Fermentis SafAle S-04 English Ale Yeast

The classic English ale yeast that brings a little fruit to the party. While it’s famous for traditional English styles, a lot of brewers also use it successfully on hoppy beers — especially when they want some pleasant ester character to play alongside the hops instead of staying completely neutral.

Best For English Pale Ales, Bitters, Porters, Browns, and hoppy beers where you want a touch of fruity character to complement the hops. Works especially well for English-style IPAs and balanced hoppy ales. Less ideal for big, super-juicy hazy IPAs (there are better tools for that).

Hard Specs

• Attenuation: 70–75%
• Flocculation: High
• Temperature Range: 59–75°F (ideal 64–72°F)
• Alcohol Tolerance: Up to 9–11% ABV
• More tech specs

Flavor & Behavior S-04 throws more fruity esters than clean American strains like US-05 or BRY-97. You’ll often get apple, pear, and light stone fruit notes, especially if you ferment toward the warmer end of its range or pitch on the lighter side. These esters can actually play really nicely with hops in certain styles.

It also has very high flocculation, so it drops out fast and leaves the beer relatively clear without much help.

In Practice This yeast shines when you want hoppy beer with a bit more personality than a super-clean American strain. A lot of people use it for English IPAs or hoppy milds/browns where the fruity esters and malt character work together. It’s not the first choice for big, juicy, hazy New England IPAs (strains like Verdant or specific haze yeasts usually win there), but it can still make a very drinkable hoppy beer if you’re going for something with a touch more traditional English character.

Pitching & Rehydration One 11g sachet handles a standard 5 gallon batch around 1.050 OG. Rehydrate in 86–95°F water for 15–30 minutes before pitching. Same story as most dry yeast — skipping this step is still one of the fastest ways to leave performance on the table.