Omega Lutra yeast?

[royger]

I used Lutra for a Baltic Porter last week. Gravity dropped from 1.096 to 1.020 in less than 48 hours from pitching. Crazy stuff.

How did it turn out? I've done a Scottish Ale with Lutra and liked the result. Was planning on doing a Chocolate Porter now, and would appreciate some feedback.

 

[Gusso]

The Baltic Porter came out fantastic! Love that Lutra.

 

[royger]

The Baltic Porter came out fantastic! Love that Lutra.

Can I ask at what temperature did you pitch/ferment for the Baltic Porter? For the (Dark) Scottish Ale I pitched at ~30C and insulated the fermenter without further temperature control because I pressure fermented directly in a keg and ambient temperature of the room was ~20C. I'm not getting any ester profile at all, and I was wondering whether I should push the temperature further (35C?) since I would like some slight ester profile in the Porter, and not pressure ferment for the yeast to be more expressive.

Thanks.

 

[Miraculix]

Can I ask at what temperature did you pitch/ferment for the Baltic Porter? For the (Dark) Scottish Ale I pitched at ~30C and insulated the fermenter without further temperature control because I pressure fermented directly in a keg and ambient temperature of the room was ~20C. I'm not getting any ester profile at all, and I was wondering whether I should push the temperature further (35C?) since I would like some slight ester profile in the Porter, and not pressure ferment for the yeast to be more expressive.

Thanks.

I'm asking myself a similar question.

For a clean lager like beer, would it be ok to pitch at 35c and from there on, either wrap it in a blanket or let it stand at room temperature, or should I bring down the temperature to room temperature before pitching, without any insulation of the fermenter?

I want a clean beer, but never brewed with lutra.

 

[royger]

I'm asking myself a similar question.

For a clean lager like beer, would it be ok to pitch at 35c and from there on, either wrap it in a blanket or let it stand at room temperature, or should I bring down the temperature to room temperature before pitching, without any insulation of the fermenter?

I want a clean beer, but never brewed with lutra.

I pitched with wort at 30C and room temp at 20C and insulated with a thick blanket. Set the spunding valve to 5psi for the first 36h, then set to 20psi and left it for a week. I got a very clean profile this way.

 

[Miraculix]

I pitched with wort at 30C and room temp at 20C and insulated with a thick blanket. Set the spunding valve to 5psi for the first 36h, then set to 20psi and left it for a week. I got a very clean profile this way.

Thanks, but I wouldn't ferment with any pressure and pressure surpresss ester formation. So we don't know if it's the yeast, or the pressure that gave you the clean beer.

 

[Gusso]

Can I ask at what temperature did you pitch/ferment for the Baltic Porter? For the (Dark) Scottish Ale I pitched at ~30C and insulated the fermenter without further temperature control because I pressure fermented directly in a keg and ambient temperature of the room was ~20C. I'm not getting any ester profile at all, and I was wondering whether I should push the temperature further (35C?) since I would like some slight ester profile in the Porter, and not pressure ferment for the yeast to be more expressive.

Thanks.

I'm in South Carolina, so it was still pretty warm outside when I brewed. I chilled to about 85f and pitched. Fermentation stayed in the 80's. I'm old school, so just an immersion chiller with my garden hose. I couldn't get much lower than 85 in October. I'm sold on Lutra and Hornindal. I can see myself using those yeasts almost exclusively.

 

[Twinkeelfool]

Got my 2nd try with lutra fermenting now. First one had promise, I liked the light fruitiness but I stupidly kegged it on day 5, so the yeastyness never went away. Kicked myself, brewing for 15+ yrs and have never kegged that early haha.
Another blonde style ale, trying this one at 22c

 

[shoreman]

I think the 3 days and its done is misleading - still needs conditioning and seems to get better and cleaner with time. I have a cali common that's drinking nicely now, but I went through the general ale yeast stages I use. 1 week primary, 2 weeks in keg, drinking. Still faster than a lager.

