British bitter dry yeast

[Franz]

I was planning to brew a best bitter in the next couple weeks but my LHBS is out of style-matching liquid yeasts. I can get the good old S-04, the Lallemand Winsor or the Lallemand London ESB. I know a lot of members don't like the S-04 but I don't mind it, just wondering if the others will add a more distinctive flavour. Any thoughts?

 

[thehaze]

Windosr and London ESB do not ferment maltotriose, so make sure to mash low and long, and add a 5-ish% sugars. Windsor is more estery, whereas ESB is a bit neutral, so either one will work well. I would also recommend Fermentis S-33, which if treated right, works well in Bitters and also IPAs. Lallemand Verdant yeast is another great, yet new dry yeast, that will complement a lot of ale styles.

 

[Franz]

Windosr and London ESB do not ferment maltotriose, so make sure to mash low and long, and add a 5-ish% sugars.

Thank you for the info, I'll make sure to add some.

 

[Steveruch]

I've not had the high F G with ESB that some folks have, I used the ESB in an extract/specialty grains brew that went from 1.040-1.012.

 

[Franz]

I've not had the high F G with ESB that some folks have, I used the ESB in an extract/specialty grains brew that went from 1.040-1.012.

That's good to know. I am planning on a 1.040-1.045 OG so I may give the ESB a try.

 

[D.B.Moody]

I would also recommend Fermentis S-33, which if treated right, works well in Bitters and also IPAs.

I agree. S33 is one of my favorites. It is my usual choice for British styles.

 

[Franz]

Went back to the shop but they were out of S-33 too, so I got both the Windsor and the London ESB and I'm going to do a split batch. Thank you all for the
infos.

 

[D.B.Moody]

I'm going to do a split batch.

Please let us know what the results are. I joined HomeBrewTalk in November while looking for information on dry yeasts.

 

[Franz]

Please let us know what the results are. I joined HomeBrewTalk in November while looking for information on dry yeasts.

The project just got postponed due to a request from a friend for a winter dunklesbock, it'll have to wait until January.
Btw @D.B.Moody I was planning to use the recipe you recommended in my welcome thread!

 

[beersk]

I have a best bitter on tap that I used nottingham in. It's a nice beer.

 

[Franz]

So here's the plan for tomorrow! I've added the BeerSmith file too if you are interested.

 

[D.B.Moody]

Since I don't do all grain, I don't really know what you're talking about, but I'm glad you didn't have to wait to January, and I applaud the approach to comparing yeasts.

 

[Franz]

I'm glad you didn't have to wait to January, and I applaud the approach to comparing yeasts.

I realized that if I lock one of the 2 fermenters I have for lagering I would't be able to do the comparison. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Franz]

The main fermentation is about done. The ESB went from 1.039 to 1.009, the Windsor from 1.039 to 1.010. Both FG remained stable in the last 3 days.
At a first taste (room temperature) the ESB has a lot of yeast carachter (in a good way), the Windsor is more neutral and presents a cleaner and stronger percieved bitterness despite the low IBU/GU ratio.
Oddly enough the colour is quite different, the ESB is lighter and cloudier, the Windsor is darker and quite clear. Both samples are now being chilled to about 10-13°C (my usual cellar temp) for a second taste.

 

[Franz]

After the cold taste I definitely prefer the Windsor strain for session ales. The clean bitter profile of the Windsor was very pleasant even at cold cellar temperature (8°C) but the ESB almost disappeared, leaving the sample quite bland, almost watery.
In the early samples (fermentation still active) the London ESB tasted and smelled way better, I think it's a better choice for beers with a more complex malt profile.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I was planning to brew a best bitter in the next couple weeks but my LHBS is out of style-matching liquid yeasts. I can get the good old S-04, the Lallemand Winsor or the Lallemand London ESB. I know a lot of members don't like the S-04 but I don't mind it, just wondering if the others will add a more distinctive flavour. Any thoughts?

Coming late to this but don't forget the option of harvesting yeast directly from commercial beer that is bottle conditioned. I imagine you should be able to find Fuller's 1845 or Bengal Lancer (sold as Fuller's IPA in some markets) which both have yeast in that's much better than pretty much anything that's available through homebrew labs.

 

[Franz]

Coming late to this but don't forget the option of harvesting yeast directly from commercial beer that is bottle conditioned.

I've looked into it but it's honestly a bit too complex with the equipment i can get my hands on at the moment. I'm switching to kegging and that will take some time (and a big chunk of my brewing budget!).

 

[duncan_disorderly]

I have become a big fan of Verdant too. M36 also pretty good. I have recently used M44 with S-33 co-pitched and that worked very well, next time I will either pitch M44 a day before the S-33 or get it started early cos it is a very slow starter, I only got 75% attenuation so I think the S-33 must have dominated, it was a base malt only beer of 1.040 and finished at 1.010. Or I will use Notty instead of M44, and pitch it with S-33 or Windsor.