When I first started lagering I was searching for my "House Strain" Much in like how I did for my ales. Of course for my ales I stick to 3 for my "safe bets". My favorite Safale 05, followed by 04, and then nottingham. Unless I'm looking for something special I generally stick to these because they are the cleanest and have yet to disappoint.
On to the topic at hand. I've been doing many lager's trying to find my go-to strain and I've settled on the S-23. I was first a little aprehensive about this yeast because I've read some off reports. But since I'm a huge fan of dry yeast I gave it a try. I pitched it into a black lager that I was working on and 2 months later I had one of the best beers I have ever brewed. It was so good that the following week I brewed the exact same receipe and it turned out equally as great.
I then moved to a light lager, and threw in the S-23 and the same great result. Next I tried a Red lager as an experiement. Awesomeness!
I tried other strains such as (White Labs - WLP840) and (Wyeast - 2035 & 2272) with not as much success. It wasn't bad, just not great.
On to my setup. I don't have a lagering set-up. What I work with is this. My basement stays at 55 degrees ambient. So if I ferment a lager it's at that temp. Maybe the other strains are better at other temps, but I know that the S-23 is great at the only temp I can ferment at. I only need one hydrated packet. Within 8 hours it's bubbling away and it's slowing down after 5 days. I give it a 3 days D-Rest at 65 degrees then move it to my house fridge that's at a constant 38 degrees for 2 - 3 weeks. Lagering temps are done in a secondary.
It's a fast turn around (For a lager) and produces a great tasting beer. If you are thinking about using this yeast I recommend these temps because I have had much success. I just figured that I'd give my 2 cents about this strain because all I've read are reports of people creating "bubble gum" beer with this. I have yet to have a bad turn out with my current method. Happy brewing people.. Feel free to ask any questions or comment.
On to the topic at hand. I've been doing many lager's trying to find my go-to strain and I've settled on the S-23. I was first a little aprehensive about this yeast because I've read some off reports. But since I'm a huge fan of dry yeast I gave it a try. I pitched it into a black lager that I was working on and 2 months later I had one of the best beers I have ever brewed. It was so good that the following week I brewed the exact same receipe and it turned out equally as great.
I then moved to a light lager, and threw in the S-23 and the same great result. Next I tried a Red lager as an experiement. Awesomeness!
I tried other strains such as (White Labs - WLP840) and (Wyeast - 2035 & 2272) with not as much success. It wasn't bad, just not great.
On to my setup. I don't have a lagering set-up. What I work with is this. My basement stays at 55 degrees ambient. So if I ferment a lager it's at that temp. Maybe the other strains are better at other temps, but I know that the S-23 is great at the only temp I can ferment at. I only need one hydrated packet. Within 8 hours it's bubbling away and it's slowing down after 5 days. I give it a 3 days D-Rest at 65 degrees then move it to my house fridge that's at a constant 38 degrees for 2 - 3 weeks. Lagering temps are done in a secondary.
It's a fast turn around (For a lager) and produces a great tasting beer. If you are thinking about using this yeast I recommend these temps because I have had much success. I just figured that I'd give my 2 cents about this strain because all I've read are reports of people creating "bubble gum" beer with this. I have yet to have a bad turn out with my current method. Happy brewing people.. Feel free to ask any questions or comment.