Munich Lager II yeast

I am brewing an oktoberfest this weekend with this yeast. http://www.wyeastlab.com/vssprogram.cfm?website=2
As you can see there it states the fermentation temperature is 52-62. I planned on fermenting this beer at 50 degrees like all of my other lagers. Is the information on the wyeast site wrong? Will I have attenuation issues if I ferment at 50?

I wouldn't think the wyeast technical specs were typos. On the other hand it's a living organism, and it's not like they'll all stop working at .1 degree below 52.

I can't answer your question directly, but I can say look at wyeast 3068. The wyeast spec says 64-75, but it works quite well at 62.

chemman14 said:

I am brewing an oktoberfest this weekend with this yeast. http://www.wyeastlab.com/vssprogram.cfm?website=2
As you can see there it states the fermentation temperature is 52-62. I planned on fermenting this beer at 50 degrees like all of my other lagers. Is the information on the wyeast site wrong? Will I have attenuation issues if I ferment at 50?

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I have this yeast going in a light lager right now at 47 degrees. It's doing just fine. If it starts to have trouble pushing below about 1.025 or 1.030 (like my S-23 did) at that temperature, I'll just warm it up a bit. Otherwise, let 'er grind down to 1.020 then do a d-rest.

You will definitely be okay at 50--just make sure you pitch enough cells. Use the pitching rate calculator at www.mrmalty.com to figure out what that number is. Probably 375-400 billion for 5.25 gallons, depending on your gravity.

Make sure you guys post your results. I have a pack in the fridge, but I wasn't sure whether to try it in a steam beer or just do a bock for fall.

Do a bock.

osagedr said:

Do a bock.

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You think? That was my first thought, or possibly a marzen. It's just that the 52-62 temp range is throwing me off. I might just go balls out and do a doppelbock and let it lager for 6 months.

I made a 1.8 liter starter with 2 smack packs

TimTrone said:

You think? That was my first thought, or possibly a marzen. It's just that the 52-62 temp range is throwing me off. I might just go balls out and do a doppelbock and let it lager for 6 months.

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Sounds good! Check out my doppelbock recipe; it won a gold this year in a good-sized competition (made BOS round for the comp) and the Eisbock I made from it is going to NHC round two. I plan to use this yeast at least three or four times and won't go above 50. Bet I won't have any trouble, either--you'd be surprised what adequate pitching rates can do!

osagedr said:

Sounds good! Check out my doppelbock recipe; it won a gold this year in a good-sized competition (made BOS round for the comp) and the Eisbock I made from it is going to NHC round two. I plan to use this yeast at least three or four times and won't go above 50. Bet I won't have any trouble, either--you'd be surprised what adequate pitching rates can do!

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Haha wow that's funny, your recipe is somewhat similar to mine.

10lb Munich
5lb pilsner
1.5lb caramunich 2
4oz Carafa 2 special

I would love to do a bigger grain bill, but that's all I can fit. I'll still end up with a gravity around 1.075-1.080

Nice looking recipe. Push the Hallertau to near the top of the IBU range for style. And...DECOCT!

The starter has a TON of yeast and seems to be finished already.

osagedr said:

Nice looking recipe. Push the Hallertau to near the top of the IBU range for style. And...DECOCT!

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I was actually going to use ultra hops in this one. They're 9% AA and I think 28-30 IBUs should work. What do you think?

TimTrone said:

I was actually going to use ultra hops in this one. They're 9% AA and I think 28-30 IBUs should work. What do you think?

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I don't know anything about Ultra. My own brewing philosophy for Bocks is to go very traditional--then again I'm not the adventurous type when it comes to brewing! I'm sure your plan will work fine.

Pitched yesterday around 430 and it already has some fermentation activity. I plan on leaving it at 50 until the fermentation begins to slow, then ramping it up to 60 for the D rest.

Don't ramp it up until you are sure the gravity is about 8 points above FG.

osagedr said:

Don't ramp it up until you are sure the gravity is about 8 points above FG.

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OK. This is my third lager and I have just done it blindly before. When should I start pulling samples?