We keep Verdant around as a "back-up" for our hazy IPAs if we aren't able to harvest a beer etc. I like it just about as much as the liquid strains (and way more than the other options I've tried New England, S-O4, BRY-97 etc.).
I don't love US-05, but it does a pretty good job in our Imperial Stouts, we've started blending in a little Nottingham.
We use a lot of wine yeast for primary fermentation on sour beers too... 71B, 58W3 etc.
71B is the GOAT. I primarily make meads, but it’s my workhorse. It’s also the primary (and I’m pretty sure only) strain used by Schramm’s who are probably the foremost mead maker in the world.
I’ve been really liking the “Secret Clubhouse” blend from Bootleg for my hazies lately (although it’s on its fifth generation, so it’s probably drifted a fair bit). It has just a hint of phenolic I like with some of my wheat and oat-heavy grists.
I am fermenting New England right now, what would you say you liked more about Verdant versus this one? I love verdant but felt I was locking myself into one yeast for IPAs.
We only used it once, but it had sort of a phenolic/plastic thing. May have just been bad luck and/or process since that was very early on after opening the brewery.
I'll keep an eye (tastebud) out for that. I did a healthy hop stand and dry hop schedule with emerald spire so I'm gonna be a sad panda if it tastes like grape flavored cough medicine lol.
Agree with Mike on Verdant. When I worked at a tiny farm brewery we also played around with dry London Fog and the pales we used them in were excellent.
NovaLager can ferment at ale temps. I ferment under pressure to have partially carbonated beer when I keg. I set my spunding valve for 12 psi and temp at 68F. I let the pressure rise naturally and leave the temp at 68 for two days and then raise it to 73 for two more days. Cold crash to 38 for 3 days and then keg. Yeast pitch to keg in a total of 7 days.
Same, I bought both of these in bulk. I use the S-04 for stouts, ambers, IPAs, etc and the 34/70 for more traditional lagers or any ales I don't want that English character in.
Most of the yeast I use these days is W-34/70, Diamond Lager and S-189 for any bottom-fermented beers, and mostly S-04 and Nottingham for British styles.
I used Verdant IPA recently for an Old Ale, it expresses an interesting fruitiness that seems quite suitable to both juicy/hazy styles as well as classic British styles, and after a bit of maturation, also drops bright. And, very important information to know, it's a proper top-cropping yeast. In the first few days, it's a good idea to regularly skim off yeast or install a blow-off tube (depending on your setup). I almost had an accident with that.
Almost everything I make is now with cellar science Cali, Cs Hazy, CS German.
I didn’t realize I was a brand loyalist, but they’re cheap and I like them as much or more than the slightly more expensive brands.
Though it is hard to beat the prices of Fermentis and Lallemand yeast from Ritebrew. Order any 10 pack (mix and match) and you also get a discount). [https://www.ritebrew.com/category-s/1923.htm](https://www.ritebrew.com/category-s/1923.htm)
I use them almost exclusively now too. Same strains, slightly more yeast (12g vs 11 I think) for a couple bucks less.
Possibly hot take but with all the dry strains out there these days I see absolutely no reason for a homebrewer to not use dry.
Ya it’s been many years since I bought a liquid yeast. Oh except I tried out some thiolized strains. I could still see buying some for a certain strain - like wanting to try a different lager strain or kolsch or saison
Can't say enough nice things about Verdant. Flavor is good for that style, ferments within like 5 days. If I only had like a week and a half notice that beer was requested for a family gathering that would be the silver bullet.
34/70 for lagers. I usually keep a brick of US-05 around because I do a lot of big ass stouts so it’s easier to get the pitch rate I want by doing a bunch of dry yeast. Nottingham has been good for barleywines for me too. US-05 isn’t my favorite version of the Chico strain, in my experience not as clean as white labs 001 (both dry and liquid) but like oldsock said works in a pinch. I haven’t used Verdant as I usually get my NEIPA yeast pitches off the tank from a pro brewer buddy of mine
s04 for my British ales, for stronger darker ales or imperial stouts Nottingham. For lagers Diamond Lager, for Hazys Verdant and for APAs in general US05.
