Yeast Flavour, Hop & Malt Pairing Guide
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← Back to the main Home Brew Yeast Guide (temperatures, attenuation, ABV tolerance, flocculation)
This guide answers a different question: once you know roughly which yeast category you need, which specific strain matches your recipe's ester profile, hop character and malt bill? It's modelled on the style-pairing tables at the back of Mangrove Jack's own technical booklet, extended with hop and malt pairing data and real commercial beer references so you can picture the target flavour before you brew.
Shipping outside the UK? Small yeast sachets now face steep customs fees on low-value international parcels. Safale US-05, one of the most widely used strains on this page, ships well via Amazon instead — check it out on Amazon US.
Ale Yeast — British & American Styles
| Strain | Recommended Style(s) | Ester / Phenolic Character | Best Hop Pairings | Best Malt Pairings | Commercial Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gervin GV12 | Bitters, Golden Ale | Medium esters — pear, light fruit | EKG, Fuggles | Maris Otter | Traditional English ales |
| Safale S-04 | English Ales, Porters | Low, clean/neutral | EKG, Fuggles | Maris Otter | Fuller's-style beers |
| Safale US-05 | American Ales, IPAs | Low — clean citrus | Cascade, Centennial | Pale Malt | Sierra Nevada-style |
| MJ M15 Empire Ale | Scottish Ales, Amber Ale, Sweet Stout | Medium — dark fruit | EKG, Fuggles | Crystal, Munich | Scottish Export |
| MJ M66 Hophead Ale | NEIPA, Hazy IPA | High — tropical, citrus | Citra, Mosaic | Oats, Wheat | Modern NEIPA |
| MJ M36 Liberty Bell Ale | ESB, Golden Ale | Medium — pear, strawberry | EKG, Fuggles | Maris Otter | English ESB |
| MJ M42 New World Strong Ale | IPA, Porter, Russian Imperial Stout | Low, neutral | Columbus, Centennial | Pale, Munich | Strong British ales |
| MJ M44 US West Coast | APA, DIPA | Low — clean citrus | Cascade, Simcoe | Pale Malt | West Coast IPA |
| MJ M12 Kveik | Kveik, Farmhouse Ale | High — orange, tropical | Citra, Mosaic | Pilsner, Wheat | Norwegian farmhouse |
Belgian & Wheat Beer Yeast
| Strain | Recommended Style(s) | Ester / Phenolic Character | Best Hop Pairings | Best Malt Pairings | Commercial Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Safale S-33 | Belgian Blonde, Belgian Pale | Medium esters (fruity/apricot), light phenolic | Styrian Goldings, Saaz | Pilsner, Carapils | Leffe-style ales |
| Safale T-58 | Saison, Witbier, Belgian Specialty | High esters (clove/pepper), strong phenolic | Saaz, Hallertau | Pilsner, Wheat | Hoegaarden-style wit |
| MJ M47 Belgian Abbey | Abbey, Double, Belgian Dark | High esters (banana/spice), strong phenolic | Saaz, Styrian Goldings | Pilsner, Caramunich | Chimay-style ales |
| MJ M41 Belgian Ale (diastaticus) | Tripel, Golden Strong | High esters (spicy/plum), strong phenolic | Saaz, Hallertau | Pilsner, Sugar | Duvel-style ales |
| MJ M31 Belgian Tripel (diastaticus) | Tripel, Golden Strong | High esters (fruity/spicy), strong phenolic | Saaz, Styrian Goldings | Pilsner, Sugar | Westmalle-style Tripel |
| MJ M21 Belgian Wit | Witbier, White Ale | Medium esters (citrus/spice), light phenolic | Saaz, Hallertau | Wheat, Pilsner | Hoegaarden-style |
| MJ M29 French Saison (diastaticus) | Saison, Farmhouse | High esters (pepper/lemon), strong phenolic | Saaz, Hallertau | Pilsner, Wheat | Dupont-style Saison |
| MJ M20 Bavarian Wheat | Hefeweizen, Dunkelweizen | High esters (banana/clove), strong phenolic | Hersbrucker, Hallertau | Wheat, Munich | Weihenstephan-style |
Diastaticus strains (marked above) carry the STA1 gene and ferment unusually dry — they'll happily consume dextrins other yeasts leave behind. Keep them away from any barrel, cask, or piece of equipment you also use for "clean" beers, as cross-contamination can cause bottle bombs and over-attenuation in unrelated batches.
Lager Yeast
Shipping outside the UK? Lager yeast now faces steep customs fees on low-value international parcels. Saflager W-34/70, the world's most-used lager strain, ships well via Amazon instead — check it out on Amazon US.
| Strain | Recommended Style(s) | Ester / Phenolic Character | Best Hop Pairings | Best Malt Pairings | Commercial Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saflager W-34/70 | German Pils, Helles | Low, neutral | Hallertau, Saaz | Pilsner, Munich | Weihenstephan-style lagers |
| Saflager S-23 | Fruity Lager, Kölsch-like | Medium esters (fruity/estery) | Saaz, Styrian Goldings | Pilsner | Continental lagers |
| MJ M76 Bavarian Lager | Bavarian Helles, Dunkel | Low, neutral | Hallertau Mittelfrüh | Pilsner, Munich | Bavarian-style lagers |
| MJ M54 Californian Lager | California Common | Low, neutral | Cluster, Northern Brewer | Pale, Munich | Anchor Steam-style |
| MJ M84 Bohemian Lager | Czech Pilsner | Low, neutral | Saaz | Pilsner | Bohemian-style lagers |
| MJ M24 Versa Lager | Modern Lager, Cold IPA | Low, neutral | Citra, Saaz | Pilsner, Munich | NovaLager-style beers |
Cider Yeast
| Strain | Recommended Style(s) | Ester Character | Commercial Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gervin GV13 | Traditional Cider | Medium esters — apple, pear | West Country-style cider |
| MJ M02 Cider | Modern Cider | Medium esters — fresh apple | New World-style cider |
Wine, Champagne & Mead Yeast
Shipping outside the UK? Wine and mead yeast sachets now face steep customs fees on low-value international parcels. Lalvin EC-1118, the world-standard sparkling wine yeast, ships well via Amazon instead — check it out on Amazon US.
| Strain | Recommended Use | Ester Character | Commercial Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lalvin K1V-1116 | Aromatic whites (Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat-style) | High esters — floral, tropical | Muscat-style wines |
| Lalvin D47 | Full-bodied whites, barrel-fermented Chardonnay, mead | Medium esters — apricot, vanilla | Full-bodied whites |
| Lalvin EC-1118 | Champagne, sparkling wine, restarting stuck ferments | Low, neutral | Prise de Mousse style |
| MJ M05 Mead | Mead, metheglin | Medium esters — floral, honey | Modern mead |
How to Use This Table
Start from the main Home Brew Yeast Guide to narrow down by category, temperature range and ABV tolerance. Once you've got two or three candidates in the same category, come back here and match on ester/phenolic character and the hop or malt pairing that suits your recipe — the commercial reference beer is there so you can taste-test the target profile before you brew, if you can find a bottle locally.
Not sure where to start? Browse the full range via Home Brew Yeast.