s 33 dry yeast

[woody]

just used 33 dry yeast in a apa and would like to hear from anyone who has used 33 in the past to get some info on it. I know the basics , like the fact that it dose not like to drop well and that it will ferment high % beers well. any other little tidbits on this yeast would be appreciated. thanks.

[Crazy Climber]

Only tidbit I can offer is that many folks assumed that the old, pre-Coopers "Fromunda" from Mr. Beer was, in fact, S-33.
If you happen to have been a MB customer prior to the takeover, you very well may have already used it!

[dbrowning]

Ive used S33 a lot and like it APAs mostly
It generally takes off pretty fast but a few times has seemed to stall before fermentation was complete
In fact most times Ive used it
Seems to take a little longer to finish
Ive had OG 1.054 beer down to 1.022 after 36 hours and seem to be finished
Then a 2 weeks later reach 1.012
So I always give it a full 3 weeks in fermentor
but has always made good beer
I have used it in most of my Rye beers and a couple of other Pale Ales
Excellent in the Ryes and Very Good in PA

[woody]

thanks all, that is some interesting info about MR beer and the takeover. also as far as the yeast going to 1.020 and stopping, that is just what mine has done. I'll just wait it out. thanks.

[BigPapaG]

At this point, waiting it out is your best bet.

My experience with this yeast is similar when the pitch rate is low.

I have found it is better to overpitch this yeast rather than normal or under pitch it.

Because it is very agressive early on and then drops out quick, you need the biggest bang for your buck so to speak...

So, if a pitching calculator says 13 or 14 grams, it's not generally a good idea to just pitch one 11.5g packet... It will work, but it may stall as others have described.

Rather, pitch one and a half or two packets. At the low price of dry yeast, it's worth the extra expense in my opinion.

Generally for me, this means one packet in 3 gallons and maybe up to 5 gallons of 1.050 wort or below, and one and one half to two packets in 5-6 gallons of wort and certainly two packets for higher gravity worts.

(Obviously if you are building a high gravity monster, high pitch rates are required... Typically, I might use a pitching calculator and add 25% more of this yeast than recommended for better results. Note that for our homebrewing purposes, there is no danger of overpitching at these rates so not to worry about that.)

Personally, I tend to shy away from this yeast as there are so many other choices. It can make very good beer, don't get me wrong, but you got to keep the pitch rate high.

BTW: I also find this yeast to be somewhat powdery in flocculation... It's not uncommon to see powdery wisps of yeast get stirred up in the bottle and upon pouring.

[pghFred]

I picked up a 5gal Tripel kit at my LHBS and it came with s33 and just so happen to be brewing it up right now. **I just put the specialty grains in the 155 degree water.

The yeast pack says ‘General purpose yeast for the production of a varied range of top fermented special beers (Belgian type wheats, trappists, etc). Med Sediment and High FG. Ideal temp 59-68.

Kit claims 1.083-85 OG and 1.017-1.020 FG so the results reported above seem normal. I have done this kit a couple times before and came in around 1.020 for each as well.

However, the talk of ‘underpitching’ has me a little worried as I only have the one 11.5g pack. Could this be a problem? I do have a 5g pack from a Coopers/MrB refill if you think more might be necessary.

[BigPapaG]

pghFred

I'm of the belief that when an Alcohol Tolerance is specified, it is more that the strain of yeast can remain viable at that level of ABV, once that ABV is produced.

However, it doesn't necessarily mean that 11.5g is suitable for wort with high enough gravity to produce said amount of alcohol. (although it might be just fine for the brew you are describing)

There is a greater amount of stress placed on the yeast from a higher starting gravity than from a lower starting gravity. (I think of higher gravities as being above 1.080 btw)

Higher starting gravities require a greater cell count to give them a better chance of reaching the desired Final Gravity before dropping out or stalling out.

In your case, with a starting gravity of 1.083-1.085, finishing out at 1.017-1.020 is good attenuation... Better than 75%... So attenuation is not the issue... That's pretty normal. And there is probably enough yeast cells in that dry yeast pack to do the job!

But If you are seeing stalling or if the yeast strain drops out early like this one does and makes you wait an extra week or two for the proper expected FG, well then you might want to experiment with more to see if the timeline improves or if you end up with a cleaner profile, or both.

Adding the extra 5g is not a problem and could be a benefit with this strain.

It would not be overpitching per se, but then YOU ARE NOT REALLY underpitching with 11.5 g either...

YMMV... But I'd probably add it to see if there is an improvement. That's just my experience with this strain... There are others (some Belgian strains) that I will underpitch purposely to stress the yeast to get some specific flavors out of them.

