Planning on doing a RIS in the near future and looking for suggestions on yeasts and why you like a certain strain. My muse would be something like Bell’s Expedition Stout.
You’ll want a yeast that has pretty high attenuation and alcohol tolerance. I typically use US-05.
Other options I’d use:
wyeast 1056
pacman
wlp001
nottingham
I typically use a pretty neutral yeast (usually american) to let all the roasted and caramel malts shine
I just used S-05 in my latest, and it (and its cousins by WL and WY) is a workhorse. You do want to make sure that the beer has some residual sweetness and body, which can be achieved by a higher mash temp and/or specialty grains. If it finishes below 1.016 or so it could seem acrid or harsh depending on what roasted malts you plan on using.
I made a Stone’s RIS Saturday OG=1.102 and I used S-04. I did the same beer in 2009 and it was stellar. US-05 is my everyday go-to yeast and I once had it go close to 17% abv so it is indeed a work horse. I just chose S-04 this time because I wanted a repeat RIS.
I’ve used Wyeast 1272 in most of mine and keep going back.
A few years ago, Wyeast had a Private Collection Imperial Blend that I wish they’d bring back. That’s been my favorite.
1056 was stellar in a RIS I did last year. Wouldn’t use anything else now.
Has anybody tried WY1450 in an RIS? I used US-05 in a batch a few years ago, and it’s great. But I have a note in my brewlog to try 1450 in my next batch, after reading that it’s great for that.
I’d like to hear it from experience though.
I’ve always used British yeasts when making RIS. I’ve tried WLP005, Wyeast 1187, and recently Wyeast 1318. The 1187 didn’t attenuate quite as much as I’d have wanted it to. The WLP005 turned out great - wish I could source that yeast here. The latest batch with the 1318 is still in the fermentor, so I can’t say.
Denny’s 50. According to the legend this yeast was rescued from a defunct brewerey at some point and is currently the yeast theat North Coast uses in Ole Rasputin. Doing a Rootin’ Rootin’ Imp Stout with D-50 is very good.
Barry
I almost always use WLP007. I have liked the results.
A guy in my homebrew club used US05 and Nottingham. Outstanding. We all started with the same wort as part of our 100 gallon club brew. His stood out head and shoulders ahead of everything.
you mean he blended the yeasts?
you mean he blended the yeasts?[/quote]
Yep. Blowoff tube required, but it was that good. I’m hoping to make a NB RIS and will use the yeast as described. I was thinking about doing a partial addition at day 1 and day 2 or 3 to avoid losing any beer.
IME Nottingham is so neutral it fits better in american styles (perfect for RIS, in my opinion).
I could see blending it with 05, but I don’t think it would make a huge difference compared to 05 or Nottingham on their own. Especially in such a strong flavored style.
edit: and who knows, maybe one dominated the other. Nottingham works fast
[quote=“S.Scoggin”]IME Nottingham is so neutral it fits better in american styles (perfect for RIS, in my opinion).
I could see blending it with 05, but I don’t think it would make a huge difference compared to 05 or Nottingham on their own. Especially in such a strong flavored style.
edit: and who knows, maybe one dominated the other. Nottingham works fast[/quote]
I don’t remember every single strain used other than his beer standing out significantly. All the other beers basically tasted the same. I hope to brew it in a few weeks to confirm results.
[quote=“s2y”][quote=“S.Scoggin”]IME Nottingham is so neutral it fits better in american styles (perfect for RIS, in my opinion).
I could see blending it with 05, but I don’t think it would make a huge difference compared to 05 or Nottingham on their own. Especially in such a strong flavored style.
edit: and who knows, maybe one dominated the other. Nottingham works fast[/quote]
I don’t remember every single strain used other than his beer standing out significantly. All the other beers basically tasted the same. I hope to brew it in a few weeks to confirm results.[/quote]
I do love both those yeasts, so why not use both :cheers:
wasn’t trying to make it sound like a bad idea, because it’s not. just offering some thoughts
[quote=“MullerBrau”]I made a Stone’s RIS Saturday OG=1.102 and I used S-04. I did the same beer in 2009 and it was stellar. US-05 is my everyday go-to yeast and I once had it go close to 17% abv so it is indeed a work horse. I just chose S-04 this time because I wanted a repeat RIS.[/quote]I just checked my gravity on my 1.102 RIS. After 3 days, it is at 1.030 and still bubbling so it is quite tolerant of the alcohol.
I have used us-05 is the past. But the next time I am really leaning towards WLP007 Dry English Ale Yeast.
Clean, highly flocculent, and highly attenuative yeast. This yeast is similar to WLP002 in flavor profile, but is 10% more attenuative. This eliminates the residual sweetness, and makes the yeast well suited for high gravity ales. It is also reaches terminal gravity quickly. 80% attenuation will be reached even with 10% ABV beers.
Attenuation70-80%
FlocculationMedium to High
Optimum Ferment Temp.65-70°F
Alcohol ToleranceMedium-High
The only batch of RIS that I’ve brewed I used S-04. It turned out so good that I’ll use S-04 again the next time.
[quote=“Rookie L A”]The only batch of RIS that I’ve brewed I used S-04. It turned out so good that I’ll use S-04 again the next time.[/quote]My thoughts exactly.
