Pale "lager" with Wyeast 2112

[beskinazi]

What are other homebrewers' experiences with attempting a pale lager using this California Common yeast? Some people say it works OK for this below 65°F. Others, such as Denny Conn on the AHA forum, say without elaborating that it doesn't work well.

I just attempted it myself, and the result, tasted out of the fermenter at terminal gravity, seems very citrusy. It seems a perfectly nice beer, but not like any lager I ever tasted. The grain bill was (rounding off):

84% German pils malt
7% flaked wheat
4% Cara 20
2% aromatic malt
2% acidulated malt

OG 1.056
FG 1.012
25 IBU calculated

For 5.5 gal total, I used 0.33 oz Wisconsin Ultra hops at minus 15 min for flavor, and 2.67 oz Wisconsin Ultra at knockout for aroma. That's a lot, I know, but I lose so much aroma during fermentation that I generally add a lot of aroma hops.

I pitched two swollen packs of Wyeast 2112. Fermentation was evident 8 h later, and finished in 5 days.

The ambient temperature was 58-60°F, and the fermenter was a stainless steel brew bucket, which I hoped would be conductive enough to mitigate warming of the brew during fermentation.

So I see three possibilities that I can't distinguish here: (1) The brew got too warm anyway, (2) Wisconsin Ultra hops impart a citrusy note, (3) Wyeast 2112 is in fact not very suitable for pale lager production.

 

[marc1]

What are other homebrewers' experiences with attempting a pale lager using this California Common yeast? Some people say it works OK for this below 65°F. Others, such as Denny Conn on the AHA forum, say without elaborating that it doesn't work well.

I just attempted it myself, and the result, tasted out of the fermenter at terminal gravity, seems very citrusy. It seems a perfectly nice beer, but not like any lager I ever tasted. The grain bill was (rounding off):

84% German pils malt
7% flaked wheat
4% Cara 20
2% aromatic malt
2% acidulated malt

OG 1.056
FG 1.012
25 IBU calculated

For 5.5 gal total, I used 0.33 oz Wisconsin Ultra hops at minus 15 min for flavor, and 2.67 oz Wisconsin Ultra at knockout for aroma. That's a lot, I know, but I lose so much aroma during fermentation that I generally add a lot of aroma hops.

I pitched two swollen packs of Wyeast 2112. Fermentation was evident 8 h later, and finished in 5 days.

The ambient temperature was 58-60°F, and the fermenter was a stainless steel brew bucket, which I hoped would be conductive enough to mitigate warming of the brew during fermentation.

So I see three possibilities that I can't distinguish here: (1) The brew got too warm anyway, (2) Wisconsin Ultra hops impart a citrusy note, (3) Wyeast 2112 is in fact not very suitable for pale lager production.

What size was the batch?

If the fermenter was in a bigger bucket of water, then it would have helped dissipate the heat and keep the beer temp stable throughout. In the air this doesn't work as well.

Try it again with a different yeast. That'll let you know what's doing what.

 

[dwhite60]

Nottingham supposedly works well below 60F and is very neutral. Might be a good choice for the next batch.

 

[beskinazi]

Sure, those are both good suggestions. I may try Nottingham, actually, to make a faux lager sometime.

I should explain that I was being purposely lazy. My brew bucket also has a lid with stainless steel coils, and if I connect it to a cold water reservoir (frozen jugs of water in a cooler), I can easily ferment in the mid 50s using a regular lager yeast. I don't have a lagering fridge, but this approach gives me a good kellerbier.

This time, though, I was busy and just wanted to get some pale beer ready quickly. Wyeast 2112 is promoted by some (even my local homebrew store) as maintaining lager characteristics at ambient temperature. And I had used the simple setup without cooling coils a few weeks before (also at 58-60°) to make a strong British ale using the Wyeast Scottish ale yeast. This gave quite a low fruitiness. So I was surprised by the Wyeast 2112 result. I doubt I'll use it again in the same way, although I've made multiple good California Commons with it.

 

[marc1]

Sure, those are both good suggestions. I may try Nottingham, actually, to make a faux lager sometime.

I should explain that I was being purposely lazy. My brew bucket also has a lid with stainless steel coils, and if I connect it to a cold water reservoir (frozen jugs of water in a cooler), I can easily ferment in the mid 50s using a regular lager yeast. I don't have a lagering fridge, but this approach gives me a good kellerbier.

This time, though, I was busy and just wanted to get some pale beer ready quickly. Wyeast 2112 is promoted by some (even my local homebrew store) as maintaining lager characteristics at ambient temperature. And I had used the simple setup without cooling coils a few weeks before (also at 58-60°) to make a strong British ale using the Wyeast Scottish ale yeast. This gave quite a low fruitiness. So I was surprised by the Wyeast 2112 result. I doubt I'll use it again in the same way, although I've made multiple good California Commons with it.

Maybe it's the hops then. I've never heard of Wisconsin Ultra, and a large flame out addition is not typical for classic lager recipes. Have you used them before?

 

[beskinazi]

No, I've never used Ultra before. I've used Wisconsin Mt. Hood with good results (even with my disproportionate flame out additions- I do like hop aroma). So I figured I'd try Ultra this time as a similar American hop with noble characteristics. I don't know how the local Ultra compares with the more usual Pacific Northwest version.

Of course it could still be the yeast. I might not have noticed the fruitiness in my Cal Commons simply because they have more caramel and malty character.

Thanks for the input!