Just posting a thank you and Happy New Year! 2nd try at a warm ferment lager turned out very well. Thanks to all of you for the info and support!
Brew On and Cheers to All!
Brew On and Cheers to All!
I used 34/70 and it was great! I used a higher chloride water profile (Around 80ppm chloride and 30ppm sulfate)and it seems like 34/70 is very expressive to water changes so this oktoberfest was very full and malty. I'll probably go back to a simple and lower ppm water profile for this next year's batch. I may even omit CaCl altogether and just do some sulfate.Beautiful beer. What yeast? How does it taste?
I'm planning on doing my first warm fermented lager next weekend. I came across a post on reddit where the poster said they had better results pitching 34/70 around 40F and letting it warm naturally at room temperature. Anyone have experience doing this?
I can't get my wort down that cold with my plate chiller, but I usually get down to 60 and let it warm up to 64-66. Last one done this way went grain to glass in 12 days and is (at least to me) a perfect representation of a Czech Premium; no esters, decent malt backbone, and the Saaz hops (that I may have been a bit too heavy-handed with) really pop. Just my opinion, but starting that cold and letting it ramp up naturally to traditional ale-fermenting temps is just creating a longer lag time. Really no need to, and saves on water for chilling.
*edit: for the record, above lager was fermented on 2nd generation 34/70; I always get the best results with generations 2-5. Fresh yeast takes a bit longer to get started.
I can't get my wort down that cold with my plate chiller, but I usually get down to 60 and let it warm up to 64-66. .
*edit: for the record, above lager was fermented on 2nd generation 34/70; I always get the best results with generations 2-5. Fresh yeast takes a bit longer to get started.
Hard to say. I would tend to go with less cells, however. I don't use liquid yeast, ever. I do, however, use a vitality starter with fresh dry yeast, which I think helps; basically using first runnings from the tun to rehydrate the yeast, and let it sit for about an hour while I'm sparging/boiling/chilling to give it a head start. I've seen many pro vs. con arguments on it, but it works for me. And although I know it's silly from a chemistry standpoint, I think harvested yeast starts faster, and works better, because it already has; it's proven, so to speak. Only the strong survive.In your opinion do you think the fresh yeast take longer to get started because there's less cells? Or because it has to rehydrate first?
So i accidentally forgot to set my fermentation fridge for lager temps and now my Pilsner fermented with Wyeast 2007 is fermenting at 68f. I've had experience warm fermenting lager strains in the past with 34/70 but that's been well documented to have good results. Anyone ever experiment with this strain at high temps. Its already been five days since I've pitched my yeast so it should be almost completely done with fermentation and a little to late to avoid any issues I may have.
Looks great, I will have to give the 2007 a shot
6 days at 62F and the gravity is down to 1.006 from 1.051. No detectable off flavors or odors. Fined with gelatin and cold crashing in the keg right now. Really looking forward to tasting this when its carbed.
Remember when people said you had to take 4 weeks to make an ale and months before you could drink a lager? I love that I can turn a pretty good Pilsner around in two weeks with warm fermentation, gelatin and burst-carbonation.
Did anyone mention Saflager S23 yet? It ferments clean at higher temperatures. I have used it before with great results.
Did anyone mention Saflager S23 yet? It ferments clean at higher temperatures. I have used it before with great results.
It's been mentioned a few times, but it seems to be one of those Marmite yeasts (sic), people either love it or (probably a majority) hate it. It seems to get very estery for some people - whether that's just their taste sensitivity or whether it's eg very pernickety about fermentation conditions, I don't know.
Nice! I'll have to try it next time if i'm in a pinch. I ended up using 2007 because they didn't have 34/70 and was trying to doing the quick lager method but ended up fermenting at 68 from the beginning. Came out excellent!
What temp did you use and what was your fermentation schedule?
Same here, house is 68-70f and get great results from 34-70. One pack will work fine, save the 23 for another batch. Post your results!So this weekend I have all the ingredients to do a 5.5 gal batch. I'm making an all pilsner premium with 1 oz cluster at 45, then saaz at 30 5 and WP. I only have one packet of 34/70, but I also have one of s23. Is one packet of 34/70 enough. I'll ferment at around 70, as that is the temp in the house and I don't have a temp controlled FC at this time. Does this sound okay?
If you only have one pack I’d rehydrate it as per the instructions to give them that little bit of a boost. Completely your call though.^^ Will do.
I was thinking I would hydrate with some chilled first runnings to give it a kick start.If you only have one pack I’d rehydrate it as per the instructions to give them that little bit of a boost. Completely your call though.
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