lager yeast

[birds40]

Has anyone ever brewed a wheat beer with lager yeast? Any ideas how it would taste?

 

[beerlackey]

Yes, lager yeasts work very well with wheat beers - Pyramid Hefewizen is one commercial example and in my opinion one of the best American Style wheat beers. There are numerous other micro breweries wheats that use lager yeast as well.

Until recently, I have been unable to ferment lager beers due to lack of temp control during fermentation. But I have made 3 wheats with 'psuedo' lager yeasts (Wyeast Koltch, Nottingham dry, and White labs San Francisco lager) and they all have been excellent and got favorable comments from my fellow brew buddies.

Keeping the temp for these yeasts at 59-60 degrees with a cooler and ice bottles, these wheats were very crisp and lager like.

Now that I have the ability to ferment at true lager temps, I plan on brewing an American wheat with real lager yeast before the summers end. My brew buds have suggested American lager yeast WLP840 for light and crisp or WLP830 - German Lager for a maltier taste - cant decide, so guess will have to make both...

So no worries on the lager yeast and wheat beer - just remember that you will get crisp and clean beer - no clove flavors like you would get with German wheat yeasts.

 

[jonmohno]

You can probably lager about anything. Not real shure about high alcohol though.I used danstar munich ale yeast at a low temp and never got clove with a wheat,fairly dry and 05 or nottingham like.

 

[birds40]

Thanks! My next brew is going to be a wheat with lager yeast, I'm all about that crisp clean taste!