Yeast comparison with same grain bill

[Sunfire96]

I'd like to use the same grain bill in 3 batches with 3 different yeasts. I have 4 yeasts on hand, grain bill is below. Also, I'm not familiar with Galena or Perle, so am open to suggestions for hops. Here are the 4 yeast options, please let me know which 3 you would brew to compare if it were you!

1) Safale US-05
2) Safale S-04
3) Lalbrew voss kveik
4) Saflager S-23 (this would be fermented in the 65-70F range)

Here is the base recipe:
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1055365/american-wveik

And the grain bill:

 

[Yooper]

Hmmm, that's hard because they all need different temperatures. S04 gets sort of nasty with weird esters above about 66 or so (but awesome at 62F). S05 gets "peachy" below about 65 degrees, and then again above 72ish. Kviek is great at over 75. S23 gets stinky at warmer temperatures and I'd have to keep that one at 55 to be able to tolerate it.

So we'd need to know what you were going to do for temperature control.

 

[Sunfire96]

That's a great point. I don't have anything more sophisticated than a swamp cooler with ice packs, at the moment. My current US-05 batch is at 65-70F. Limited space will be my main fermentation temp issue for a while.

 

[Sunfire96]

In the spirit of the game @Yooper, using your home brewery, which 3 would you choose?

 

[Yooper]

In the spirit of the game @Yooper, using your home brewery, which 3 would you choose?

I dislike so5 (I know, I know, everyone else in the world seems to love it), can only tolerate So4 at 62 degrees or so, and have only used kviek once (with meh results), and I also don't like that lager strain.........................so I'm definitely NOT the one to ask.

 

[Sunfire96]

I dislike so5 (I know, I know, everyone else in the world seems to love it), can only tolerate So4 at 62 degrees or so, and have only used kviek once (with meh results), and I also don't like that lager strain.........................so I'm definitely NOT the one to ask.

Haha well I appreciate your honesty!

 

[thunderwagn]

I'd offer that if you'd really like to try a lager type yeast 34/70 does well at warmer temps. I've used it with great results. As far as kveik strains go...tough call. I've been all over kveik for the past year and thought I really liked it...till I went back and tried your typical ale yeast strains. Now I'm really enjoying how much "cleaner" my beers taste and not missing some of the odd flavors that I can't quite describe with kveik. I will say Voss was probably the least liked by me. That said, kveik yeasts will handle temp swings and warmer temps much better than any other yeast on your current list.
Other than that, maybe try another clean ale yeast or two to compare to the s05.

 

[Craigerrr]

I have used US-05, S-04, and VOSS, but I can't offer any definitive comparisons.

 

[Bubba Wade]

I have not tried the kveik, but the other three all produce great beer, albeit with much different flavor profiles. So is this an experiment to taste the different flavor profiles or are you trying to create something specific?

But without temperature control, I would be inclined to omit the S-23 since it really needs to ferment down in the low 50's.

 

[Sunfire96]

I was hoping for a comparison of yeast flavors. I find it interesting that this grain bill could be used for a variety of styles. For instance, it would be an American wheat if brewed with american ale yeast, or a saison/farmhouse if brewed with an appropriate yeast. With a lager strain, would it resemble something like a helles? What about British yeast, is there such a thing as British wheat beer?

So that's my thinking behind this comparison: same malts, same hops, but different yeasts will result in (presumably) vastly different beers. I probably shouldn't have picked specific yeasts, and instead offered "american ale" vs "German lager", etc.

Mostly I think I'm curious, when you look at this grain bill, what beer style do you immediately think of?

 

[Ward Chillington]

I did this with my house brown ale and had one of the batches, the Windsor one, stalled and never got below 1020. I bottled it but I think the priming sugar woke things up a little too much leading to a lot of gushers from the later drank bottles ..it also explained that capped bottle neck I found on the basement floor mid summer. The only other advise I can impart is to think through the mechanics of how you are going to do this with your set up. When I did it, I only had to buy another SST Tee connector and barb so that I could split the wort right from the kettle making the batches as homogenous as possible or so I thought!

 

[AGbrewer]

I would suggest doing a SMASH beer if you are really trying to isolate the flavor and aroma of the yeast.

Also, I probably wouldn't do any late additions of hops. Again we're trying to isolate the flavor and aroma of the yeast not the hops.

Just my two cents.

 

[Bubba Wade]

The grain bill you have would work for a Saison, a Belgian wit, or a German or American wheat beer.

But if you're trying to determine yeast characteristics, I'd go with @AGbrewer and make a SMaSH. Or a modified grain bill with 80% Pilsner, 10% wheat, and 10% crystal. This grain bill is more typical of several types of blonde ales/lagers and would allow you to taste the yeast.

 

[Megary]

I did this with my house brown ale and had one of the batches, the Windsor one, stalled and never got below 1020. I bottled it but I think the priming sugar woke things up a little too much leading to a lot of gushers from the later drank bottles ..it also explained that capped bottle neck I found on the basement floor mid summer. The only other advise I can impart is to think through the mechanics of how you are going to do this with your set up. When I did it, I only had to buy another SST Tee connector and barb so that I could split the wort right from the kettle making the batches as homogenous as possible or so I thought!

FYI...that’s very typical of Windsor, which won’t use the Maltotriose and is a pretty low-moderate attenuator. Still a pretty nice yeast though.

 

[Sunfire96]

The grain bill you have would work for a Saison, a Belgian wit, or a German or American wheat beer.

But if you're trying to determine yeast characteristics, I'd go with @AGbrewer and make a SMaSH. Or a modified grain bill with 80% Pilsner, 10% wheat, and 10% crystal. This grain bill is more typical of several types of blonde ales/lagers and would allow you to taste the yeast.

I find it fascinating how similar beer recipes are, but the end product is 3 distinct styles of beer. I think that was the main point to my experiment/query. How many beers can I get from one similar recipe?