJ strain i wanted to try i usually dont find much (a lot of old comments and mixed reviews). For this reason i have decided to post my experiences with some of those yeasts, so other people can see this and know what they are in for if they choose one of the yeasts.
Beforehand i have to say a few things:
-My batches are not experimental. I didnt do side by side cmparisons, this are just my personal notes and experiences. Dont ask me to compare to other manufacturers or yeasts. I simly give you the info i have gathered in my short time brewing.
-The following is my PERSONAL opinion. you may agree or not. Also some yeasts performance may vary from batch to batch or between styles. Feel free to PM me or post any questions you have/recipes or specifics you want
-Will do my best to update the list over time if people seem to be interested
-IMPORTANT: unless stated otherwise, I always used 1 pack of yeast (11g) for 14-15 liters of beer, rehydrating the yeast 15 minutes before pitch in aprox 250ml of water at 37ºC
Thats all, here we go. I will post what i wrote for myself then elaborate a bit in a second paragraph:
· M15, Empire Ale: Attenuation is medium (70-75% depending on mash temps). Some esters but not much (cherry, plum). Pitch warm for esters (27-30ºC). Starts hard, then can stops mid ferment and finish leftover sugars after a while. Check your hydrometer. Good overall. Compacts less strongly than other yeasts in the bottle, so some more ends in your glass.
Well, compaction is not terrible but always some yeast makes it to the glass. ALso the ester thing is relative. I have used this yeast 5 times now in brown to dark beers, and the malt was always dominating, but the esters were clearly percivable, in a very positive way. Makes good stouts and browns with a decent attenuation. Also i usually pitch quite warm for the esters that i like. This results in an uneven fermentation every time, i think this yeast is a mix of 2 strains. First it ferments REALLY fast around 55-60% of the sugars (may happen in even less than 24h). Then stops for a few days (4-8) and then picks up again and finishes. So dont rack early, and check your hydro after a couple weeks. Overall one of my favs cause i love dark beers.
· M36, Liberty Bell Ale: Ferments cleanly, low esters, makes fine beer. A swiss-army-yeast. Attenuation is medium-high (75%)
Have used only twice. Good results, but i would be lying if i said much more. However i had no complaints with the beer. Floc and compaction are good, it does give some esters but not strong even in a sessionable beer without dominating malt or hop flavours.
· M42, New World Strong Ale: Very fast yeast. Kicks in fast, ferments at medium speed. High attenuation (78-81%). Ferments maltotriose but careful, if mashing over 67ºC can under attenuate. Produces a desirable array of fruity esters and phenols if fermented warm. No undesirable fusels even if consumed early. Packs heavily on the bottle. Can produce hints of Sulphur if underpitched (starter)
This yeast is awesome. So good. I have fermented with it and it flocculates and falls down faster than the trub (i had the white layer of yeast UNDER the green/brown trub, im not joking). packs so good in the bottle if you can lager the beer for a week or so you can put crystal clear beer in your glass. Also its great to pitch at 20ºC or less and make Altbier or similar. The esters are really low. If pitched warmer it has a bit more but definitely nothing major, and fade away soon. I made a starter once out of washed yeast and the beer i did with that had hints of sulphur, nothing too strong, and were gone after 2 weeks in the bottle. Also this yeast allows for very fast turnaround beer. I have bottled after 14 days perfectly fine beer (with an OG of 1.050)
· M44 US West Coast: Takes a while to get rolling (18-24h). Attenuation is medium-high (78%). Leaves clean taste that really let malt and hops come through. Take care while racking, lees don’t tend to stay behind in the bottle.
So yeah, takes a while to give signs of life, a bit less than 24h if you pitch warmer. But all around produces great beer, super clean flavour. Attenuates quite a lot. Always some yeast makes it to the bottle too. I used it with some tettnanger hops and it was good. currently using in on a Polaris hops APA.
· M54, Californian Lager: Slow-ish starter (18-24h). Finishes fast in 3-4 days. Flocs good and stays behind in bottles. Attenuation is high (77%), very clean in the ester department.
Again a bit of a slow starter but not as much as M44. I was really surprised with this one, only just used it recently in a schwarzbier, and its amazing. Great floc and packs well on the bottles (not as much as M42 but still makes for clear beer). It gave sort of a vinous mouthfeel to the schwarz, but it was in a good way (and it was at 1.012 FG). Will definitely try again for lagers because i didnt feel any esters even if i didnt lager the beer at all. If you cant lager i recomed trying your hand at a normal lager using this yeast. Wont be disssapointed.
So thats it. Im currently fermenting a Dark Brown Ale with M15 and the polaris APA i mentioned with M44, will update when those are ready if ppl show interest in the thread. I hope this helps someone though.
