Will 1056 work or a german ale?

Hello friends,

I planned on brewing a german Altbier this weekend. Ordered my supplies from my local HBS and when i picked them up today I was told they didn't have any german ale yeasts but maybe a czech lager would work. I refrained from asking why i can order them online if they don't have them, and went through the fridge to find something that would work. I ended up getting Wyeast 1056. The enemy you know, right?

My basement sits around 60F which was my motivation for doing a german ale, since that is the ideal fermentation temp for them. Will the 1056 be ok this cool and is there anything i can do to make it work for the style?

 

Also, if i run into this again does anyone have a suggestion for a common yeast that would be a good substitute?

 

I have used k-97 before as a dry yeast for an Altbier but I still preferred WLP036. Another decent choice for me is WY2112 or wLP810.

 

1056 is a good American ale yeast. Welcome to dry yeasts?

BTW, I made a very good Kolsch using 1056. People loved it.

 

The 1056 will work as the low end of the temp spectrum is 60*.

 

The issue of non-available yeast dogs me on a regular basis.
It seems every time a good inspiration comes up the yeast I seek isn't in stock even though the local brewshop carries a good selection of dry and White Labs liquid yeasts. The problem is ... I tend to like brewing German styles, too, and those are the single most popular liquid yeasts in the store.
My solution?
Find a good neutral yeast that can work in multiple styles and tinker with your grains a bit. If they don't have WLP001, try US-05 or 1056 fermented to the cool side. Unfortunately, some special styles will suffer if you don't have the right strain so alts, hefeweizens, and bocks can be a PITA to plan. WLP830 is typically gone from my shop, but alternatives like WLP802, WLP029, or dry S-189 are usually on hand because no one wants them even though they're outstanding strains when fermented properly.

 

Thanks! Sounds like i made the best choice with what was available.

 

Not a problem at all! I too enjoy German styles. I detest going to a brewery to discover IPA after IPA after IPA.

In my limited experiences I totally enjoyed and recommend the Penn Brewery in Pittsburgh, PA.

 

I live in Pittsburgh and for German beers they are award winning. Very traditional in their methods.

 

Remember going past this location in the 1960's. I'd ask my Dad, "What are the holes in the hill?". My Dad didn't know anything about brewing, but said, "Oh, they brew beer and move it back into the hills". In other words, what we now understand as lagering. Penn Brewery is one of my favorite places

 

1056 is actually fruitier on the cold side. If you want cleaner ferment it around 68.

I know it’s common belief that Kölsch needs to be fermented cold but so many of the best producers of the style don’t necessarily do that. Chuckanut produces the most awarded Kölsch in the country and they ferment it at 65. I can’t remember if it’s Fruh, Reissdorf, or one of the others but they ferment in the mid 60s as well.

1056 will make a great Alt/Kolsch. Just use continental European ingredients and very few could probably tell the difference.

 

When possible, I buy the yeast first at a local shop. Then I get everything else either there or online.

 

+1 on the WY2112. I use it with Vienna lagers and Märzen. Ferment it on the low side with a good starter for 3-5 days then raise to 65° for a few days or until finished. Cold crash, keg and carb the lager for a few weeks. For the Märzen I Lager several months.

 

As a follow up, I cracked one of these last week. It was decent but didn’t taste very altbier-y. It ended up being a little tart which hid a lot of the maltiness. When I first posted my question I looked around the forum and this seems to be typical of 1056 fermented cool. My friend fermented one of our pale ales last summer with 1056 and doesn’t see the point of temperature control so it turned into a peach Ester bomb so if you want a clean fermentation from 1056 keep it in the middle of its temperature range.

 

Thank you for coming back to report your results!