 

[Antonio Martinez]

Just ordered grains for a robust porter recipe I'm going to try with Lutra. In the past I've underpitched to stress the yeast but I'll pitch the whole pouch with this one and see how it goes. Interested to see the results.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Just ordered grains for a robust porter recipe I'm going to try with Lutra. In the past I've underpitched to stress the yeast but I'll pitch the whole pouch with this one and see how it goes. Interested to see the results.

I have a porter fermenting right now that I considered using Lutra on but my LHBS was sold out of it. I went with WLP002 instead. I hope you post back with your results and impressions as I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on using it in a porter.

 

[Antonio Martinez]

@BongoYodeler, I'd be happy to post back with my impressions. Wondering if anyone has aged any beers using Lutra or Kviek in general? May put away a few bottles after packaging to see how it develops.

 

[Twinkeelfool]

I think the 3 days and its done is misleading - still needs conditioning and seems to get better and cleaner with time. I have a cali common that's drinking nicely now, but I went through the general ale yeast stages I use. 1 week primary, 2 weeks in keg, drinking. Still faster than a lager.

Yeah, I got a bit carried away and wanted to try it. Stupid haha

 

[Twinkeelfool]

@BongoYodeler, I'd be happy to post back with my impressions. Wondering if anyone has aged any beers using Lutra or Kviek in general? May put away a few bottles after packaging to see how it develops.

I did a Voss kviek mild ale which I dry hopped with dank US hops. Beautiful when young but after a few weeks in the bottle the hops faded right out. I guess that happens with any strain though

 

[optimal_pizza]

Hard seltzer made with Lutra, impressively clear!

 

[Antonio Martinez]

I did a Voss kviek mild ale which I dry hopped with dank US hops. Beautiful when young but after a few weeks in the bottle the hops faded right out. I guess that happens with any strain though

I've heard similar reports from others that the yeast character drops off but wasn't sure if that would translate to any negative effects after say 6+ months in the bottle.

 

[shoreman]

Yeah, I got a bit carried away and wanted to try it. Stupid haha

Did the same lolz.

 

[Twinkeelfool]

I've heard similar reports from others that the yeast character drops off but wasn't sure if that would translate to any negative effects after say 6+ months in the bottle.

Mine will be long gone by 6 months

 

[hottpeper13]

I hear ya Twink, I have friends that are using brewtan B to get the shelf life to 12 months. I don't know..... 6-8 weeks conditioning and then gone in 2 months after tapped.

 

[Antonio Martinez]

@Twinkeelfool It may not make it that long but I'll try to keep my hands off it for sake of experimentation

 

[Snark_Wolf_Brewing]

I think the 3 days and its done is misleading - still needs conditioning and seems to get better and cleaner with time. I have a cali common that's drinking nicely now, but I went through the general ale yeast stages I use. 1 week primary, 2 weeks in keg, drinking. Still faster than a lager.

Yeah, I noticed with the Pseudo-lager I brewed, it kept getting better the longer I conditioned it. But the 3 days and done as far as primary fermentation is pretty spot on.

 

[Gusso]

I have an Omega Lutra starting to puff up in my fridge. Gotta use it soon. Maybe an Imperial Lager type. Why not, worked well in my Baltic Porter.

 

[shoreman]

Here’s another Lutra beer, this one was fermented in the mid 70s and keg conditioned for 2 weeks. Clean yeast profile and it seems to be dropping much clearer in the keg. A great yeast for this style.

California common. Pils, Crystal 20, special roast and northern brewer hops

 

[Snark_Wolf_Brewing]

Here’s another Lutra beer, this one was fermented in the mid 70s and keg conditioned for 2 weeks. Clean yeast profile and it seems to be dropping much clearer in the keg. A great yeast for this style.

California common. Pils, Crystal 20, special roast and northern brewer hops

NICE!!!!

