This xBmt was completed by a member of The Brü Club as a part of The Brü Club xBmt Series in collaboration with Brülosophy. While members who choose to participate in this series generally take inspiration from Brülosophy, the bulk of design, writing, and editing is handled by members unless otherwise specified. Articles featured on Brulosophy.com are selected by The Brü Club leadership prior to being submitted for publication. Visit The Brü Club website for more information on this series.

Author: Matt Skillstad

For reasons including shelf-life, price, and ease of use, I prefer having a stock of dry yeast to choose from rather than having to plan my brews around ordering liquid yeasts. However, some brewers seem to believe dry yeasts produce a lower quality beer, a claim that’s cause for consideration among anyone who wants to make the best beer possible.

I performed this xBmt last Fall, which is Brown Ale season for me, the malty flavors a perfect accompaniment to the changing weather. Brown ale was my gateway craft beer and opened me up to darker styles I still enjoy to this day. I’ve brewed numerous batches of Brown Ale with different types of yeast, but I’ve yet to have success when using dry versions.

My go to yeast when brewing this style is the Fuller’s strain and it seems most labs have available for purchase. A popular liquid version is Imperial Yeast A09 Pub, which I’ve used numerous times and have come to enjoy quite a bit. Recently, I heard Lallemand was producing a dry yeast they call London ESB that’s described as being a “true English ale strain selected for reliable fermentation performance and moderate ester production.” While the description sounded promising and seemed similar to my preferred liquid yeast, London ESB yeast has been noted not to have been sourced from the Fuller’s Brewery. With scant and inconsistent reviews, I decided to do the compare them for myself.

| PURPOSE |

To evaluate the differences between beers fermented with either Imperial Yeast A09 Pub or Lallemand London ESB yeast.

| METHODS |

For this xBmt, I went with a variation on my American Brown Ale recipe.

An English Autumn

Recipe Details Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV 6 gal 40 min 30.2 IBUs 20.9 SRM 1.056 1.019 4.9 % Actuals 1.056 1.013 5.7 % Fermentables Name Amount % Pale Malt (2 Row), Rahr 10 lbs 83.33 Crystal Dark - 77L (Crisp) 1 lbs 8.33 Chocolate (Briess) 8 oz 4.17 Victory Malt 8 oz 4.17 Hops Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha % Nugget 14 g 45 min First Wort Pellet 12.3 Willamette 28 g 10 min Boil Pellet 5.1 Crystal 28 g 0 min Boil Pellet 3.3 Yeast Name Lab Attenuation Temperature Imperial Yeast A09 Pub OR Lallemand London ESB 72% 64°F - 70°F Notes Water Profile: Ca 100 | Mg 10 | Na 24 | SO4 55 | Cl 60 Download Download this recipe's BeerXML file

The day before brewing, I measured out two identical sets of grain then milled them directly into Brew Bags.

I then filtered the full volume of brewing water, which was adjusted to my desired profile.

The next morning, I heated the water, added the grains, and checked the mash temperature before weighing out the kettle hops.

At the end of each 60 minute mash rest, I hoisted the grain bag out of the kettle and allowed it to drain as I began heating the sweet wort.

The wort was boiled for 45 minutes with hops added at the times listed in the recipe. Once the boil was complete, I quickly chilled the wort with my IC.

A refractometer reading showed the wort was right at my target OG.

The wort was then evenly split between two sanitized stainless fermenters.

The filled fermenters were placed next to each other in my chamber controlled to 68°F/20°C, at which point I pitched the yeast, one receiving a pouch of Imperial Yeast A09 Pub while the other received a sachet of Lallemand London ESB yeast.

I observed activity in the London ESB beer later that evening, roughly 12 hours post-pitch, while both were kicking along similarly the following morning. Each fermenter was then connected to a sanitized keg with a disconnect on the gas post for venting, thus using the naturally produced CO2 to purge the keg of oxygen.

After 2 weeks, I took hydrometer measurements showing the beer fermented with Imperial Yeast A09 Pub attenuated more than the one fermented with Lallemand London ESB yeast.

I then racked the beers into the naturally purged kegs.

The filled kegs were placed in my kegerator, burst carbonated, and left to condition for a few weeks before they were served to tasters.

| RESULTS |

A total of 17 people of varying levels of experience participated in this xBmt. Each participant was served 1 sample of the beer fermented with Imperial Yeast A09 Pub and 2 samples of the beer fermented with Lallemand London ESB yeast in different colored opaque cups then asked to identify the unique sample. A total of 10 tasters (p<0.05) would have had to accurately identify the unique sample in order to reach statistical significance, though only 8 did (p=0.17), indicating participants in this xBmt were unable to reliably distinguish a Brown Ale fermented with Imperial Yeast A09 Pub from one fermented with Lallemand London ESB yeast.

My Impressions: I attempted 4 triangle tests and got it correct 3 times, though it largely felt like guessing. These beers were extremely similar. If I had to identify differences, I’d say the beer fermented with Imperial Yeast A09 Pub was a little more toasty and roasty while the one fermented with Lallemand ESB was just a touch creamier. I really enjoyed both beers equally!

| DISCUSSION |

As a busy father of 5, I prefer the flexibility and ease-of-use that dry yeast offers, but for certain styles I settled on liquid yeasts due mostly to a lack of dry options. For example, when making Brown Ale, I prefer the Fuller’s strain and have been using Imperial Yeast A09 Pub, in part because I’d never found a dry substitute I was happy with. After learning about Lallemand London ESB, I was curious to see how it compared to my go-to. Interestingly, despite purportedly being sourced from different breweries, tasters in this xBmt were unable to reliably tell apart beers fermented with either Imperial Yeast A09 Pub or Lallemand London ESB.

While the sensory results were not significant, there were some observed differences worth considering, primarily in terms of attenuation– whereas the beer fermented with Imperial Yeast A09 Pub finished at 1.013 FG for an apparent attenuation of 76%, the Lallemand London ESB beer finished at 1.020 FG for an apparent attenuation of just 63%. As such, the beers had an ABV difference of nearly 1%, which apparently wasn’t enough for tasters in this xBmt to perceive. Personally, I was shocked the beer fermented with Lallemand London ESB wasn’t overly sweet given the higher FG.

Seeing as Imperial Yeast A09 Pub and Lallemand London ESB were sourced from different breweries and go through vastly different production processes, we can’t say they can be used interchangeably to produce the same outcome. They are different. But, the results of this xBmt do suggest either can be used to produce a Brown Ale similar enough for many not to notice a difference, and it’s possible this is case for other styles as well. While I’ll continue to use liquid yeast, I definitely plan to keep a couple packs of London ESB on hand for its ease-of-use, though I’ll consider adjusting my mash temperature to account for the lower attenuation.

Matt Skillstad is a happy husband to a wonderful wife (who likes his beer!) and proud father of 5 children under 7 years old from Pierce, Nebraska. He has been brewing since 2011 and, in addition to The Brü Club, is a member of the Elkhorn Valley Society of Brewers. He enjoys experimenting with his brewing in an effort to make better beer in less time with less effort. When not brewing or hanging with his family, Matt enjoys bike riding and golfing (poorly).

If you have any thoughts about this xBmt, please do not hesitate to share in the comments section below!

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