So I was wondering what I can expect from my latest brew…
Made the SMASH extract kit last weekend - I hadn’t planned to brew and since it was such a low gravity beer I didn’t bother with a starter. I did notice though that my wyeast (1272) had not expanded at all and to be honest didn’t worry too much about it. But after 3+ days, I had no activity at all (maybe a bad batch, not aerating enough or whatever else), so I looked and saw I had a Safale 04 from my next planned brew sitting there - so last night I rehydrated it and pitched it - this morning its bubbling away nicely.
I guess I’ll finally be in a position to know how a yeast impacts the flavor but now that I looked it up, I see it is more of a bitter / stout yeast - wondering what that might do to the flavor?
I don’t know what hops or malts/extracts are in that kit, but this should work out for you.
The positive unintended consequence of using this yeast is it does not necessarily attenuate as far as an American ale yeast like 1272, which can leave a bigger mouthfeel/body, which is a good thing in a session ale. I will say that i have used s04 in American hoppy beers before, and it did impart a weird tangy flavor that I didn’t care for (but others did…I actually poured this beer at a homebrewing expo, and it was a crowd favorite). I do think that flavor works great in bitters, porters and stouts.
To your more general question, I am of the opinion that yeast impacts flavor more than any other ingredient.
What extract and hops did you use? Depending on your hops, your beer will taste either English, or American, or something else. I think in this case the hops might be the deciding factor. If you used a very mild hop, the beer will taste more English. If you used citrusy hops, you will not be able to tell a difference very much using the S-04 except as Pietro said, it will end up with a higher gravity than the 1272 would have done for you.
Thanks for replies - ended up nowhere near a computer for 3 days - the malt is pils & the hops are all simcoe with dry hopping to come - I had really loved this the first time I made it and was kinda thinking it could have done with more of a mouthfeel to make it perfect for me - so you never know. Its a quick turnaround so I will be dry hopping in a couple of days and drinking it in about a week and a half…
Now to start fretting about my All Grain RIS bready coming up this weekend…
