Blonde Ale/Pseudo Lager Yeast Suggestions?

[LagerLover78]

Hi all! Getting back to brewing after a long hiatus. Have a pale ale kegged and carbing (first homebrew session in a couple years) and was planning another in the next week or two. Was thinking a pseudo lager/blonde ale. I had read that Notty dry yeast fermented on the low end of the temp range can yield a dry finish for a nice pseudo lager.

Does anyone have any liquid yeast suggestions? Was hoping to get some grainy maltyness balanced with the hoppyness.

I can lager in my kegerator, but it gets crowded when I shove a keg and co2 can in there. Plus I want a yeast that would be a bit more forgiving since there wont be any flavor malts to mask any off flavors or esters.

I was looking at WY2575 (Kolsch II), WY2112 (California Common), WY1099 (Whitbread) and WY1087 (Bohemian Ale). However I'm definately open to suggestions.

The recipe is below. It's simple but I may tweak it a bit between now and brew day, but this will give an idea of what I'm facing.

8.0 lbs 2 Row Pilsner
0.25 lbs Aromatic Malt
0.25 lbs Carapils

0.4 oz Saaz (whole cone) 50 Min
0.4 oz Saaz (whole cone) 10 Min
0.2 oz Saaz (whole cone) whirlpool

Single infusion mash (temp is yeast dependent).

Thanks in advance for the input!

 

[Immocles]

Notty is a good choice, but going liquid yeast I have had pretty good luck with both white labs 029 and WY1007 for those types of brews. I prefer 1007 myself since it seems to be indestructibly forgiving, but it takes a bit longer to clear up. I've had bad luck repitching 029, but that yeast drops like a rock.

 

[LagerLover78]

Thanks Immocles!

If you cold crash WY1007 does it help the yeast drop out noticeably?

 

[Immocles]

Couldn't tell ya. I don't cold crash. By the time I'm done fermenting and carbonating (3-4weeks from brew date) they're pretty damn clear in the bottle. I usually set and forget it at 61-62F. My temperature control is...sketchy at best, so it spikes up a healthy 5F depending on the season. Usually a bit cloudy on packaging day, but about a week later its noticeably clearer. If you've ever used 2565 Kolsch yeast, I find that it acts similar to that.

 

[Steveruch]

A few years ago I fermented a "pilsner" with Wyeast's pacman yeast at 72f that came out good. It scored a 37 in the German pilsner category in a local competition.

 

[LagerLover78]

Thanks Steveruch! I'll take a look at that one further.

Just tool a peak in the kegerator...I've got a project on my hands this weekend. Black mildew all over the inside and pink water in the freezer drip tray. Time to hit it with some Clorox bleach spray...full on Clorox assault mode.

 

[beersk]

I just started brewing with Omega Lutra. It's incredibly clean and you can ferment warm. It floccs out like mad and tastes very clean.

 

[LagerLover78]

Thanks Beersk!

Interesting something with a 90*F upper ferm temp would turn out clean. Another reason, among many, as to why this is an interesting hobby!

 

[beersk]

Thanks Beersk!

Interesting something with a 90*F upper ferm temp would turn out clean. Another reason, among many, as to why this is an interesting hobby!

I agree, this yeast, as well as other kveiks, are a game changer.

 

[couchsending]

There are tons of Ale yeasts that work really well fermenting at almost lager temps.

I know of a professional brewer who’s won a fair amount of rather significant awards fermenting LAIII all the way gone to 53 with lager pitch rates.

The Alchemist releases a Kolsch style ale that they make with their house yeast (Conan) fermented at 56. I’ve done this and it was still really fast and clean. Pretty sure it was done in 4 days.

1007 is easy and clean and contributes just a touch of sulfur which to me makes it one of the better ale yeasts for something you’re trying to convince people might be a lager. It’s an incredibly hardy yeast that can be abused and it also produces virtually no diacetyl. However it doesn’t flocc at all and you’ll need to fine it or wait for a long time for it to clear. K-97 is basically the dry version of 1007.

 

[brewbama]

I like to use Bry-97 for faux lagers. It clears bright and has a very neutral flavor.

of course, W34/70 can be fermented warm so it serves very well also.

 

[LagerLover78]

Thanks couchsending and brewbama!

 

[LagerLover78]

LA III looks interesting. In a 5 gallon batch would a direct pitch work or would I have to use a starter since the advertised ferm temps are 64*F to 74*F? I'm assuming a 4 quart starter would be necessary to propagate the yeast cells to the correct quantity.

Also, is Omega OYL-052 the same as Conan?

 

[couchsending]

LA III looks interesting. In a 5 gallon batch would a direct pitch work or would I have to use a starter since the advertised ferm temps are 64*F to 74*F? I'm assuming a 4 quart starter would be necessary to propagate the yeast cells to the correct quantity.