 

[AzOr]

Here’s another Lutra beer, this one was fermented in the mid 70s and keg conditioned for 2 weeks. Clean yeast profile and it seems to be dropping much clearer in the keg. A great yeast for this style.

California common. Pils, Crystal 20, special roast and northern brewer hops

View attachment 709371

Great pic. I’m thirsty now.

 

[Twinkeelfool]

My 2nd attempt is a very pale pale ale and it finished in a few days at 25c. I “cold crashed” it at 15c for 48hrs and it’s fairly clear. Will keg tomorrow. I think it’s a very good fairly neutral yeast with light fruitiness

 

[Twinkeelfool]

Beer is kegged. It’s nice, light fruitiness and easy drinking. Nothing outstanding but an easy drinker for sure.

 

[Antonio Martinez]

My ingredients for the robust porter recipe along with the Lutra arrived today. Just finished the brew day and ended up .002 gravity points higher than expected. I discovered prior to milling that my mill gap had crept out of spec, i.e. my calibrated credit card lol. I also found out just how heavy a grain bag with 15lbs of soaked grist really is. I've previously mashed all the grain together but today decided to begin the mash with just the 2-row and Munich, saving black patent/crystal 40l/chocolate malt for steeping so we'll see how that goes. Before next brew day I'm going to have to find out somewhere in the kitchen to anchor the hoist. In the end all went well and im impatiently waiting for it to finish so I can try it out.

 

[Miraculix]

I pitched one pack of lutra this morning in a 1.031 og (first non-biab batch, horrible efficiency, stuck mash, too much liquid left on the mash tun and so on.....) American pilsener type of beer. I was wondering if I should dry hop or not, but I decided not to, just to be able to percieve as much as I can that may come from the yeast.

 

[Miraculix]

I pitched one pack of lutra this morning in a 1.031 og (first non-biab batch, horrible efficiency, stuck mash, too much liquid left on the mash tun and so on.....) American pilsener type of beer. I was wondering if I should dry hop or not, but I decided not to, just to be able to percieve as much as I can that may come from the yeast.

I bottled it today, after about one week from pitching. It was one of the clearest beers I ever bottled. The yeast was building thick chunks and stayed in the fermenter. The beer tasted very promising. Very very clean, God hop aroma and good malt flavour. A bit green still, but given the fact that it's so young, it was outstanding.

The only thing that I could point at in a slightly negative way is, it was a tiny bit tart, but that might fade away with carbonation and lower temperature. I had this before with other yeasts and I was never able to perceive the tartness in the finished beer. No infection tartness, it's yeast related.

The good thing is, I get nothing from the yeast itself. It's just clean.

If this turns out well, it might be my new favourite clean yeast. Quick, no temperature control needed, clear beer after short amount of time, no esters, kind of like the perfect APA or IPA yeast imo.

I might do a maibock with it next to see what's happening with higher abv brews. This might get interesting.

The beer I bottled already tasted like a lager.

 

[stealthfixr]

Has anyone any experience with pressure fermenting Lutra?

 

[Snark_Wolf_Brewing]

Has anyone any experience with pressure fermenting Lutra?

Can't say that I have, but seeing how kveik yeasts ferment best at higher temperatures, it would be interesting to see what effects pressure would have on fermentation.

 

[RoggPodge]

I am so excited after reading this thread. Finally doing my first All Grain on the 31st! I decided to do a Kölsch style. I was debating Lutra or a traditional Kölsch Yeast. My mind is made up. I was planning on cold crashing and "lagering" at 35-40deg for a few weeks. Has anyone tried that with Lutra?

 

[Miraculix]

I am so excited after reading this thread. Finally doing my first All Grain on the 31st! I decided to do a Kölsch style. I was debating Lutra or a traditional Kölsch Yeast. My mind is made up. I was planning on cold crashing and "lagering" at 35-40deg for a few weeks. Has anyone tried that with Lutra?

You might want to ask yourself the question why you might want to do that.