[pghFred]

I've stressed a few wheat yeasts (higher temps - 75ish) because I was looking for the esters produced. I really don't want to stress for a tripel so I might just pitch the extra 5gs to be safe.

Thanks PapaG.

[MadBrewer]

I like S-33 in certain beers for a little something different or extra. It's good in some Pale Ales and I like it in something like a Witbier, other Wheat beers, Fruit beer and I liked it in my Pumpkin beer. It has a bit of something to it at times when used in those types of beers. Good for a little extra character. It's not quite a Belgian character, but it has something I can't quite put my finger on.

[BigPapaG]

I like S-33 in certain beers for a little something different or extra. It's good in some Pale Ales and I like it in something like a Witbier, other Wheat beers, Fruit beer and I liked it in my Pumpkin beer. It has a bit of something to it at times when used in those types of beers. Good for a little extra character. It's not quite a Belgian character, but it has something I can't quite put my finger on.

I agree that there is something going on there... I also can't pin it down completely but it's like a fruity sweetness it seems...

Maybe because it ferments quick (what some might call off flavors), finishes high (sweeter?) and has a powdery floc which can result in a greater amount of yeast in suspension upon pouring... (and thus being tasted to a greater degree in the poured beer)...

Not sure... But that's what I came up with after using it a number of times...

[woody]

well after 13 days and 3 more in cold crash @ 45 the 33 yeast has cleared. time to bottle. from what I can taste the yeast is good, now to see if it will carb up in the bottle. over all so far the 33 is a good dry yeast.
Last night we drank 8 bombers of this stuff 22 days in and it carbbed up perfect and tasted great, my conclusion, 33 dry works and tastes great, it's just not as hungry as 05.

[MadBrewer]

Old thread, just bring it back to life. I just used S-33 for the first time in many years. I have always liked it, well never had anything against it anyway. I picked up a 3 pack on Amazon for $8 when doing some Holiday shopping several weeks back. I decided to try it in a Porter, it was the 2nd runnings of my Imperial Stout I brewed last weekend. Pitched cool, but pitched a lot about 3/4 of the pack or so, wasn't very precise into ~3 gals, ~64*. This yeast got in and got to work fast, fermented around 66* for the most part. I have it sitting warmer now about 68*. I am going to pull a sample this weekend and see where it's at and see how it's tasting because I can't help my curiosity, I can't remember the last time I actually used this yeast.

Like I said, I remember never having anything against this yeast and was very excited to try it again. I always felt it was pretty robust, not too picky or finiky. Fairly clean and medium attenuation, medium flocculation. So, for an English Porter it should be just fine, I don't remember heavy esters or anything but I know it's not super neutral like Notty or US-05 and the extra body should be great for a Porter and the fact I don't need it to drop crystal clear. Has anyone used this recently or have anything else to say about it?

[bpgreen]

I always thought it was a middle ot the road yeast,. Not great, not bad.

It's got a good temperature range, so it's good for people who can't control temperature. And it does ok for many styles of beer.

Its alcohol tolerance allows most beers to brew.

But.

I usually brew ipas and apas. I prefer using a chico strain for most of my batches.

I'm not saying s33 is bad. In fact. I think it's great in many cases.

Use the right yeast for the brew.

[MadBrewer]

I always thought it was a middle ot the road yeast,. Not great, not bad.

It's got a good temperature range, so it's good for people who can't control temperature. And it does ok for many styles of beer.

Its alcohol tolerance allows most beers to brew.

But.

I usually brew ipas and apas. I prefer using a chico strain for most of my batches.

I'm not saying s33 is bad. In fact. I think it's great in many cases.

Use the right yeast for the brew.

That's about how I feel about it. I wouldn't use it in an APA or IPA....but, maybe a Hazy NEIPA. This stuff got in, got to work and started to clear up within a week. I already have it kegged and in the fridge on gas, I'll be drinking it even before the 2 week mark. It finished out at about 1.018 from 1.060 with a mash temp ~154* so I would say that is about right for this yeast. I don't worry about the numbers, I wanted this to finish a little higher for a nice body Porter. I'll report back on taste, but from hydro sample it's all good. I just think this yeast has been mislabeled and mis-marketed for a long time. There's nothing Belgian about it, but I bet it was just SafAle trying to broaden the selection of yeast at the time. For the price, probably the cheapest main brand dry yeasts available, $3-$4 a packet, I could easily get into this for several styles...Porter, Stout, Browns, Ambers, Mild, would probably try it on some English Bitters as well. I hear and also feel it's closely related to Windsor, Lallemand ESB and Muntons dry yeast but seems to be the cleanest and least finiky of them all.