Safale 04

[PieOPah]

Could depend on the amount of fermentable sugar in your wort?

[johnmac]

I've found Safale 04 to be the best dried yeast, though Gervin is also good and Windsor is nice if you don't mind waiting weeks for it to clear.

Cheaper than liquid yeast and no need to rehydrate, like Gervin or Danstar - what could be better?

[Vossy1]

I've just taken a hydro reading of my 100% Satisfaction AG brew which I did on saturday afternoon.

I've used Safale 04 yeast for the 1st time and the gravity has dropped from 1040 to 1011 in 3.5 days .

This yeast is rapid

[oblivious]

I have used it in a number of beers and I like it a lot.

[Zebra]

I like the 04 too. I find it's starts quickly if you just pitch it in to the wort, however I now rehydrate a satchet first and then pitch. This evenings effort was going like the clappers about 2 hours after pitching. I seem to do OK with one satchet for 5 gallons. I use two if I'm doing lager and so want to ferment at a lower temperature for which I use s23.

[gnomey]

Long time homebrewer, first time communicator. In brews gone by I've used a variety of yeasts (slurry) borrowed from generous brewers but not wanting to be classed as a beggar I decided to delve into the world of dried yeasts - Safale S-04..... with disasterous effects. My first beer fermented within 4 days but was rife with diacetyl. I left the beer 24 hours hoping the yeast would mop up the stuff naturally but to no avail so I added more S-04 and roused. Two days later still no joy, so chilled and bottled. Appreciating diacetyl can be an off flavour from infection I cleaned meticulously and tried again, adding S-04 again. Today is day four of fermentation and the beer is ready to chill except for the diacetyl again, so its back to a brewer tomorrow to plead for some yeast. I think people have different taste thresholds for diacetyl - I hate the sickly sweet stuff - but I'm sure I'll get plenty of takers for the brew. So, after that long winded rant, a question or two. Failing adding a yeast capable of removing diacetyl do I have any other options? Has anyone else has the same trouble with Safale S-04 or dried yeast in generally?

[mysterio]

SO4 is known to throw off a lot of diacetyl. The simple cure is to leave it in the primary for an extra week at fermentation temperature, the yeast clean it up.

[gnomey]

Surprised / disappointed it will take that long for the yeast to mop it up and as I tend to brew beers around the 6-6.5% mark should I have concerns about yeast autolysis from the 10-12 day fermentation leading to subsequent 'yeast bitten' flavours? Any other dried yeasts you recommend that wouldn't give me this diacetyl please?

[mysterio]

It takes much longer than that for any autolysis or off-flavours to occur, over a month I would imagine. I've certainly had no problems leaving my beer for 3 or 4 weeks in the primary.

I think SO4 is the only one known for diacetyl, you could try any of the others like Nottingham, Safale US-56, Gervin English Ale, etc.

[gnomey]

Ok thanks, I'll leave the beer in FV until the yeast works its magic. Guess I just got unlucky with my choice of yeast, thanks for the advice.

[Vossy1]

I've had no probs with diacetyl, but S04 flocculates to such an extent, that it's not gr8 for bottle conditioning....IMO

Having said that, I don't much care if my pints cloudy, as long as it taste good

And as long as it's my choice....bloody chill haze...grrrr

[gnomey]

Cheers DaaB, grateful for the info. Reasonably ok with how I aerate.... patience seems to be the key here - I'd just become accustomed to a 4-7 day fermentation and had never encounted this sickly sweet taste before. Thanks

[Vossy1]

surely a floculant yeast makes an ideal yeast for bottle conditioning

That surely depends on the size of the flocculent particles.

Using So4, the particlulate I have been encountering, have been up to 10mm across.

This does't make for a particularly easy to pour pint

Nottingham/Gervin produces much finer flocculent, in my limited use of this yeast, and the yeast bed in the bottle is far more compact.

As said, I can only comment from my limited experience, which is not as in depth as others.

[johnmac]

the particlulate I have been encountering, have been up to 10mm across.

The only time I had anything like that was when I tried using auxiliary fining's.

[Vossy1]

Not sure what happened there then V

Hmm, neither am I now

With my kits which are usually supplied with Gervin or equiv I get a really smooth cream like yeast cake.

With S04 on the 4 brews I've used it with, I've ended up with what I can only describe as bunches of grapes type yeast cake, and that was before adding finnings

Were talking clumps that roll over each other as I tip the fermentor to empty it....very strange