 

[Antonio Martinez]

Here's a shot of the robust porter I made with outta. Not quite fully carbed yet but still very good. I'm surprised how clean it is. Ended up fermenting cool, for kviek, at 72F and pitched a single pouch into 5 gallons of 1.074 wort. I'll definitely be experimenting with lutra more.

 

[RoggPodge]

You might want to ask yourself the question why you might want to do that.

Meaning? What part are you questioning?

 

[Miraculix]

Meaning? What part are you questioning?

I simply want you to lay out why you would want to cold condition this. If you think about the reasons cold conditioning might be done for and compare this to this yeast, you might find the answer yourself.

From personnel experience regarding the necessity of cold crashing or not, after 7 days in the fermenter, I bottled perfectly clear beer. All the time at room temperature around 20c.

 

[AzOr]

Anecdotal experience here- I recently brewed a strong porter and split the batch into two 3 gallon batches.
The first batch I added ancho, cocoa and almonds. That was fermented with Imperial pub.
The second batch I added fresh and dried mint. That was pitched w Lutra.

Obviously it’s not a direct comparison of the two diff yeasts but they were both clean and didn’t have any yeast character that I could detect.
The Lutra was fermented at about 75f.
The pub was fermented at about 65f.
I’m happy with both and wouldn’t hesitate to use Lutra in the summer or if I’m in a time crunch.

 

[stealthfixr]

Are typical yeast starters used with Lutra?

 

[Miraculix]

Going to give this yeast a go in a couple weeks, with this Psuedo-Oktoberfest recipe:

Brewfather Link

Lutrafest Pseudo Lager
Märzen
5.9% / 14.2 °P
All Grain

69% efficiency
Batch Volume: 5.15 gal
Boil Time: 75 min
Mash Water: 7.48 gal
Sparge Water: 0.79 gal
Total Water: 8.27 gal
Boil Volume: 6.4 gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.053

Vitals
Original Gravity: 1.058
Final Gravity: 1.013
IBU (Tinseth): 21
Color: 11.5 SRM

Mash
Strike Temp — 154.9 °F
Temperature — 150 °F — 90 min
Temperature — 168 °F — 15 min

Malts (11 lb 12 oz)
4 lb (34%) — Avangard Pilsner Malt — Grain — 1.8 °L
3 lb 8 oz (29.8%) — Viking Malt Munich Light — Grain — 6.6 °L
3 lb (25.5%) — Avangard Vienna Malt — Grain — 2.8 °L
1 lb (8.5%) — Caramunich Malt — Grain — 41.9 °L
4 oz (2.1%) — Weyermann Melanoidin — Grain — 22.7 °L

Hops (2 oz)
1 oz (17 IBU) — Mount Hood 5.7% — First Wort
0.5 oz (4 IBU) — Mount Hood 5.7% — Boil — 15 min
0.5 oz — Mount Hood 5.7% — Boil — 0 min

Miscs
2.7 g — Baking Soda (NaHCO3) — Mash
5.3 g — Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) — Mash
1.5 g — Epsom Salt (MgSO4) — Mash
1.6 g — Gypsum (CaSO4) — Mash
4 ml — Phosphoric Acid 80% — Mash
1 g — Servomyces — Boil — 15 min
1 items — Whirlfloc — Boil — 15 min

Yeast
1 pkg — Omega Lutra OYL-071 78%
2 L starter
6.95 oz DME / 8.47 oz LME
324 billion yeast cells
1.19 million cells / ml / °P

Fermentation
Primary — 72 °F — 10 PSI — 7 days
Conditioning — 38 °F — 10 PSI — 14 days
Carbonation: 2.4 CO2-vol

Water Profile
Ca2+
59Mg2+
5Na+
32Cl-
86SO42-
48HCO3-
77

Any thoughts on the recipe and/or the need for a starter?

Why Munich, Vienna and caramunich? Unnecessarily complicated. I would stay with one of those, probably Vienna, but Munich should do it as well. Personal preference in play here...