Bootleg Biology Regal

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Middle-aged brewer looking for easy button
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Has anyone tried Bootleg Biology's Regal? It sounded interesting.... a blend of lager years that can be fermented warm.
 
I have tried it and like it very much. My review is in the Bootleg Biology website. Unlike some reviewers who had slow fermentations, mine was very fast to start, cleared quickly, and seemed to need only a very short lagering period. The beer reached final gravity in five days (1.054 to 1.011, 79% AA), with the first three days at 52F and the final two as high as 78F. The result was as good or better than any of several other well-known lager strains I have tried like 34/70, WLP833, L17 Harvest, etc al. It was far better then any of the kveik strains like Oslo which are alleged to make lager at warm temps.

The one caveat that I need to mention is that the beer I made was a Fastenbier -- a lightly-smoked Märzen. It is a more flavorful beer than many lagers, so it could have masked some off-flavors, but neither I nor anyone else who tried the beer noted any. It was well-liked by all who tried it at my brew club meeting.
 
I have tried it and like it very much. My review is in the Bootleg Biology website. Unlike some reviewers who had slow fermentations, mine was very fast to start, cleared quickly, and seemed to need only a very short lagering period. The beer reached final gravity in five days (1.054 to 1.011, 79% AA), with the first three days at 52F and the final two as high as 78F. The result was as good or better than any of several other well-known lager strains I have tried like 34/70, WLP833, L17 Harvest, etc al. It was far better then any of the kveik strains like Oslo which are alleged to make lager at warm temps.

The one caveat that I need to mention is that the beer I made was a Fastenbier -- a lightly-smoked Märzen. It is a more flavorful beer than many lagers, so it could have masked some off-flavors, but neither I nor anyone else who tried the beer noted any. It was well-liked by all who tried it at my brew club meeting.

have you used the yeast again? hopefully in something a little lighter/cleaner? i'm curious as to what the flavor profile is on this one. a cleaner lighter lager like you get with 34/70 and northern strains? or more ester-heavy stuff like you get with s33?
 
have you used the yeast again? hopefully in something a little lighter/cleaner? i'm curious as to what the flavor profile is on this one. a cleaner lighter lager like you get with 34/70 and northern strains? or more ester-heavy stuff like you get with s33?
Not yet. I have two packs waiting to be used, though.
 
Not yet. I have two packs waiting to be used, though.
My most recent batch with Regal Lager was a toasted hickory bark Vienna lager. The bark's flavor is clear, but again, I'm very, very pleased with how well this blends works. Clean, crisp, and absolutely 100% lager in style. The two batches I have made with this strain have easily been the two best lagers I have made. Other strains I have used have been the Weihenstephaner, Augustiner, Ayinger, and two different Urquel strains. These strains have come from Wyeast, White Labs, Omega, Imperial, Fermentis, and Lallemand, both liquid and dried. I prefer every beer I've made with Regal Lager Blend over every beer I've made with the others.

Fermentation reached FG in 6 days, but I left it in the fermenter an extra week. This will be my house lager yeast for crisper styles of lager. It may attenuate too fully for maltier German styles, but I haven't tried it, either.
 
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what's the use-case for this yeast? For those of us without temperature control, we can't pitch at 50F as recommended. If you do have temperature control, why not use it, and get a traditional lager with traditional fermentation profile?
 
what's the use-case for this yeast? For those of us without temperature control, we can't pitch at 50F as recommended. If you do have temperature control, why not use it, and get a traditional lager with traditional fermentation profile?
Valid questions. Your arguments against Regal Lager Blend are the same ones I have used against the various strains touted for pseudo-lager, like Lutra and Oslo. The yeasts are fine, I guess. Use them in an IPA, but really, no one is fooling me when they attempt making lagers with them. They're not necessarily bad beers, but please don't call them lagers. Even the pros. Just stop! That's where this one is different. It creates really good lager beer.

