Crossmyloof Brewery Dry Yeast

[wolfenrook]

Saison yeast gave up at 1.013... So meh, but luckily delicious.

Used the Real Ale yeast in my latest brew. Pitched on the 25th at 1.040 SG, down to 1.010 yesterday (1/12) and seems to have finished. The stuff is a monster! I had to video the bubbling in the bottle from my blow of tube, as it was that bonkers, it has to be seen to be believed...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcTYffudWe8

[wolfenrook]

Just a quick "the story so far" update.

The saison is absolutely delicious! It definitely has that "Belgian" flavour to it (I've only ever had Leffe blond and brown to compare to though, and they had that same under flavour). However at an FG of 1.013 it definitely finished high, so probably not true to style. Tastes delicious though, so far probably the nicest beer I've tasted (not bragging, never tasted anybody else's homebrew just commercial stuff, so odds are there are people out there making beer a LOT nicer than mine. I've also not tasted many Belgian beers, my wife always sees the price and vetoes them....lol).

I made a cascade/citra summer ale (as previously mentioned) using the real ale yeast. It had finished fermenting in 4 days and was crystal clear by 14 days. Racked it yesterday. 74.3% attenuation according to Beersmith 2, going from 1.040 down to 1.010. Should be ready in the new year, sadly not in time for Christmas.

Made a Greg Hughes Witbier with the Kristallweizen yeast, pitched on the 4/12/2017. Hit final gravity on 8/12/2017 and is now resting before I rack and bottle it. OG was 1.043, FG 1.010 once again, so 76% attenuation according to Beersmith 2. Taste of the sample jar, it's a touch on the clean side for a witbier, just a hint of any flavour beyond the hops and wheat malt. However, the Saison was clean tasting before it was bottled and conditioned, developing much more flavour after the diacetyl rest. So I've not given up hope just yet. Either way, it's quite tasty, I love that malty flavour. If it doesn't develop more ester flavour though, it may be one for the purists to avoid, it certainly isn't walloping me with banana and cloves (I fermented at 22 degrees C, so it should be...). For everybody else though, it's very cheap and makes nice drinkable wheat beer. Purists would probably prefer a liquid yeast anyway over a dried.

I'll be using the real ale yeast again in my next brew (another for my wife), then I should either be making a Patersbier with their Belgian yeast, or another Saison but with Mangrove Jacks French Saison yeast for comparison.

[wolfenrook]

Update on the Witbier made with Kristallweizen. Bang on 2 weeks in the bottle and NOW you can taste banana.... My wife is not at all impressed. lol

[simpleton]

Does anyone have any feedback on their belgium yeast? Temps, attenuation, time taken etc. I got a few of these yeasts and pitched 2 packs of their kolch yeast into 30 liters of 1050 alt-bier. Started like a train but dropped at 1014. Had it at 16c until the krausen started falling and then ramped it up to 20c. 1014 is too high for german styles (at leasts for me). I hear their saison yeast can do the same thing. I was going to brew with it but last thing I want is sweet Saison to compliment my sweet alt/kolsch hybrid! So was thinking perhaps use their belgium yeast instead but cannot find much feedback on it.

[wolfenrook]

I made a Patersbier recently with the Belgian strain. OG was 1.046, FG was 1.009, so 79.8% apparent attenuation. I fermented at 25 degrees C though as it's range is 18-28 degrees C.

The Saison yeast was a poor attenuator for sure though, I switched to Mangrove Jacks M29 for Saisons, much better yeast.

With the exception of their Belgian and Kristallweizen strains though, I'm not a CML yeasts fan any more, there are better yeasts out there. I haven't used their Kolsch yeast yet (got one in the fridge), but seen mixed opinions on it from huge fans to folks who swore never to use it again.

But yeah, if you are brewing a Saison with dried yeast, I'd recommend either Mangrove Jacks M29 French Saison, or maybe Danstar Belle Saison (not used this myself, but read good things about it). The Saison I did with M29 went from 1.054 down too 1.004 with ease at about 24 degrees C. Much better attenuation that you will get with CML Belgian yeast IMHO.

[simpleton]

Cheers

I can't stand belle saison personally. The fact it finishes low (1002 in my case) is about it's only saison characteristic (IMO). It just doesn't have the dry, refreshing spiciness I'm after. Though never gone mid twenties with it. Perhaps that's why. Keen to try the MJ french one tho.