So i have been here for a while and i started brewing mead and discovered Mangrove Jacks M05 yeast. Thats what got me into mangrove jacks yeasts when i started brewing beers. I have only been doing so for half a year but i have done a bunch of batches and every time i try to find info on a new MJ strain i wanted to try i usually dont find much (a lot of old comments and mixed reviews). For this reason i have decided to post my experiences with some of those yeasts, so other people can see this and know what they are in for if they choose one of the yeasts.
Beforehand i have to say a few things:
-My batches are not experimental. I didnt do side by side cmparisons, this are just my personal notes and experiences. Dont ask me to compare to other manufacturers or yeasts. I simly give you the info i have gathered in my short time brewing.
-The following is my PERSONAL opinion. you may agree or not. Also some yeasts performance may vary from batch to batch or between styles. Feel free to PM me or post any questions you have/recipes or specifics you want
-Will do my best to update the list over time if people seem to be interested
-IMPORTANT: unless stated otherwise, I always used 1 pack of yeast (11g) for 14-15 liters of beer, rehydrating the yeast 15 minutes before pitch in aprox 250ml of water at 37ºC
Thats all, here we go. I will post what i wrote for myself then elaborate a bit in a second paragraph:
· M15, Empire Ale: Attenuation is medium (70-75% depending on mash temps). Some esters but not much (cherry, plum). Pitch warm for esters (27-30ºC). Starts hard, then can stops mid ferment and finish leftover sugars after a while. Check your hydrometer. Good overall. Compacts less strongly than other yeasts in the bottle, so some more ends in your glass.
Well, compaction is not terrible but always some yeast makes it to the glass. ALso the ester thing is relative. I have used this yeast 5 times now in brown to dark beers, and the malt was always dominating, but the esters were clearly percivable, in a very positive way. Makes good stouts and browns with a decent attenuation. Also i usually pitch quite warm for the esters that i like. This results in an uneven fermentation every time, i think this yeast is a mix of 2 strains. First it ferments REALLY fast around 55-60% of the sugars (may happen in even less than 24h). Then stops for a few days (4-8) and then picks up again and finishes. So dont rack early, and check your hydro after a couple weeks. Overall one of my favs cause i love dark beers.
· M36, Liberty Bell Ale: Ferments cleanly, low esters, makes fine beer. A swiss-army-yeast. Attenuation is medium-high (75%)
Have used only twice. Good results, but i would be lying if i said much more. However i had no complaints with the beer. Floc and compaction are good, it does give some esters but not strong even in a sessionable beer without dominating malt or hop flavours.
· M42, New World Strong Ale: Very fast yeast. Kicks in fast, ferments at medium speed. High attenuation (78-81%). Ferments maltotriose but careful, if mashing over 67ºC can under attenuate. Produces a desirable array of fruity esters and phenols if fermented warm. No undesirable fusels even if consumed early. Packs heavily on the bottle. Can produce hints of Sulphur if underpitched (starter)
This yeast is awesome. So good. I have fermented with it and it flocculates and falls down faster than the trub (i had the white layer of yeast UNDER the green/brown trub, im not joking). packs so good in the bottle if you can lager the beer for a week or so you can put crystal clear beer in your glass. Also its great to pitch at 20ºC or less and make Altbier or similar. The esters are really low. If pitched warmer it has a bit more but definitely nothing major, and fade away soon. I made a starter once out of washed yeast and the beer i did with that had hints of sulphur, nothing too strong, and were gone after 2 weeks in the bottle. Also this yeast allows for very fast turnaround beer. I have bottled after 14 days perfectly fine beer (with an OG of 1.050)
· M44 US West Coast: Takes a while to get rolling (18-24h). Attenuation is medium-high (78%). Leaves clean taste that really let malt and hops come through. Take care while racking, lees don’t tend to stay behind in the bottle.
So yeah, takes a while to give signs of life, a bit less than 24h if you pitch warmer. But all around produces great beer, super clean flavour. Attenuates quite a lot. Always some yeast makes it to the bottle too. I used it with some tettnanger hops and it was good. currently using in on a Polaris hops APA.
· M54, Californian Lager: Slow-ish starter (18-24h). Finishes fast in 3-4 days. Flocs good and stays behind in bottles. Attenuation is high (77%), very clean in the ester department.
Again a bit of a slow starter but not as much as M44. I was really surprised with this one, only just used it recently in a schwarzbier, and its amazing. Great floc and packs well on the bottles (not as much as M42 but still makes for clear beer). It gave sort of a vinous mouthfeel to the schwarz, but it was in a good way (and it was at 1.012 FG). Will definitely try again for lagers because i didnt feel any esters even if i didnt lager the beer at all. If you cant lager i recomed trying your hand at a normal lager using this yeast. Wont be disssapointed.
So thats it. Im currently fermenting a Dark Brown Ale with M15 and the polaris APA i mentioned with M44, will update when those are ready if ppl show interest in the thread. I hope this helps someone though.
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