Also, is Omega OYL-052 the same as Conan?

If you wanted to ferment LAIII cold you need lager pitch rates. One packet would require a very large starter. Otherwise at least 3 if not 4 packs.

Imperial Juice is the same as 1318. You get more yeast but still wont be enough with one pack (depending on OG of course).


Yes OYL-052 is the same as Barbarian, Conan, VT Ale, etc.

Same with Conan you’re gonna need a lot of yeast to successfully ferment that cold. I usually shoot for at least 1.5m/ml/*plato. Usually more.

With the other strains you can ferment colder with not as much yeast but I’d still reccomend pitching more than normal if you’re going to be in the mid 50s to begin with.

 

[hottpeper13]

2565 is my house yeast,mostly fermented between 55*-59*...............Enough said!

 

[LagerLover78]

If you wanted to ferment LAIII cold you need lager pitch rates. One packet would require a very large starter. Otherwise at least 3 if not 4 packs.

Imperial Juice is the same as 1318. You get more yeast but still wont be enough with one pack (depending on OG of course).


Yes OYL-052 is the same as Barbarian, Conan, VT Ale, etc.

Same with Conan you’re gonna need a lot of yeast to successfully ferment that cold. I usually shoot for at least 1.5m/ml/*plato. Usually more.

With the other strains you can ferment colder with not as much yeast but I’d still reccomend pitching more than normal if you’re going to be in the mid 50s to begin with.

Thanks for the additional details couchesending.

Have been looking at starters more and more lately as I started yeast yeast harvesting from my last batch.

 

[LagerLover78]

2565 is my house yeast,mostly fermented between 55*-59*...............Enough said!

Thanks hottpepper13! Kolsch yeast always seems to be a contender in these discussions

 

[couchsending]

2565 is my house yeast,mostly fermented between 55*-59*...............Enough said!

how do you deal with the fact that it doesn’t like to flocc? Do you fine everything or just lager it for 6 weeks?

 

[hottpeper13]

My grain to glass for most is 8-10 weeks. Have 4 on tap -3 at 33* lagering and 4 conditioning and awaiting a spot in the lager chamber. I can't cold crash so I primary for 3 weeks and then rack to keg with 4 oz of sugar and they sit at ambient for 2-4 weeks. If i need it faster I will fine it on it's way to the kegerator.

 

[LagerLover78]

Well, I pulled the trigger on a pack of Omega Lutra...was reading up on the yeast and figured it would be a cheap experiment!

Slightly revised recipe...pulled out the carapils and bumped up the 2 row Pilsner and Aromatic malts.

8.5 lbs 2 Row Pilsner
0.5 lbs Aromatic Malt

0.4 oz Saaz (whole cone) 50 Min
0.4 oz Saaz (whole cone) 10 Min
0.2 oz Saaz (whole cone) whirlpool

Single infusion mash at 147*F for 60 min...debating on a 90 min mash

Fermenting at 70*F (right in the middle of the temp range of the yeast to achieve clean profile according to Omega)

Going to give this a shot tomorrow!

 

[LagerLover78]

We shall see how this goes. Tweaked the recipe as seen below. Brewed it up today. Made a 2 liter starter last night, decanted a bit more than half and pitched the rest into the wort. Set the inkbird to 70*F (dead middle of the recommended temp to get a clean profile and shoved it in the kegerator.

8.5 lbs 2 Row Pilsner
0.5 lbs Aromatic Malt

1.0 oz Perle (pellets) 80 Min
1.0 oz Hallertau (whole cone) 25 Min
1.0 oz Saaz (whole cone) 5 Min

 

[Jayjay1976]

I'm brewing a kolsch this weekend too, just to see how the Lutra strain performs and how fast I can get a clean style beer from grain to glass.

A NEIPA I did recently with Hornindal was finished in 3 days, but I gave it a little more time and kegged it on day 5. For this kolsch I'm going to keg it as soon as the airlock stops bubbling, hopefully on day 3. Then after a few days to chill and carbonate, I hope to pull the first pint inside a week.

 

[LagerLover78]

This was around 2PM today

 

[LagerLover78]

I'm brewing a kolsch this weekend too, just to see how the Lutra strain performs and how fast I can get a clean style beer from grain to glass.

Think I'm going to let it sit a few days after the airlock is dead, package and cold crash for a couple days, then see how it turned out.

 

[LagerLover78]

Looks like high krausen is over, but the airlock is still bubbling pretty good (kind of hard to tell in the photo). Going to let it sit for a couple more days before packaging.

 

[LagerLover78]

If it's not over, it looks like it's starting to fall