Yeast
Mangrove Jack’s Craft Series Yeast Guide
The right yeast can change a beer as much as the kit, malt or hops. Mangrove Jack’s Craft Series strains are designed for different beer styles, flavour profiles and fermentation temperatures, so the best choice is not simply the strain with the highest attenuation.
Use this guide as a starting point, then check the current product page and sachet before pitching. Browse the full beer yeast range if you also want to compare other brands.
Quick yeast choice
Choose by beer style first, then by the temperature you can reliably maintain. A clean American strain suits pale ales and IPAs; English strains add more fruit and malt character; Belgian and wheat strains deliberately create spice, fruit or banana notes; and lager strains need the temperature range shown on the pack.
Clean, hoppy and malt-forward ales
| Yeast | Good starting styles | Typical range | What it contributes |
|---|---|---|---|
| M44 US West Coast | American pale ale, IPA, double IPA | 18–23°C | Clean and neutral, leaving hop and malt character clear; a dependable all-round American ale choice. |
| M42 New World Strong Ale | Strong pale ales, IPA, stout, porter | 16–22°C | Clean, robust fermentation with good attenuation and alcohol tolerance for bigger beers. |
| M66 Hophead Ale | Hazy, juicy and hop-forward ales | 18–22°C | A yeast-and-enzyme blend intended to support fruit-forward fermentation and release more aroma from hop additions. |
| M15 Empire Ale | English pale ale, brown ale, porter, stout | 18–22°C | Full-bodied, fruity English-style character with a softer, malt-led finish. |
Wheat and Belgian beers
| Yeast | Good starting styles | Typical range | What it contributes |
|---|---|---|---|
| M20 Bavarian Wheat | Hefeweizen, dunkelweizen, wheat beer | 18–30°C | Classic banana, spice and vanilla-like wheat-beer character with a full mouthfeel. |
| M21 Belgian Wit | Belgian witbier, spiced wheat beer | 18–25°C | Spicy, fruity fermentation character suited to cloudy Belgian wheat styles. |
| M31 Belgian Tripel | Tripel, strong golden ale, Belgian strong ale | 18–28°C | High attenuation with complex fruit, spice and a dry finish for strong Belgian styles. |
| M41 Belgian Ale | Belgian pale, dubbel, strong dark ale | 18–28°C | Highly attenuative Belgian strain with noticeable spice and fruit character. |
| M47 Belgian Abbey | Dubbel, abbey ale, Belgian brown ale | 18–25°C | Fruit-led abbey character with moderate attenuation and more residual body than M31 or M41. |
Lagers and lager-style beers
| Yeast | Good starting styles | Typical range | What it contributes |
|---|---|---|---|
| M76 Bavarian Lager | Helles, märzen, dunkel, European lager | 8–14°C | Clean lager fermentation with rounded malt character. |
| M84 Bohemian Lager | Czech pilsner, bock, Bohemian lager | 10–15°C | Soft, clean and relatively dry lager character that suits malt and noble hops. |
| M54 Californian Lager | California common and lager-style beer without cold fermentation | 18–20°C | A clean lager-like profile at warmer temperatures; useful when true lager temperatures are not practical. |
| M24 Versa Lager | Clean lager and hop-forward lager styles | Check current sachet | A neutral, versatile bottom-fermenting strain with broad application. Follow the current pack for its fermentation range. |
Warm and specialist fermentation
| Yeast | Good starting styles | Typical range | What it contributes |
|---|---|---|---|
| M29 French Saison | Saison and farmhouse ale | 26–32°C | Very dry, highly attenuated beer with spicy, fruity and peppery fermentation character. |
| M12 Kveik | Norwegian farmhouse ale, pale ale, IPA | 25–40°C | Fast warm fermentation with a mostly clean profile and subtle citrus notes; particularly useful when ambient temperatures are high. |
What attenuation and temperature mean
Attenuation describes how much fermentable sugar a yeast typically consumes. Higher attenuation usually produces a drier finish, but recipe composition, pitching rate, oxygen, nutrients and temperature also affect the result. It does not automatically mean a better or stronger beer.
Fermentation temperature affects both yeast health and flavour. Too cold may make fermentation slow or incomplete; too warm can create flavours you did not intend. Belgian, saison, wheat and kveik strains are exceptions only in the sense that their intended character is produced within their own warmer recommended ranges.
Practical pitching advice
- Sanitise everything that will touch the cooled wort.
- Use the full sachet and follow its current pitching directions; do not rely on an old generic instruction when the pack says otherwise.
- Keep the fermenter within the yeast’s recommended range, especially during the first few days.
- Do not judge fermentation only by airlock activity. Confirm completion with stable gravity readings before packaging.
- For high-gravity beer, large batches or cold lager fermentation, check whether more yeast is required.
If the exact strain is unavailable
Match the intended beer style and temperature before matching a strain number. A clean ale yeast is usually a safer substitute for another clean ale strain than a Belgian, wheat or saison yeast. For alternatives, compare the current all-grain beer yeast selection and ask us if you are unsure.
For more technical strain data, the older Mangrove Jack’s Craft Series yeast reference PDF remains useful for many established strains. Newer strains may not appear in it, so the current sachet and product listing take priority.