BeerBorg

The beer we brewed today is already blowing bubbles in the blow off bucket. That was less than 5 hours of lag time. It had to pressurize 5 gallons of head space before releasing pressure into the blow off bucket.

Very nice!! Did you pitch a starter?


Rick

Fast and furious, I'd say. What are you fermenting in? 5 gals of headspace...

No Rick I just emptied a packet of S04 onto the beer.

mtsoxfan I have a 10 gallon conical. I put 5 gallons of beer in it which leaves a lot of head space.

Oh that's right, its a SS conical if I remember right.

I've never used 04, I thought 05 was the aggressive one....

04 is a British ale yeast. It leaves a nice "bready" character. It is a freaking beast. It won't attenuate as far as Nottingham but it goes to work just as fast and hard. The first time I ever had to use a blow off tube I was using S 04




S 04 in action in my Wee Heavy

I like S-04 and have had some really good results with it. I can't recall ever having that low of a lag time though. That's impressive!!


Rick

I think it is because of how much oxygen is in my wort. I pour into two buckets through a strainer then carry the buckets downstairs and pour them into my conical. That creates a lot of oxygen in the water. Also I pitched at 63F.

That makes sense. I noticed my lag times improved significantly when I got aggressive with aeration. Your method appears to be working great!!


Rick

I've used -04 3 times now, first from the packet dry, last 2 times was the same washed yeast. I was impressed on how fast they went to work. I did aerate with a diffuser stone on an oxygen bottle. I'm very happy with this yeast in my IPAs.

In my last order from NB I had two bottles of liquid yeast in it. They were both frozen solid when the box got to my front door. One was California Ale yeast the other was Dry English Ale yeast. I went to the LHBS to get replacements but they didn't have any of the Dry English Ale yeast. So I was going to get a packet of 05 instead. Then I looked at the 04. It sounded like it was closer to what I wanted so I got that instead. I've never used it before but if it works as well as is stated here I just might quit using liquid yeast and go back to dry. It's a little harder to use (I prefer to rehydrate dry yeasts) but they're definitely more readily available at the LHBS (which is getting better stocked every time I go in there) and I've never been unhappy with the results I get from them.

If I remember right, dry yeast can withstand freezing temps because there is no moisture to freeze, expand, and damage cell walls.... Sounds good anyway. I've never had an issue with dry, but the liquid is easier to match to a style beer.... if that is important to you.

I have never used a liquid yeast. Early in my brewing experience I read where today's dry strains work just as good as liquid strains. The advantage liquids have over dry is the variety. But dry gives me all the variety I need. 04 or Nottingham for English styles (to me nottingham is more of a clean fermenting yeast with a very high attenuation), BRY 97 for American Styles, Belle Saison for belgian styles, Munich for alts or hef type beers, and the list goes on. I have never wanted to mess with liquid yeasts for two reasons. #1 viability. It is not unusual to get a dead liquid yeast. #2 I just plain don't want to mess around with starters. If I ever did try a liquid yeast I would just spend the extra money and double pitch.

mtsoxfan wrote:If I remember right, dry yeast can withstand freezing temps because there is no moisture to freeze, expand, and damage cell walls.... Sounds good anyway. I've never had an issue with dry, but the liquid is easier to match to a style beer.... if that is important to you.

Yes it can. When I first started brewing I used to keep my dry yeast in the freezer. Then I learned the fridge is fine but I never had any issues with the yeast I froze.

Ok all y'all, this may make you spit your coffee out. You've been warned.

When it comes to yeast, I use both dry and liquid. I like the Danstar Nottingham yeast for it's speed and neutrality. I'll store that in the fridge before use, then, just sprinkle it on the wort, put the lid on, and walk away.
When that batch is done, I will harvest and wash that yeast for another batch.

ok, here is where all y'all are gonna blow trub...

when I use it again, I just shake up the vial, and pour it into my new wort. That is right... I said strait INTO the wort. no starter, no lab equipment. just plop plop fizz fizz oh what a crazy I is.

My batches normally go rabid within a few hours.

Now, with the NEW liquid, I do the same thing. If that yeast doesn't kick off within 24 hours (normally long before that), I have back up yeast.
Ok, I'm done now... you may resume your normal antics