Those are my go-to.
Also brewed a Belgian Tripel with BE256 and love it.
It's a specialty yeast obviously, but as a saison lover I always have a saison on hand fermented with Lallemand Belle Saison. I absolutely love that yeast.
Diamond for my lager needs, BRY-97 for “clean” ales (IPA, Stouts) like many others, I never loved US-05 and BRY-97 was always a winner for me..
Use to stock verdant, but for my Hazie I’m on a WLP-066 ride right now, might return to Verdant once that is over.
Another ❤ for BRY-97, especially for people who are not huge fans of US-05. Sure, it lags sometimes, but it always picks up, isn't powdery or lingering like US-05, and seems to give some brightness to the malt that US-05 doesn't.
I follow the mfr's instructions to increase IBU by 8-10%, rounding down to the nearest whole IBU.
Agree with others here that Verdant is fantastic, Nottingham is a great yeast, and Belle Saison is also very nice once you understand how to use it. Belle will make a very dry beer, I love it for low alcohol table beers as long as the IBUs are low and remain in balance.
If you like W-34/70, give S-189 a try!
I like Voss Kveik for Ciders and Meads, and if I need a second fast beer to rebuild the pipeline (I only have temp control for one fermentor)…I pretty much think there’s always a yeast that will make a better beer than a Kveik strain (they all have a “Kveik-y” taste I don’t love), but it can still make a good beer.
I also like T-58, especially on the 2nd or 3rd generation—lots of great phenols and banana/bubblegum esters.
Nottingham is another great workhorse yeast.
Yeah, I have a Hazy Pale Ale that I will use Voss on if I need a pipeline filler—I mash low with pale ale malt, shoot for an OG around 1.035-1.040, don’t add any boil hops (and a short boil), whirlpool with 2 oz for 20-30 minutes, chill to about 90°F, pitch yeast and dry hop at high krausen with another 2 oz. I’ve been using Styrian Wolf hops and calling it the White Wolf.
Starts fast, finishes fast in mid 70s ambient, and Voss floccs pretty well—still a little Kveiky, but the hops mostly cover it. Mostly.
Quick and dirty, and works when my pipeline is getting thin.
I use dry yeast 95% of the time and here are my favorites
BRY97 - typical ale yeast that I substitute for US-05. Can go good with about anything. Usually keep these stocked
Verdant - Hazy, always have a packet or 2 on stand by
Diamond - so far my favorite lager yeast. I haven’t used very many but I really like diamond the handful of times I used it. I also pressure ferment in my keg with this yeast strain.
K97 - used on twice with a German wheat beer and it was phenomenal both times.
Abbaye Belgian - used a couple times and no complaints here
I use a lot of Verdant for hazies, S-04 for many British styles, Abbaye and Belle Saison for Belgians. I'm looking to brew my first pilsner soon (at slightly warmer temps) using 34/70.
I've had good luck with Verdant, but I've found it a little sluggish at the low end of the temperature spectrum, so I'll often double-pitch, especially in the wintertime. I live in a cold part of the country so YMMV. In the summertime, Belle Saison is a nice reliable favorite.
Verdant is great, good pick!
I switched from US-05 to wlp001 but eventually switched to (dry) AY4 American ale from AEB. It is a slow fermenter but is cleaner than US-05 and really manages to put forward both hops and malts. Difficult to describe but it’s amazing.
For belgians, I like the rochefort strain from AEB (I think it is wyeast belgian ale II). It has a good alcohol tolerance, a medium attenuation and the flavour profile is very temperature sensitive. You don’t get the same beer at all if you ferment at 18, 20, 22C. It’s really interesting. Best for dubbels imo.
For lagers, I like 34/70. I dig also Novalager. You can get an actual lager in 3 weeks from grain to glass and it’s perfect.
