First time with Dry Lager Yeast

[Mirilis]

So I made a batch of Helles last weekend and I split it into two 5.5 gal ferments. In one I put S-23, and the other W-34/70.. ive read a lot about them so we will see what i have in store.

I rehydrated them properly and gave a 30sec shot of O2 into each carboy at pitch.

In under 24 hours I had very active fermentation See pic below..



I pitched at 51 degrees and let rise naturally to 53 where its being held at right now.

Anyone have any opinion as to which will turn out better? I read that S-23 is fruity which sounds like a bit of a turn off.. and that w-34/70 is the same as WLP830 which is awesome.

 

[Mirilis]

bump, .. no one has any input who has used these two yeasts before?

 

[Bloom_198d]

Only used 34/70, but it is a phenomenal yeast. Clean and crisp and much more predictable than its liquid equivalent. Makes amazing common beers as well.

 

[marvaden]

S-23 is probably similar to what Bud uses. If you've ever had one of their "off" batches (which are the only ones that I actually can say I don't mind), they almost taste like a hefeweizen minus the clove.

 

[ghpeel]

My favorite beer to brew (dark Vienna lager) uses 34/70. Love it.

 

[goswell]

So I made a batch of Helles last weekend and I split it into two 5.5 gal ferments. In one I put S-23, and the other W-34/70.. ive read a lot about them so we will see what i have in store.

I rehydrated them properly and gave a 30sec shot of O2 into each carboy at pitch.

In under 24 hours I had very active fermentation See pic below..



I pitched at 51 degrees and let rise naturally to 53 where its being held at right now.

Anyone have any opinion as to which will turn out better? I read that S-23 is fruity which sounds like a bit of a turn off.. and that w-34/70 is the same as WLP830 which is awesome.

Did you try to cool the re-hydrated yeast down to 51 before pitching or did you just pitch the warm slurry into the cool wort? I want to try 34/70 but haven't worked out how to re-hydrate and pitch.

 

[progmac]

my guess is that the 34/70 will be better. going to subscribe to this thread.

 

[Mirilis]

Well I been drinking on em a little bit each day tasting as they age.
Both are very good and to answer someone's question above yes I cooled the rehydrated slurry to within a few degrees of pitch temp. I would make it again with the w34/70 even though the s23 made good beer.

The difference between the two is very subtle and it comes out a bit more as the beer warms in the glass... 45 degrees is definitely the sweet spot for drinking this.

The 34/70 is just slightly more clean and malty so its my new lager house yeast for a while.

 

[roastquake]

I'm subscribing too, I've only used 34/70 for true lagers and they've all been outstanding. Only used s-23 for hybrids, very fruity in the 60s, it probably wasn't the best use for that yeast

 

[Mirilis]

To rehydrate I used like 70ish degree bottled water and followed the instructions from manufacturer. To chill I took a bottle of water from the fridge and just added little bit then waited a few minutes and added a bit more... Repeat till slurry was about 5-7 degrees warmer than pitch temp and dumped it