Grodziskie/Gratzer Water Profile

[Beekeeper]

At least I find that the two brands look different enough. I am unable to differentiate them by their aroma.

Image taken in full afternoon sunlight.

 

[monkeymath]

Tart yeast like K-97 is a flaw in Grätzer. US-05 and M54 are okayish but too much estery for the style. Among the dry options, Lalbrew Köln is the optimal choise and Gozdawa Alt is the ideal one.

This post made me smile In fact I recommended the yeast earlier in this thread and you said you hadn't tried it yet.
Well, I'm glad to hear that you also enjoyed it!

Short anecdote about my experience with the style: Of all the ~100 beers I've brewed, the highest praise that any of them has ever gotten was from a friend that was just blown away by the Grodziskie (like most people, he had never had anything like it; but unlike the majority of my friends, he just fell in love with it). I'll be visiting him in a couple of weeks, and I'm really bummed I cannot make and bring him a fresh batch of Grodziskie, as I am moving to a new apartment just prior to that.
But I'm pretty sure Grodziskie is going to be the second batch I brew in the new apartment. The first batch has to be a wet hop beer with hops grown at another friend's garden.

 

[Protos]

Yes, I was remembering your suggestion, both when I was buying the yeast and brewing with it.
Thanks for recommending this yeast!
Gozdawa's OGA-9 seems to be a better alternative to all other dry German Ale yeasts: it isn't as tart as K-97, it's less estery than M54, it's less finicky about pitch rate, lagtime and temps than Lalbrew Koelsch. That's why I think it's the ideal option for a good Grätzer (not for an Altbier though, where I prefer a tiny bit of peachy esters from Mangrove Jack's or Lalbrew versions).

 

[beren]

Anyone try RBY72 Grodziskie Yeast
Maybe we can split it when it's cold out

 

[Beekeeper]

Anyone try RBY72 Grodziskie Yeast
Maybe we can split it when it's cold out

Thanks for locating that. I almost went for 1BBL myself until I hit the shipping fee.

 

[beren]

Oh god, how bad is it? I didn't even look. Maybe I can get my sister in law to bring some back on a flight from Poland :-D

 

[Beekeeper]

Oh god, how bad is it? I didn't even look. Maybe I can get my sister in law to bring some back on a flight from Poland :-D

1BBL dose is $28. You then have shipping options:

 

[mashpaddled]

Haven't had an opportunity to try it, unfortunately.
As far as I can conclude from others' conversations, it barely differs from Weyermann.

I'm brewing a Grätzer today.
No experiments this time, just replicating the tried and true canonical recipe.
Got some rare ingredients: Polish yeast (the coveted Gozdawa Old German Ale which I think is ideal for Grätzer) and Polish Saazer (called Żatecki in this case). In the grain department, however, Weyermann is all that's available, so I'll have to be content with an undersmoked Grodzisz.
(The last word is a short affectionate term for Grodziskie in Polish, pronounced like "GRO-jeesh").

Have you tried smoking wheat malt yourself?

I started brewing these beers before the Weyermann product was available as that was my only option. I've never found their product to be remotely close to the level of smokiness I get. Even with malted wheat it can be smoked as long as the temperature stays low enough to preserve all the enzymes.

 

[beren]

1BBL dose is $28. You then have shipping options:

https://www.facebook.com/realbrewersyeast/Anyone close? Maybe can make a house call in the winter :-D

 

[MaxStout]

1BBL dose is $28. You then have shipping options:
View attachment 824764

Cripes, how heavy is a package with 1BBL dose of yeast, maybe a pound or two? 2nd day air usually runs $20-25 for small parcels in the lower 48. I know UPS uses a Byzantine chart of zones and such, so maybe cost is highly zone-dependent. I checked for my location (MN), and it was $65 shipping.

Think I'll brew a "sorta close" version with a 4 buck pack of Koln.

 

[Protos]

Have you tried smoking wheat malt yourself?

If I only had a technical possibility, I would.
I hate the fact that however thoroughly I follow the original water, mashing, hopping and fermenting guidelines, I'm still limited to a substandard and underperforming main ingredient, the WM malt.
Unfortunately, smoking my own is unavailable to me.

 

[AlexKay]

Here's what the Sugar Creek Grodziskie malt looks like, next to regular malted white wheat.