The main advantage over conventional lager strains is that Regal Lager needs cooling for only a few days instead of a few weeks during fermentation. Some of us have limited cooling capacity. Maybe someone has a cooling coil, but uses ice water instead of glycol. That's what I did before I bought a glycol chiller. A few days of restocking ice is manageable. A few weeks is a PITA. Few of us have unlimited fermentation cabinet space, either. Regal Lager beers also clear VERY quickly and do not require months of lagering to clean up fermentation byproducts. No need for a separate diacetyl rest. No other off-flavors that I can detect. An appropriate level of sulfur. It tastes really good much faster than other lager yeasts I have used.

I admit it. I enjoy being able to turn out a high quality lager beer in a month or less. And I don't miss the weeks of angst when I'm not certain that the beer I am lagering will actually improve. It always does, but I fret over it anyways.

I truly love the flavors I'm getting from this yeast. I've tried many lagers yeasts of various types and my best tasting lagers have been made with Regal Lager Blend. Your comment suggests that you doubt that this yeast has a "true lager profile." That's simply not the case. Unmistakably lager and definitely not a gawdawful pseudo-lager. For me, it's been pretty miraculous.
 
sounds like a good lager blend

I suspect you'd get similar results with most any lager yeasts. If you can control the temperature for 3-4 days, that's when most of the ester profile is set. Then ramp to warm it up and finish instead of waiting weeks at 50F for the same process to finish.
 
i suspect you'd get similar results with most any lager yeasts. If you can control the temperature for 3-4 days, that's when most of the ester profile is set. Then ramp to warm it up and finish instead of waiting weeks at 50F for the same process to finish.
While I haven't followed Regal Lager's dramatic schedule of 3 days at 50F then 85-90F with other yeasts, I have done what I believe you are suggesting many times with other lager yeasts. It's the accelerated method advocated by Marshall Schott of Brülosophy. That shaves 7-10 days from fermentation, but it doesn't help with the weeks of lagering that other lager yeasts need to clean up after themselves. Regal Lager doesn't seem to need any more than 3-7 days of lagering to clear and be ready to serve.
 
While I haven't followed Regal Lager's dramatic schedule of 3 days at 50F then 85-90F with other yeasts, I have done what I believe you are suggesting many times with other lager yeasts. It's the accelerated method advocated by Marshall Schott of Brülosophy. That shaves 7-10 days from fermentation, but it doesn't help with the weeks of lagering that other lager yeasts need to clean up after themselves. Regal Lager doesn't seem to need any more than 3-7 days of lagering to clear and be ready to serve.

the fast cleanup is appealing

I may try a little experiment myself. Follow the Brulosophy Quick Lager method, but add a pinch of dry Oslo flakes in addition to 34/70 main pitch at the same time. See if it conditions any faster
 
I have a lager fermenting now with this yeast. Grist is 10# German pilsner, 1# mix of rye/wheat. (I ran out of rye)
Hops are Czech Saaz. I made a vitality starter which took off quickly. Hours later I pitched it into about six gallons of 1.052 wort in the mid seventies, put that in the ferm fridge set to 55. Airlock activity that evening. Later turned down to 53. Slow steady bubbles in airlock since. I plan on raising it five or ten degrees a day after three days. I'll report my results.
 
Now clearer and improved taste.
I feel like the my last pouch of Regal Lager is more powdery and clears more slowly than what I used last year. Have you tried clarifying with gelatin or Biofine Clear? My American Pale Lager brewed a couple months ago, fermented with Regal Blend, and fined with gelatin is crystal clear now.
 
I generally don't use finings, my beers clear in the keg nicely. This one worried me a bit as it stayed hazy and the taste wasn't what I had hoped. It has definitely improved after a few weeks.
 
If any one was curious, it's a blend of Weihenstephan (34/70) and Oslo, per Chop and Brew. So repitching would keep shifting towards one of those, presumably Oslo.
 
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