Saflager S-23

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dljones33

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So this is my first try using this yeast. My liquid yeast was old and the starter proved as much so I bought this one as my backup. I made a yeast starter with the S-23 and it took off right away. I am making a Mexican style Corona clone. I have read that this yeast can produce some serious fruity/estery notes which I want to avoid.

The question is at what temp should I ferment this batch to avoid this? I have read that this strain will do this at both at the high end and the low end so which is it? I have a temp controlled freezer for fermentation and lagering.

Thanks for your reponse...
 
I have used this yeast once, and I too read a LOT of posts about fruity esthers and all sorts of bad stuff. In my experience it handled things like a champ, no issues, and no off tastes.

My fermentation was about 18 days at 50F for actual fermenting. I pitched a single pack (hydrated) at about 65F and threw it in the fridge to cool to 50. Fermentation kicked off about a day and a half later, though was likely doing something in the lag time it just wasn't visible.

I only got about a half inch of krausen the entire time, very low. No diacetyl smell/taste at all, but I did a d-rest for a couple days then threw it in the fridge at 40F for the next month.

Came out nice, it was an Oktoberfest.
 
I have used it in a commercial setting (brewpub, 15 bbl conical ferms, under pressure at 1.4 bars) would ferment very cold 35-45F depending on my mood/whim, usually about 2-3 week fermentation... then would lager at 33F for as long as possible, 6 to 12 weeks usually, depending on when I had to have it on tap!... always got a nice, clean beer -German bartender lass approved :) ... never actually did a diacetyl rest with it. That being said, there are many things that can effect yeast behavior, and I would be curious to hear how it behaves in a typical home setting. I am actually going to find out first hand soon since I have a Helles, a Marzen and a Doppelbock waiting to be brewed :)
 
When I did my diacetyl rest it was at around 62 or 65 I think? It really didn't need it though, I just did it because it was my first lager and I was scared ;) I left it for 2 days at those temps then dropped it down over the next day to 40F or so.

Smell the beer and take a sample before you commit to one, if you get the supposed buttery taste/flavor, rest it. Mine was fine though but probably didn't hurt...
 
I made a pilsner (extract with grains) that came out great. Here's how I fermented it:

I used 2 packs of yeast for a 5 gallon batch - rehydrated @ 72ºF for 30 minutes, then fed the yeast a little wort (probably brought the sg to about 1.015 or 1.020) and cooled it to about 48ºF slowly over about a 3-4 hour period, then pitched it to the wort which was at 50ºF. I also aerated the wort with O2 with a .5 micron stone for about 45 seconds. Fermented about 50-51ºF for 8 days until SG was 1.020 (OG was 1.052) then did D-rest @ 62-63ºF, then racked to keg and ramped temperature down about 4ºF per day to lagering temp of 33-34ºF. Lagered for 7 weeks. Tasted great.
 
Well, it didn't take long for the action to start. I have the fermenter in my freezer at 52 degrees and the airlock is bubbling like mad. I really want to avoid the fruit/esthers. I guess we will find out. If anyone else wants to chime in I would really like to know what you think....
 
If you want to make it lager then it's going to take longer. I made a great dark lager with the S-23...Fruity off flavors won't occur if you keep the temperature to the mid to low 50's. If you go into the 60's-70 range then you'll get some fruit and bubblegum to chew on.

After a few weeks at lower temperature crash cool it for a week and bottle it...use a little less priming sugar sense there will still be some residule CO2 in solution.

It's a good dry yeast. Those who remark about off flavors are using the wrong temperature.
 
this yeast is suppose to be less estery at ale temps around 60 i lagered (ferment temp 50ish )and was very minimal estery.
 
I have a SMaSH cold crashing in my garage using this yeast as we speak. I guess technically it's a Cali. Common since I did the primary fermentation at 60. It's been in my garage now for a month at 45ish. Problem is, I get the urge to draw a sample about once a week. No fruit, no esters, just a delicious incredibly clear beer. This was my first time with s-23 and I'll definitely be keeping a pack in the fridge. I guess what I'm saying is, don't listen to all the doubters. All the reports I've heard lately about s-23 are great, and my personal experience is that Fermentis has another rock star yeast in their line up.
 
Well, nice to hear someone else is giving it a go. I will post a report when I taste it. It has been very happily bubbling away at 53.

I have a SMaSH cold crashing in my garage using this yeast as we speak. I guess technically it's a Cali. Common since I did the primary fermentation at 60. It's been in my garage now for a month at 45ish. Problem is, I get the urge to draw a sample about once a week. No fruit, no esters, just a delicious incredibly clear beer. This was my first time with s-23 and I'll definitely be keeping a pack in the fridge. I guess what I'm saying is, don't listen to all the doubters. All the reports I've heard lately about s-23 are great, and my personal experience is that Fermentis has another rock star yeast in their line up.
 
I've read horror stories on this strain of yeast, it's a shame that this and S-33 have a bad rap from forums...lol, I think S-23 is a wonderful strain of yeast to lager beers with. I made a Yuengling clone with this bad boy and it came out very close to the "T". I'm crafting a Munich Helles this weekend and using S-23 to ferment with. I will post results on the Munich Helles later if you wish, although my experience with this yeast is to ferment it cool (48-52F) and lager (33-34F) it long and you will have a quaffable brilliant clean beer.
 
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