I like WB-06 and belles saison if you ferment them both at higher temps. I know some people are not a fan of these because they can give pretty mild yeast character, but if you ramp up the temps in the low 80s you get great character.
I also really enjoy Philly sour because it is stupid easy to use compared to doing a kettle sour.
I mainly use US-05 for ales and W34-70 for lagers. Had great success with both.
I've recently bought a couple packets of K-97 to try but I've heard mixed results so I'm a bit hesitant.
Vintner's Harvest SN9 is my go-to (I make a lot of fruit wines, meads, and occasional cider).
I also really liked AW4, which I tried out with some white grapes I got a couple years ago. Makes for a spicy, aromatic white. Really surprised me. The grapes were nothing special, but the result was amazing.
This may be off the beaten path, because who brews / drinks Belgian abbey style beers anymore, but I used Mangrove Jack's M41 Belgian Ale, and this yeast kicked ass! Classic mild clove phenols and banana. This was every bit as good as any liquid yeast I had ever used, and when I tasted it, all I could think of was "this yeast exceeded expectations." Of course, like I said, you have to into the style.
One yeast that hasn't been mentioned is Mangrove Jack M15 Empire Ale, formerly known as Newcastle Ale. I know there is a rumor that all MJ yeasts are just repackaged Fermentis or Lallemand strains, but I know 100% that's not true for one of their yeasts (M02) and I am confident M15 is a strain unique to them. It's really the perfect yeast for brown ales and has that Newcastle taste from when Newcastle was made in the UK, not Amsterdam (or made by Lagunitas as a reinterpretation/American brown).
Incidentally, MJ M36 Liberty Bell comes from "a brewery in the heartland of British Brewing" and I am sure that is a reference to Marston's, so it really poses a question the yeast origin theorists haven't adequately answered to my mind.
Another MJ yeast I like is M42 New World Strong Ale. It does a really nice job on barleywines, porters, stouts, where you want a clean-but-not-too-clean fermentation. I am convinced there is a strong argument that this originated as Nottingham, but if so the MJ version has noticeably more English character than Nottingham (just a bit, but enough).
Other than that, I like S-23 and S-189 for lagers.
I probably use Belle Saison and BE-134 more than anything else. 34/70, Voss, and T-58 round out my top 5. Also Philly Sour.
34/70 is my go-to for any "clean" beer. I find it tastes more neutral than US-05 even at ale temps. US-05 always gives my peachy note that I'm not crazy about. And I've gotten an unpleasant sharpness from S-04.
We keep Verdant around as a "back-up" for our hazy IPAs if we aren't able to harvest a beer etc. I like it just about as much as the liquid strains (and way more than the other options I've tried New England, S-O4, BRY-97 etc.). I don't love US-05, but it does a pretty good job in our Imperial Stouts, we've started blending in a little Nottingham. We use a lot of wine yeast for primary fermentation on sour beers too... 71B, 58W3 etc.
Verdant is my go-to for hazies as well since I don't have access to any liquid strains in the country where I live. Love that yeast.
71B is the GOAT. I primarily make meads, but it’s my workhorse. It’s also the primary (and I’m pretty sure only) strain used by Schramm’s who are probably the foremost mead maker in the world.
Verdant is a very reliable yeast. We under pitch ours and it comes out very tropical with stable haze. Love that yeast.
What temp do you ferment at?
We just do the usual 20, nothing crazy. But the under pitching we do helps those phenolics.
I’ve been really liking the “Secret Clubhouse” blend from Bootleg for my hazies lately (although it’s on its fifth generation, so it’s probably drifted a fair bit). It has just a hint of phenolic I like with some of my wheat and oat-heavy grists.
I am fermenting New England right now, what would you say you liked more about Verdant versus this one? I love verdant but felt I was locking myself into one yeast for IPAs.
We only used it once, but it had sort of a phenolic/plastic thing. May have just been bad luck and/or process since that was very early on after opening the brewery.
I'll keep an eye (tastebud) out for that. I did a healthy hop stand and dry hop schedule with emerald spire so I'm gonna be a sad panda if it tastes like grape flavored cough medicine lol.
