Yeast for GF Pale Ale

[glutarded-chris]

Recently, I did some mash experiments with the same grain bill, and for fun I pitched four different yeasts (all grain pale ale):
- Safale US-05
- Nottingham
- Windsor
- Cooper's

I have been using US-05 almost exclusively for years. I have used Nottingham and Windsor before, but not since I have been able to control fermentation temperatures. This was my first time using Cooper's. Someone posted that Cooper's did not attenuate as much as other yeasts, so I tried it.

The batches with US-05 and Nottingham have been conditioning for a month now, but I won't really get a good indication of the Windsor and Cooper's batches for another few weeks.

The Cooper's batch attenuated even more then the others and to my surprise the green uncarbonated beer I tasted as I kegged it seemed to be really good. I am really curious to taste it head-to-head with the others once it has hit it's stride.

Has anyone else used Cooper's? Any thoughts?

 

[glutarded-chris]

The keg with Cooper's should have hit its stride by now and I don't think I care for it.

 

[Legume]

Whitch was your favorite & why?
Whats your tempeature control like?

I like the flavor of nottingham, but find myself using a lot of US05 because it is so foregiving of my often warmer than ideal fermentation temperatures.

 

[glutarded-chris]

I did not do a proper head to head comparison. I killed the US-05 keg early and then we had a party and the crew killed the Nottingham keg. Still have not tapped the Windsor.
I tried the Nottingham next to the US-05 and I could tell a distinct difference but I did not have a favorite. I have liked the Windsor in the past so I am pretty sure I will like it. I will probably stay with US-05 for the next few batches.

I have a commercial fermentation freezer with a love controller so I have pretty accurate temperature control. Got it from an engineer at work that had to stop brewing so I got it at a bargain. In Florida, if you are not going to keep carboys in a closet and crank the AC low, it is pretty much the only option. I fermented all batches at about 63F for the first week and then 65F after that, so I am fairly confident that I removed fermentation temp from a variable between the batches.

 

[brwmistr]

Coopers is all I have been using up until now, with my GF homemalted millet. But info from my LHBS tells me that Coopers is no longer making this yeast. Or maybe he tells me this as he will no longer carry it. Has anyone heard this about Coopers yeast?

 

[ericbw]

I used to use coopers because it was cheap. It was fine for me, but I feel like US-05 is better. Probably i am a better brewer than I was!

I pretty much stick to US-05 for most yellow or pale beers.

 

[mergs]

Recently, I did some mash experiments with the same grain bill.

Hey Chris, I was wondering if you could post up your grain bill? I just got a freezer baggy of mostly Centennial hops so I was going to use that in a Pale Ale (I usually do IPA, but want to try something new) this week. I think the bills for IPA vs PA are similar (the latter being a lower OG?) but wondered what you're using for a PA.

I could use my normal IPA grain bill and just reduce the hop bill to a PA level but I'd rather not re-invent especially if you're happy with it.

Thanks!

p.s. I hope you made out OK with the storm!

 

[glutarded-chris]

Dodged a major bullet on the storm! Just before coming to New Smyrna Beach, the storm went a little to the east, it weakened from category 4 to category 3 winds speeds and peak storm surge occurred on a low tide. The west side of the eye wall went over the barrier island where my house is but the west wall of the storm at that point had wind speeds half the speed of the north and east side of the eye. The result of all of those benefits was that we came out just fine. After 2 days of full on stress, instead of losing everything, I found my house in good condition and surfed 2 hours of clean ground swell with light off shore winds. Emotional roller-coaster.

We evacuated, of course, but a lot of people did not. If the storm had gone a little to the west and had hit at cat 4 on a high tide, I think it would have stripped the island clean. I would have lost all of my stuff but a lot of people would have lost their lives.

We are thankful, humbled and feel for those that lost more to the north and south of us.

My grain bill for those batches was on the test batch post:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=587468

My next batch I intend to use much the same grain bill but lower the hops to let the malt character come through more. I got into the habit of hop forward from my sorghum days to hide the sorghum twang and just kept it up as I moved into AG. Now I think I am going to back off on the hops.

Let us know what you do on your next batch and how it turns out!

 

[mergs]

Dodged a major bullet on the storm! Just before coming to New Smyrna Beach, the storm went a little to the east, it weakened from category 4 to category 3 winds speeds and peak storm surge occurred on a low tide. The west side of the eye wall went over the barrier island where my house is but the west wall of the storm at that point had wind speeds half the speed of the north and east side of the eye. The result of all of those benefits was that we came out just fine. After 2 days of full on stress, instead of losing everything, I found my house in good condition and surfed 2 hours of clean ground swell with light off shore winds. Emotional roller-coaster.

We evacuated, of course, but a lot of people did not. If the storm had gone a little to the west and had hit at cat 4 on a high tide, I think it would have stripped the island clean. I would have lost all of my stuff but a lot of people would have lost their lives.

We are thankful, humbled and feel for those that lost more to the north and south of us.

My grain bill for those batches was on the test batch post:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=587468

My next batch I intend to use much the same grain bill but lower the hops to let the malt character come through more. I got into the habit of hop forward from my sorghum days to hide the sorghum twang and just kept it up as I moved into AG. Now I think I am going to back off on the hops.

Let us know what you do on your next batch and how it turns out!

Great news on the storm! And you got some surfing in, bonus!!

I hear ya on the "hop forward recipes to mask the twang" thing. Same here! No twang in AG millet and buckwheat.

Thanks for the recipe! I'll cobble something together on brewtoad this week and when I pull the trigger I'll report back on new thread. I also have a weird idea about doing a second batch with second runnings but I need to do a little more research on "parti-gyle". I guess a lot depends upon how much efficiency I get from my first runnings and that 170F first step in the mash you've been doing.