Which yeast for a dark mild?

[brewbear]

After a little bit of advice. I'll be making a dark mild later this week but I'm not sure what yeast to use. I have a sachet of Mangrove Jacks M42, and also (in the fridge, cropped from past brews) WLP037 Yorkshire Square.

Which of these would people recommend as preferable to use? Recipe is
80% MO
12% Crystal 130
8% Black
Target OG: 1034
Challenger hops, 42IBU

[Also in the yeast fridge are crops of WLP300 Hefeweizen and Wyeast 3463 Forbidden Fruit, but I'm not sure either of those are the way to go for a Mild!]

Cheers

 

[Zephyr259]

Not made a dark mild before but I'd likely go with the Yorkshire Yeast given those options.

Woah, isn't that a really high BU/GU ratio? It's higher than most IPAs, or should the IBUs be 24?

 

[strange-steve]

I agree with Zephyr, with the yeast choice and the high IBUs. That looks more like a standard bitter to me.

 

[foxbat]

Just flicked through the GW book and the mild IBU range is 20-25. The only outlier is the excellent Sarah Hughes but even that's only 30. Yeast wise I'd use the WLP037.

 

[brewbear]

Hmmmm... yes: I see what you mean about the IBU. Can't remember where I got the receipt from, but that doesn't look right. Will dial it down to low 20s. Thanks for spotting.

I started up a starter with the WLP037. However, it stinks. Not sour - which would make me immediately throw it out - but... maybe "farmyard"!

I remember this yeast was odd in all sorts of ways when I used it first/ last time (platelet-like shapes; heavily flocullating in the starter). But I also have a note on my brewnotes to say that it smelt bad.

So... does WLP037 usually smell? Normally this would raise alarm bells. My choice is either use that (it will be 36-40 hours as a starter), or chuck it and use the Mangrove Jacks M42.

What would you do?

[Might be worth me mentioning my yeast harvesting for that yeast: after fermentation of last batch (5 months ago), I swilled the last 700ml from the FV to gather up the dead yeast and plonked it in to a little starsan-treated bottle, then in to fridge. Not the best method, I realise (have since learnt about topcropping from krausen), but it's never caused problems before. Maybe this is at fault.]

 

[Zephyr259]

Hmmmm... yes: I see what you mean about the IBU. Can't remember where I got the receipt from, but that doesn't look right. Will dial it down to low 20s. Thanks for spotting.

I started up a starter with the WLP037. However, it stinks. Not sour - which would make me immediately throw it out - but... maybe "farmyard"!

Your welcome. :-)

Never used that one myself but I'm currently brewing with Wyeast's west yorkshire strain which I'm assuming will be similar if not the same yeast. Didn't notice a smell myself but I think it was that yeast where I tasted the starter beer and it was pretty unpleasant, not in an infected way, probably just due to the yeast working in fairly oxygen rich environment with the stir plate going. The porter didn't smell bad while it was fermenting. Good luck.