Customer Reviews

use it Review by mark

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I brewed today chilled to 85 degrees pitched yeast , no starter , and in less than 3 hours I had fermentation. (Posted on 4/7/13)

My Go-to for American Pale and IPAs Review by Michael

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I've brewed over 100 batches with this yeast, and it's never failed me. I especially like it as my fermentation room is 56 degrees (near the low end of recommended fermentation temp) and it's going nuts within 12 hours, finishes in 3-5 days. At 70-72 degrees, it's happily bubbling away in 8 hours and finishes out in 3-4 days. As others have said, flavor is clean, crisp, and lets all the malt and hop flavors come through (I'm a full grain brewer who might use 3-4 different grains in a batch and 2-3 kinds of hops, so this is really important to me). (Posted on 3/19/13)

Excellent Properties Review by Mulie1

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This is a wonderful yeast for English style ales. It has a true high flocculation and the proper attenuation for beefy ales. It is very clean, really letting the malt and hop flavors shine. It is a quick starter and performs very well even at the low end of its temperature range. I highly recommend US-05 for your British ales. (Posted on 1/11/13)

My go-to yeast Review by Jacob

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Sprinkle, shake, sit, rack/bottle and enjoy. "Just right" flavor profile and compliments nearly any type style. (Posted on 9/4/12)

Great Yeast! Review by Wicked Impact

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I'm quickly becoming a fan of dry yeasts. This one got me through the first 10.5% ABV on my latest Imperial Stout before I had to pitch a Champagne yeast to finish. It would have done better had I oxygenated the wort better to start. Great yeast, and I always have at least 3-4 packs on hand for emergencies and adding yeast at bottling. This has to be the best stand by "in case of emergency yeast" for every home brewery. No matter what you normally use, you must have a couple packs of this one stored in the fridge... You will one day be very happy you have this ready to go... Buy it now! (Posted on 8/21/12)

Nice and easy Review by John

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This yeast is sooo easy to use. No fuss no muss with starters and possible infections. Direct pitch a good areation, and walllah, its done. Three days later no sighns of activity. I will certainly use it again! (Posted on 6/24/12)

My favorite yeast....period! Review by Jifigz

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I use this yeast for almost every brew I make. It attenuates and flocculates very well and always leaves me with a crisp, clean, and very clear beer in the end. I have loved this yeast in many beer styles and while it may not provide as much flavor depth as certain liquid yeast cultures that can be had, great flavors can be attained by using the right grains and hops with this relatively transparent yeast flavor. The price and ease of use are also preferred in my opinion over liquid yeasts. Since I usually make beers with a average O.G., I don't proof, just pour right in, and it always gets the job done. (Posted on 5/13/12)

Using more and more Review by Mike

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I love this yeast. I'm using it more and more. (Posted on 3/23/12)

the best Review by Brian

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Can't find a better yeast. I have used vials, smack packs and other dried yeasts. This one beats them all.

Simple enough to pour directly into your fermenter if you don't want the fuss of making a yeast starter (always recommended though). (Posted on 3/8/12)

Doesn't Get More Forgiving Than This Review by seedsofchaos

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I've used Safale US05 for more than 20 batches of beer over the last few years and am always impressed with its performance. Though... $3.75 is a bit pricey as my LHBS has it for $2.99... I digress...

I've pitched this yeast at around 70-80 degrees and, in my pre-wortchiller days, I've even pitched this yeast at ~100 degrees and haven't seen problems. Looking back at my brewing notebook, I see that even when I pitched this yeast at ~95 degrees, it still was actively fermenting within 24 hours.