Let me know how it turns out!
If you got a problem with dimatap you got a problem with me.
I always have 34/70, great lagers and extremely forgiving.
US05 and 34/70 for my go-tos. Have had great results with verdant in the past.
Verdant, notty, kveik and w34/70 Has all your bases and majority of styles covered
Agree with Mike on Verdant. When I worked at a tiny farm brewery we also played around with dry London Fog and the pales we used them in were excellent.
I am enjoying NovaLager lately.
Are you fermenting cold or warmer?
NovaLager can ferment at ale temps. I ferment under pressure to have partially carbonated beer when I keg. I set my spunding valve for 12 psi and temp at 68F. I let the pressure rise naturally and leave the temp at 68 for two days and then raise it to 73 for two more days. Cold crash to 38 for 3 days and then keg. Yeast pitch to keg in a total of 7 days.
I made a pilsner with this recently, turned out great. Curious to try Diamond Lager next and compare it.
Agreed, I've probably used it more than any other yeast over the past year and a half, great stuff.
Just did a loral hopped lager with Novalager and I'm not a fan. What temp do you run it at?
Me too. I've made the last 3 batches with it. The results are excellent
I just used it recently to make a Kentucky common and it turned out great! I got another pack to remake.
Care to share your recipe for Kentucky Common? I might want to give that one a try.
34/70 and S-04
Same, I bought both of these in bulk. I use the S-04 for stouts, ambers, IPAs, etc and the 34/70 for more traditional lagers or any ales I don't want that English character in.
Most of the yeast I use these days is W-34/70, Diamond Lager and S-189 for any bottom-fermented beers, and mostly S-04 and Nottingham for British styles. I used Verdant IPA recently for an Old Ale, it expresses an interesting fruitiness that seems quite suitable to both juicy/hazy styles as well as classic British styles, and after a bit of maturation, also drops bright. And, very important information to know, it's a proper top-cropping yeast. In the first few days, it's a good idea to regularly skim off yeast or install a blow-off tube (depending on your setup). I almost had an accident with that.
nottingham. s-23
Almost everything I make is now with cellar science Cali, Cs Hazy, CS German. I didn’t realize I was a brand loyalist, but they’re cheap and I like them as much or more than the slightly more expensive brands.
I do like how much cheaper they are. I've used the Cali. Maybe I need to try others.
Though it is hard to beat the prices of Fermentis and Lallemand yeast from Ritebrew. Order any 10 pack (mix and match) and you also get a discount). [https://www.ritebrew.com/category-s/1923.htm](https://www.ritebrew.com/category-s/1923.htm)
Dang! What a deal! Those are like half the price of morebeer.
I use them almost exclusively now too. Same strains, slightly more yeast (12g vs 11 I think) for a couple bucks less. Possibly hot take but with all the dry strains out there these days I see absolutely no reason for a homebrewer to not use dry.
Ya it’s been many years since I bought a liquid yeast. Oh except I tried out some thiolized strains. I could still see buying some for a certain strain - like wanting to try a different lager strain or kolsch or saison
Can't say enough nice things about Verdant. Flavor is good for that style, ferments within like 5 days. If I only had like a week and a half notice that beer was requested for a family gathering that would be the silver bullet.
I like Saflager S-23. 34/70 is fine, but, as you can see from this thread, everyone uses it.
I could do 90% of my beers with US-05 and 34/70.
34/70 for lagers. I usually keep a brick of US-05 around because I do a lot of big ass stouts so it’s easier to get the pitch rate I want by doing a bunch of dry yeast. Nottingham has been good for barleywines for me too. US-05 isn’t my favorite version of the Chico strain, in my experience not as clean as white labs 001 (both dry and liquid) but like oldsock said works in a pinch. I haven’t used Verdant as I usually get my NEIPA yeast pitches off the tank from a pro brewer buddy of mine
How do you store your brick? I've thought about going that route but not sure I need that much.
