Yeast for Guiness Clone

[steve_flack]

How dry the beer is. Basically if a beer goes from 1.040 to 1.010 then it's apparent attenuation is 75% (it's real attenuation is different but don't worry about that). If it went to 1.006 it would be 85%. The higher the attenuation the less unfermented sugars are left in the beer and the beer tastes drier. You can control attenuation by control of the mash temp and duration as well as by yeast selection. Using a proportion of simple sugar in a beer will appear to increase attenuation making a drier, less sweet beer.

[richard_senior]

Is it that US-05 works to a higher ABV than other yeasts? What makes it suited to producing drier beer?

[johnh]

I haven't steeped flaked barley but I have steeped flaked oats. I think the idea is to extract starches from the grain which add a silky mouthfeel to the finished beer. That is exactly the effect I got. The thing is I probably wouldn't have done it if I had known what I know now about starch conversion. Experiment is good.

If you're uncomfortable about steeping the flaked maize then there are many other extract stout recipies out there which don't require it. I believe John Palmer's book 'How To Brew' has an example in the styles section (which I've done and it's good). It may be online. Sorry I don't have time to find a link.

I would say that mashing would only add a couple of hours at most to a brewday.

Sure mashing only adds a couple (or three) hours but that pretty much doubles the length of an extract brew day. I know I struggle to find any time at all.

[delboy]

Is it that US-05 works to a higher ABV than other yeasts? What makes it suited to producing drier beer?

This is a bit of a generalisation but they less flocculant yeasts hang about longer in suspension and hence convert more sugars, more flocculant ones like S04 or the fullers drop like a stone and leave a little bit of residual sweetness. There are some notable exceptions like windsor for instance that apparently refuses to flocc but at the same time leaves some residual sweetness.

I guess its down to what metabolic pathways are available to the different strains of yeast US-05 probably has the capability to metabolise more complex sugars whereas a yeast like S04 doesn't, so it stops producing CO2 falls out of suspension and nods off

[steve_flack]

Is it that US-05 works to a higher ABV than other yeasts? What makes it suited to producing drier beer?

As DelBoy says, it's not that the yeast works to a high ABV, it's that for a given gravity wort it will convert more sugar and produce more alcohol.

[richard_senior]

Thanks guys.
I'll get some US-05 when I do my next order and give it a shot.
Sounds like it's the way forward.

[ashbyp]

So.. still thinking about this.

I still want to do a Guiness clone using extract. But steeping flaked barley is no good - it's needs to be mashed, you guys have explained. And I'm pretty sure that flaked barley is an important ingredient in Guiness.

So, can I just mash the flaked barley in the oven, and then add to the extract?

Second complication. I don't have any pale malt - which I understand would be required in the mash. Is there anything else I can use to trick the flaked barley into converting?

apologies if this is nonsense - I'm just pontificating

[Aleman]

If you can find some Diastatic Malt Extract Syrup you can use that to steep the malted barley in . . . Trouble is the manufacturer has gone bust

[ashbyp]

How about this. Amylase is the enzyme required to convert the starch in the barley, that right?

If so, is there a source of this enzyme that I might have lying around? Wikipedia suggests it's in saliva and also detergents, neither of those I fancy putting in my beer.

[mysterio]

Yeah, Dry Beer Enzyme it's called and you can buy it from HB shops.

It can be unpredictable though (apparently, never used it myself) - much better to control the parameters through good brewing practice. For example, altering the mash temperature, or even doing a step mash (60/70) to get the maximum amount of attenuation.

As for US-05, good yeast, very dry for a beer yeast, but useless flavour profile for British bitters IMO.

[johnh]

If you have to go to the HBS anyway then you may as well get a small amount of pale malt and do a partial mash on the stove?

I wonder if pearl barley has the necessary enzymes?

[ashbyp]

If you have to go to the HBS anyway then you may as well get a small amount of pale malt and do a partial mash on the stove?

Exactly John... I was looking for something crafty. I suspect I'll ditch this recipe and try another instead.