Yeast for British Brown

1098. That comparison did not help your argument. Hate to break it to you, but S04 is not the Fullers strain. Sorry man.

 

Fair enough. Not that I don't believe you, but do you have a link confirming this?

 

As an English brewer of over 40 years I have never come across a better yeast for English beers than WLP002. I also believe SO4 to be the work of the devil. You cannot make a decent English beer with SO4, and the two yeasts are certainly not related. All the liquid yeasts are derived from original strains and will be altered to make them suitable for the homebrew market. Having harvested Fullers yeast from both bottles and casks several time I have to say WLP002 comes very close to the real thing. Please brewers avoid SO4 at all costs.

 

Have you ever used S-04 to produce darker style beers (e.g., Brown Ales, Porter, Stout,...)?

Cheers!

 

Pre-internet, yes folks there was a time, all my beers were made harvesting yeast from an English bottle conditioned beer Worthington white shield. In the 1980's they stopped brewing it and my local shop only stocked SO4. After around 6 months of using it in various beers I stopped brewing as I refuse to drink bland beers and will not spend all that time brewing to produced sub-standard beers. After a few months of no brewing the shop contacted me to sample the new liquid yeast just come on to the market. Never looked back.

 

You've already got one. Try brewing with each strain, then it will be obvious.

 

Including darker style beers?

Cheers!

 

Have you used Windsor dry yeast for English beers and your thoughts on it.

 

You're insinuating that a homebrewing site is a definitive source? Brewed with 002 and S04 quite a bit and I find them extremely similar, if not identical.

 

Those two are DEFINITELY the same strain.

Never had any issues with it. Just build up a healthy starter and keep your fermentation temperature in the high 60s and you'll be golden. Your sensory profile and attenuation should be just fine if you do so.

 

From what I know Windsor yeast has a significantly lower attenuation level than most other english ale yeasts. I have been using it for my milds and thought its been great for those... But I don't know how many other beer styles I'll really want to try it for.

 

On a sort of similar subject, has anyone ever done a side by side comparison with wy1098 and wy1099?

 

Wyeast 1968 is a highly flocculant yeast strain so you need to make sure the yeast completes the job before going dormant.

Below is the description for this yeast from the Wyeast website:

“STRAIN:

1968

London ESB Ale

A very good cask conditioned ale strain, this extremely flocculant yeast produces distinctly malty beers. Attenuation levels are typically less than most other yeast strains which results in a slightly sweeter finish. Ales produced with this strain tend to be fruity, increasingly so with higher fermentation temperatures of 70-74°F (21-23° C). A thorough diacetyl rest is recommended after fermentation is complete. Bright beers are easily achieved within days without any filtration.”

Cheers!

 

http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21083&f=12#p246445

From British homebrew guru Graham Wheeler, about S-04:

"That reference was probably me, and probably mentioned in one of my books. In the 1990s, when Safale was British (it is now French), I asked a Distiller's Co rep, straight out, what the strain was and he immediately said Whitbread Strain B. That was too specific for me to doubt him - Strain B was a famous and popular strain, used by a great many breweries, but he didn't know that I new that, so it was certainly the truth. Whether it still is strain B is open to debate, but it certainly was once."

 

Thanks for the update and the link, man!

 

Yes porter and mild if I remember correct. Tried Windsor once. The beer was OK but would not clear so that put me off. For a lot of years now I only use liquid or live brewery yeast as I find it far superior. Only use dried yeast in an emergency and the only one I use is Nottingham.

 

Well, your experiences with S-04 and darker style beers are very different from mine. For example I used S-04 for an English Brown Ale and that beer turned out excellent.

I personally would not specifically recommend S-04 for lighter colored beers (e.g., English Pale/Bitter Ale) but I have no compunction recommending S-04 for beer styles such as Brown Ale, Porter, Stout,...

Cheers!

 

Been looking back though my notes, I have records of every beer I have brewed, and it was in 1989 I brewed 11 consecutive beers with SO4. I mark my beers out of 10 and not one got a rating above 5. The mild was 5 and the porter 4. Both were tried and trusted recipes that I was expect to make at least a 7.

 

I trust you that S-04 did not perform well in your home brewery. Hopefully you will extend the same trust towards me when I report that S-04 worked very well in my home brewery as regards darker styles beers.

Cheers!