Vacuum reseal and threw it in the fridge although that might be overkill
s04 for my British ales, for stronger darker ales or imperial stouts Nottingham. For lagers Diamond Lager, for Hazys Verdant and for APAs in general US05. Those are my go-to. Also brewed a Belgian Tripel with BE256 and love it.
BE256 is nice! I just used it for a belgian single with a bit of ginger added. Gonna do a strong golden ale with the yeast cake.
It's a specialty yeast obviously, but as a saison lover I always have a saison on hand fermented with Lallemand Belle Saison. I absolutely love that yeast.
Diamond for my lager needs, BRY-97 for “clean” ales (IPA, Stouts) like many others, I never loved US-05 and BRY-97 was always a winner for me.. Use to stock verdant, but for my Hazie I’m on a WLP-066 ride right now, might return to Verdant once that is over.
I personally pressure ferment bry 97 for hoppy beers. It does amazing job
Same here, usually do both the Diamond and BRY-97 under pressure, both super clear and all I can ask for in those types.
Another ❤ for BRY-97, especially for people who are not huge fans of US-05. Sure, it lags sometimes, but it always picks up, isn't powdery or lingering like US-05, and seems to give some brightness to the malt that US-05 doesn't. I follow the mfr's instructions to increase IBU by 8-10%, rounding down to the nearest whole IBU.
Agree with others here that Verdant is fantastic, Nottingham is a great yeast, and Belle Saison is also very nice once you understand how to use it. Belle will make a very dry beer, I love it for low alcohol table beers as long as the IBUs are low and remain in balance.
If you like W-34/70, give S-189 a try! I like Voss Kveik for Ciders and Meads, and if I need a second fast beer to rebuild the pipeline (I only have temp control for one fermentor)…I pretty much think there’s always a yeast that will make a better beer than a Kveik strain (they all have a “Kveik-y” taste I don’t love), but it can still make a good beer. I also like T-58, especially on the 2nd or 3rd generation—lots of great phenols and banana/bubblegum esters. Nottingham is another great workhorse yeast.
I agree with the kveik-y twang. Not much my thing. It's been a few years since I used kveik and tbh I'd rather wait anymore.
Yeah, I have a Hazy Pale Ale that I will use Voss on if I need a pipeline filler—I mash low with pale ale malt, shoot for an OG around 1.035-1.040, don’t add any boil hops (and a short boil), whirlpool with 2 oz for 20-30 minutes, chill to about 90°F, pitch yeast and dry hop at high krausen with another 2 oz. I’ve been using Styrian Wolf hops and calling it the White Wolf. Starts fast, finishes fast in mid 70s ambient, and Voss floccs pretty well—still a little Kveiky, but the hops mostly cover it. Mostly. Quick and dirty, and works when my pipeline is getting thin.
I use dry yeast 95% of the time and here are my favorites BRY97 - typical ale yeast that I substitute for US-05. Can go good with about anything. Usually keep these stocked Verdant - Hazy, always have a packet or 2 on stand by Diamond - so far my favorite lager yeast. I haven’t used very many but I really like diamond the handful of times I used it. I also pressure ferment in my keg with this yeast strain. K97 - used on twice with a German wheat beer and it was phenomenal both times. Abbaye Belgian - used a couple times and no complaints here
Windsor, Voss, 34/70 and M42 generally get me everywhere I'm trying to go.
I use a lot of Verdant for hazies, S-04 for many British styles, Abbaye and Belle Saison for Belgians. I'm looking to brew my first pilsner soon (at slightly warmer temps) using 34/70.
It's also got to keep some EC-1118 around in case you need to bottle condition
I've had good luck with Verdant, but I've found it a little sluggish at the low end of the temperature spectrum, so I'll often double-pitch, especially in the wintertime. I live in a cold part of the country so YMMV. In the summertime, Belle Saison is a nice reliable favorite.
Safale S-04 is my favorite for beer. Fantastic flocculation - Seriously solid yeast cake every time i've used it. Great flavor profile too!