Very non-intrusive, this yeast does well for batches that you really want to understand the flavors your malt and hop bill produce. US05 has done me well for beers everywhere from 5% abv to around 10.5% abv. (Posted on 1/30/12)

Its Good! Review by Brooksy

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I have used this yeast my full brewing career (about a year), and have had absolutely zero problems with it. I boil my wort for about 15 minutes, then take some out with a Pyrex cup (carefully, my cup has a nice handle) and cover it and cool it in the freezer to about 80 degrees. I sprinkled this yeast on top of said wort and let it sit 5 minutes or so to acclimate, then I stir it in. By the time I've finished boiling and chilling the yeast is going crazy, and after pitching there is signs of fermentation within a few hours. I've fermented a 1.080 beer this way with this yeast without any need for a starter or anything. (Posted on 12/14/11)

Excellent, hard to beat. Review by Lawrence

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I have been home brewing about a year and a half and most of the beers I have made have been American Ales, some IPA's, same type of beer but different grains, recipes, OG and FG. Safale 05 has been the dry yeast recommended in the recipes so being pretty new to brewing I went with the recommendation. Have not been dissapointed, even a few brews that because of the grain bill maybe, or even were recommended to use a starter came out fully feremented without a problem. I have in a few batches used liquid yeast and have not seen any difference. Thumbs up! (Posted on 11/14/11)

Great dry yeast, but starting to get pricey. Review by Dave

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This is one of the better dry yeasts on the market. Great for American style ales, where you're looking for hoppy flavors to shine. Unfortunately, at $3.75 per packet, it's not nearly as good a value as it was at $1.99. If the price goes up any more, it simply will no longer compete with liquid yeast.
I pretty much always have a few packets each of this one and Nottingham in my freezer just in case. (Posted on 11/6/11)

Can't beat it Review by RockyMountainBrewer

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Simply the best ale yeast out there. Has saved more than one batch for me from more expensive, read, liquid yeasts. Always have a couple of packs in the fridge. (Posted on 10/19/11)

Favorite yeast Review by Meat803

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This is hands down my favorite ale yeast dry or liquid. Can handle low 70's without any off flavors. FG is always spot on. (Posted on 7/6/11)

Favorite yeast by far Review by sol

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This yeast is a champ. I have used it in various IPA's and other ales. Always gives me a solid FG and nicely packed yeast cake. I have had extract kits come to a dead stop at 1.020 with other yeasts. I have twice saved the brew by pitching the under fermented beer onto a Safale-05 yeast cake from another beers primary. Got them both to 1.006. I have also washed and reused this yeast with perfect results. It is tried and true. Taste wise you dont even think about it because it does what it is supposed to do in an ale. (Posted on 6/1/11)

Nice all around yeast for ale Review by AdamU

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My normal go to is Nottingham, but for a very nice mild flavor and a guarantee for a nice smooth profile, this is great yeast. It has always finished nicely and cleanly. (Posted on 4/28/11)

No muss, no fuss. Review by Rich

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Two packets of this pitched into a 1.095 double IPA led to a short lag, vigorous fermentation, and a finishing gravity of 1.018. That's 11% ABV without even trying.

Looking back over a year of brewing 100 gallons or so of beer, the ones pitched with dry yeast were among my favorites, and there were plenty of ho-hum efforts made with liquid. Honestly, I'm not going to bother with the added cost of liquid yeast or the added work/risk of a starter when dry yeast gets me the same or better results with less effort and cost. Even if there were conclusive, non-anecdotal proof that 1056 or WLP001 made better beer, I'm not sure I'd switch. (Posted on 11/29/10)

BOS quality Review by Bdawg

Ol' faithful! This yeast has never let me down and I always keep a pack on hand. In fact, I've won numerous awards with it, including a best of show! If I could only use one yeast for the rest of my brewing life... (Posted on 10/15/10)

Reliable Review by Chris L

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This is the most reliable yeast you can buy, especially for American style beers. It's absolutely awesome in IIPA's and I've even made a barleywine that came in at 12%. In fact, I am betting you could ferment an even stronger barleywine. It's such a versatile yeast! You can't go wrong with it! (Posted on 9/4/10)

Great yeast Review by HOOTER

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Clean, consistent, reliable and easy to handle. US-05 will produce clean, well attenuated ales every time. I like to rehydrate and use nutrient which makes the final product even better. (Posted on 7/27/10)