W-34/70 Lager Yeast

Who has used it? Did you like it? I picked up ONE packet when I loaded up on Notty, S-05 and S-04 the other day.

This will be my first lager, anyone have a recipe you would recommend for this yeast?

Thanks.

I used it for the oktoberfest in my drop-down and couldn't be happier with it. It's crisp and clean and lets a lot of malt come through. You may want to pitch two packets depending on your pitch temperature and OG though.

KingBrianI said:

I used it for the oktoberfest in my drop-down and couldn't be happier with it. It's crisp and clean and lets a lot of malt come through. You may want to pitch two packets depending on your pitch temperature and OG though.

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What about a starter on my new stir plate.

The Pol said:

What about a starter on my new stir plate.

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I'm not a fan of starters for dry yeasts. They're typically cheap enough that just buying a second pack is usually the easier (and if you add in DME, nutrients, etc.) cheaper option. They're also rearing to go in the dry form, with everything they need to reproduce, even without oxygenation. Using that up in a starter seems a bit wasteful. But I'm sure it will work fine if that's what you want to do.

KingBrianI said:

I'm not a fan of starters for dry yeasts. They're typically cheap enough that just buying a second pack is usually the easier (and if you add in DME, nutrients, etc.) cheaper option. They're also rearing to go in the dry form, with everything they need to reproduce, even without oxygenation. Using that up in a starter seems a bit wasteful. But I'm sure it will work fine if that's what you want to do.

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I dont use DME for starters. I suppose I will give it a whirl.

This is the same strain as WLP830. The legendary German lager yeast. It's an awesome yeast. Good for any balanced-to-malty German lager (bock, helles, o-fest, etc.)

My favorite lager yeast!!

I use 2 packets of w37/70, I never rehydrate. Just 2 packs straight up. I try to perform diacetyl rest at the end of fermentation, but usually end up with slight buttery taste which goes away during lagering. So dont be discouraged when you think you have a buttery beer when you taste your FG sample. I was drinking a pilsner I brewed with this last night and was constantly thinking how smooth the beer was (incidentally this is one of my beers submitted to HBT competition, so we'll see how good it really is). I usually lager at 34F for about at least 2 weeks.

Also, since this is your first lager - it looks totally different than an ale when fermenting. It freaked me out at first. There isn't really krausen since it ferments at the bottom.

I dig on this yeast quite a bit. I don't care for any of the dry ale strains since you are usually looking for flavor contributions from those strains. But I find lager yeasts take to the drying process much better since all they need to do is stay clean. I have used it twice before and the results were good enough that I have an American Lager going with it right now. It's so nice to not have to step up a starter 3 times for a lager and just be able to pitch 2 packs and walk away.

Pangea said:

My favorite lager yeast!!

I use 2 packets of w37/70, I never rehydrate. Just 2 packs straight up. I try to perform diacetyl rest at the end of fermentation, but usually end up with slight buttery taste which goes away during lagering. So dont be discouraged when you think you have a buttery beer when you taste your FG sample. I was drinking a pilsner I brewed with this last night and was constantly thinking how smooth the beer was (incidentally this is one of my beers submitted to HBT competition, so we'll see how good it really is). I usually lager at 34F for about at least 2 weeks.

Also, since this is your first lager - it looks totally different than an ale when fermenting. It freaked me out at first. There isn't really krausen since it ferments at the bottom.

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Heh, I cannot see into my fermentor anyhow...

Maybe instead of a starter, I will pitch 2 packs... I prefer to rehydrate, since dry yeasts need the cell walls rehydrated prior to introduction to a sugar solution or else the walls can be damaged....

Pol, I use this yeast pretty exclusively now for lagers. I used to primarily use WLP830 and I can't taste the difference in the same recipes. Actually, the W-34/70 was a little cleaner, probably because I slightly under-pitched with the 830. I rehydrate 2 packs (per 5 gallons) per Fermentis instructions and pitch when both the yeast slurry and wort are at or below 50°F.

I've made Helles and German Pilsener with this yeast and they both turned out great. The only difference in the two recipes was the IBUs/hops schedule. OG = 1.047 (FG = 1.011)... 97.5% German Pilsener malt (if you got Bestmalz Pilsen in your recent Country Malt order, it's a good one), 2.5% Cara-pils. Step-mash (or decoction) at ~142°F for 45 min, 158°F for 30 min, mash-out (if fly-sparging). Boil for 90 min.

Hops are any (or combination of) German noble-type hops:

for the Helles = ~21 IBUs at 60 min, 0.5 oz (for 10 gal batch) at flameout.

for the German Pils = 21.5 IBUs at 60 min., 6.5 IBUs at 20 min., and 0.75 oz (again, 10 gal batch) at flameout.

The only catch is, I would recommend against the "no chill" for these beers.

I used this on half of my Oktoberfest and half of my Helles. First things first, you really should rehydrate this yeast if you are pitching below 80ºF. I didn't (first time using dry yeast, I'm an idiot) and it took nearly 70 hours to start. Booo Hiiiisssss.... Rehydrate and be happy about it. I think you will be fine making a starter, maybe not ideal for the yeast type, but it can't hurt.

I can vouch that King Brian I's O-fest is very good. I reviewed it and he scored 38/50. Rather impressive on my reviewing scale.

I can't speak with authority yet, but I ma putting my Oktoberfest in kegs tomorrow and I am pretty sure it will be one of the best beers I have made. I also have a pretty good discussion thread here on HBT if you search Boerderij and Oktoberfest it will come up.

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

I can vouch that King Brian I's O-fest is very good. I reviewed it and he scored 38/50. Rather impressive on my reviewing scale.

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Awesome. Not to rush you, but when can I see the reviews?!

I know I know. I have just gotten absolutely slammed at work and have been unable to finish all the beers let alone find time to write them up in emails. My backlog of reviews is huge. I think I might just scan my notebook pages and send the scans to save time.

Maybe I will simply rehydrate and pitch 2 packages of yeast... then wash and save it for a few brews so that I can utilize my stir plate!

I've just recently began using this yeast and found it to be slow in starting. Up to 3 days before any signs of fermentation, unlike that of S-189 which mimicks most of the liquid yeasts I've used. I pitched 40 g of rehydreated yeast into 48f wort, and fermentation times are still around 3 weeks for primary at 48f. No diacetyl detected.

If samples that have went into lagering are any indication, then this yeast should make a satisfactory lager. I don't have anything made with this yeast ready to drink just yet and the jury is still out on it.