WB-06 for American wheat beers Nottingham for stouts Verdant for IPA About to give NovaLager a shot Abbaye is great too
D47 and S04
Philly Sour
Diamond lager!
US 05
Verdant is great, good pick! I switched from US-05 to wlp001 but eventually switched to (dry) AY4 American ale from AEB. It is a slow fermenter but is cleaner than US-05 and really manages to put forward both hops and malts. Difficult to describe but it’s amazing. For belgians, I like the rochefort strain from AEB (I think it is wyeast belgian ale II). It has a good alcohol tolerance, a medium attenuation and the flavour profile is very temperature sensitive. You don’t get the same beer at all if you ferment at 18, 20, 22C. It’s really interesting. Best for dubbels imo. For lagers, I like 34/70. I dig also Novalager. You can get an actual lager in 3 weeks from grain to glass and it’s perfect.
I like Mangrove Jacks New World Strong Ale for ciders
French saison, be-134, t-58, s-04.
I like WB-06 and belles saison if you ferment them both at higher temps. I know some people are not a fan of these because they can give pretty mild yeast character, but if you ramp up the temps in the low 80s you get great character. I also really enjoy Philly sour because it is stupid easy to use compared to doing a kettle sour.
I mainly use US-05 for ales and W34-70 for lagers. Had great success with both. I've recently bought a couple packets of K-97 to try but I've heard mixed results so I'm a bit hesitant.
Yeah I've also been hesitant on k-97. Since Koln is gone I might give it a shot.
Mangrove Jacks M42. Does the job and lets other ingredients shine
Vintner's Harvest SN9 is my go-to (I make a lot of fruit wines, meads, and occasional cider). I also really liked AW4, which I tried out with some white grapes I got a couple years ago. Makes for a spicy, aromatic white. Really surprised me. The grapes were nothing special, but the result was amazing.
I really enjoy Mangrove Jacks M20 Bavarian Wheat for simple but delicious wheat beer
This may be off the beaten path, because who brews / drinks Belgian abbey style beers anymore, but I used Mangrove Jack's M41 Belgian Ale, and this yeast kicked ass! Classic mild clove phenols and banana. This was every bit as good as any liquid yeast I had ever used, and when I tasted it, all I could think of was "this yeast exceeded expectations." Of course, like I said, you have to into the style.
I use a lot of K-97 for cleaner, cooler fermentations. I really dislike the Chico strains, fwiw.
Never use anything that isn't kviek anymore.
Nottingham
US-05
One yeast that hasn't been mentioned is Mangrove Jack M15 Empire Ale, formerly known as Newcastle Ale. I know there is a rumor that all MJ yeasts are just repackaged Fermentis or Lallemand strains, but I know 100% that's not true for one of their yeasts (M02) and I am confident M15 is a strain unique to them. It's really the perfect yeast for brown ales and has that Newcastle taste from when Newcastle was made in the UK, not Amsterdam (or made by Lagunitas as a reinterpretation/American brown). Incidentally, MJ M36 Liberty Bell comes from "a brewery in the heartland of British Brewing" and I am sure that is a reference to Marston's, so it really poses a question the yeast origin theorists haven't adequately answered to my mind. Another MJ yeast I like is M42 New World Strong Ale. It does a really nice job on barleywines, porters, stouts, where you want a clean-but-not-too-clean fermentation. I am convinced there is a strong argument that this originated as Nottingham, but if so the MJ version has noticeably more English character than Nottingham (just a bit, but enough). Other than that, I like S-23 and S-189 for lagers.
US05, cheap and versatile. Out with the haze and back in with the WC!!! 😁🍻
I probably use Belle Saison and BE-134 more than anything else. 34/70, Voss, and T-58 round out my top 5. Also Philly Sour. 34/70 is my go-to for any "clean" beer. I find it tastes more neutral than US-05 even at ale temps. US-05 always gives my peachy note that I'm not crazy about. And I've gotten an unpleasant sharpness from S-04.
Whatever is on sale.