Urquell Wyeasy 2001

[PeterM]

Hi!

Well im having one of those months where everything doesnt seem to be working quite right. I pitched a nice hoegarden clone with some wit yeast it was really active and nearly foamed over the top of the primary after just one night then nothing! I seem to have restarted it after 3 days of care and love and now I think i may have a problem with my Pilsner Urquell clone -

Basically the yeast stinks! It's bubbling away nicely but smells very strongly of bad eggs! I couldnt resist and did the unmentionable and opened the lid to have alook and smell and while it looks okay nice kruasen and everything it really does smell quite bad, could this be an infection? tho I would have thought if this is the case the yeast wouldnt be so "happy" !

 

[Yooper]

What temperature are you fermenting the Pilsner Urquell clone? Lager yeast stinks to high heaven if it's fermenting over about 52-55 degrees.

The wit sounds fine.

 

[PeterM]

Its around 60F so that would make sense. Wow these larger yeasts must need to be really cold! First larger ive done so im sort of in beer mode and thought it was easy cold enough - should have read the documentation with it should be between 48-55. Do you think this will affect the flavour a lot if I dont reduce the temperature?

 

[Yooper]

Yes, it'll definitely change the flavor of the beer. Lagers are "clean" and crisp without any fruitiness in the aroma. That comes from fermenting with lager yeast at about 50 degrees, and then after the fermentation is over, the beer is racked to a new vessel and lagered ("stored") at about 34 degrees for 8-12 weeks. That's how a true lager is made.

You're kind of making a lager hybrid, so you may have some esters (those fruity smells and flavors) from a higher fermentation temperature. I've had some good ales that had lager-like characteristics fermented at 60 degrees, though, so you may find that you have a really good beer at the end of this!

 

[mkling]

I use the Urquell yeast often and it does have a strong sulfury characteristic, much more so than most lagers. You even get it some if you ferment at traditional lager temperatures. However, let fermentation work its way through and it will largely go away. Time will be your friend with this beer. It's a great yeast but does stink something awful when it's first fermenting.

 

[PeterM]

Cheers for the quick responses! I'm learning more and more that this brewing thing requires paitence! It is very stressfull at times but at least I have quality beer to enjoy to help deal with it