[wolfenrook]

From my brews, I don't think you are going to get refreshing spiciness from a French Saison yeast, and certainly not a dried one. The M29 gave me more of a fruity/lemon flavour with a hint of tart/sour, and that was using black pepper and coriander seeds. I've kinda reached the conclusion that either you can't get spicey phenolics from dried Saison yeasts, or you need to ferment a lot higher than the 24 degrees I've been going to.... All the black pepper seems to add is bitterness... lol

I have another packet of M29 in the fridge, so at some pint I'll get hold of an Inkbird and a brew belt (or set up a water bath) and try fermenting even higher with it. I have a couple of packs of CML Saison De Lille too, but I've been avoiding using this after the disappointing results I got at 23/24 degrees C. I'd be irritated with a British style yeast leaving me at 1.013 to be honest, I'm talking from an OG of only 1.045 here... utterly pathetic. lol I get better attenuation than that from M36 Liberty Bell in a medium body mash bitter....

All of this said, I have yet to make a "classic" saison, with a nice Saaz hop, and Saaz tends to give a hint of spiciness when I use it... Along with golden ales, Saison is one of my "go to" styles to brew, so should get around to another at some point.

It may well be though that there is little choice beyond using liquid yeasts for true Saison flavour.

[dbambrick996]

Belle saison is a French saison like 3711, I find i get more citrus notes. For Belgian saison try safbrew be134, nice Belgian character with spice notes

[wolfenrook]

Belle saison is a French saison like 3711, I find i get more citrus notes. For Belgian saison try safbrew be134, nice Belgian character with spice notes

Thanks for the tip bud, I really would like to make a more spicey Saison at some point for a change.

[simpleton]

Figured I would post an answer to my own question above RE the Cross my loof belgium yeast. After using their kolsch yeast which finished a touch high I was a little hesitent to use it. But figured why not just brew something simple and see what it's like. Brewed a straightforward Belgium single with 80% belgium pilsner and a bit of wheat, spelt and aromatic malt. 1050. Rehydrated the yeast as per their instructions. It went off like nothing i've seen before. During the growth phase it actually looked like it had a pump in the fermeneter the currents were that strong. High krausen was about 5 inches under 10psi of pressure. Pitched at 21, held it at 22 for 6 days and it down at 10.08. Left it there for a bit and crashed it. It currently tastes very much like a hefewiezen yeast, lots of banana. I suspect that will die back a fair bit after a few weeks condtionining in the keg. Not too dry despite the low FG. Seams fairly decent. Will report back in a few weeks when it's getting drunk.

[Digby]

I have a patersbier in the FV at the moment. The brew fridge smells amazingly of banana!

Looking forward to seeing how quickly and low it finishes.

Matt

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

[simpleton]

Belle saison is a French saison like 3711, I find i get more citrus notes. For Belgian saison try safbrew be134, nice Belgian character with spice notes

I took your advice on thia and pitched 2 packets of be134 into 33litres @ 1059. Pitched at 23c and let it warm to 26c. It's at 1005 after just 48hours and still has a thick Krausen albeit a fair bit less than the peak. Actually thought my ispindel was being weird and not reporting the gravity correctly so pulled a sample and it's bang on! Reckon it’s heading for 1001 as it’s still very active. Tastes considerably better than the other dry saison yeast i have tried. Think it will be a goodun this one.

[dbambrick996]

Belle saison is a French saison like 3711, I find i get more citrus notes. For Belgian saison try safbrew be134, nice Belgian character with spice notes

I took your advice on thia and pitched 2 packets of be134 into 33litres @ 1059. Pitched at 23c and let it warm to 26c. It's at 1005 after just 48hours and still has a thick Krausen albeit a fair bit less than the peak. Actually thought my ispindel was being weird and not reporting the gravity correctly so pulled a sample and it's bang on! Reckon it’s heading for 1001 as it’s still very active. Tastes considerably better than the other dry saison yeast i have tried. Think it will be a goodun this one.

Good, let me know how it finishes out.

[wolfenrook]

I got bubblegum and spice from the CML Belgian yeast, in a Patersbier. Produced a delicious beer, definitely one I'd consider using again. Not too bad attenuation either, at about 80% apparent.

Actually sticks to the bottle nicely when pouring too.

[dbambrick996]

I got bubblegum and spice from the CML Belgian yeast, in a Patersbier. Produced a delicious beer, definitely one I'd consider using again. Not too bad attenuation either, at about 80% apparent.

Actually sticks to the bottle nicely when pouring too.

Patersbier.jpg

Will pick up a few packs and give it a go.
Enjoying a Belgian single at the moment with lellemand abbey, best dry yeast I have tried so far.