W34/70 & S-189, how low?

[Steveruch]

How far down into the 40s can these two operate?

 

[Harleybrew32]

I brewed a lager last year at 50f with W34/70, my fermentation chamber only went that low.
still very new to lagers myself, is it supposed to brew a cleaner beer the lower the fermentation temp?
sorry i cant help more, interested in other replies though.
cheers

 

[Steveruch]

I brewed a lager last year at 50f with W34/70, my fermentation chamber only went that low.
still very new to lagers myself, is it supposed to brew a cleaner beer the lower the fermentation temp?
sorry i cant help more, interested in other replies though.
cheers

I'm not necessarily going for cleaner beer. My fermentation cabinet doesn't have temperature control and right now it's dropping into the low 40s at night (mid 50s in daytime). Once it clouds back up the temperature will stay in the 48-56 range. I'd rather not have to wait the clear cold nights out. I've had good results in the low 50s.

 

[Harleybrew32]

I have another lager going now, but using WLP800 yeast cake. its in my fridge sitting at 51F.
do you have a container that you can put water half way up the fermentor, it will help maintain your temp.

 

[Harleybrew32]

or a reptile pad in the cabinet with a STC1000, they are cheap and plenty of DIY on youtube and on here too.

 

[Steveruch]

or a reptile pad in the cabinet with a STC1000, they are cheap and plenty of DIY on youtube and on here too.

Cheap or not, I'm in a situation of very low discretionary money and very little room. I'm just trying to find out if either of these yeasts would work in my current circumstances.

 

[McKnuckle]

Why not wrap it up tightly in blankets during the night? If you can insulate and preserve even 5 degrees of warmth, that will make a big difference. The beer won't change temp as quickly as the ambient in any case, either down or up for that matter. You can also over-pitch if you expect temps below the recommended range.

https://fermentis.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/SafLager-W-3470.pdf
https://fermentis.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/SafLager-S-189.pdf

 

[Stand]

I used to freeze 2L bottles and wrap them in a blanket next to my carboy. Why not heat some water in a 2L and do the opposite?

Or just bring it inside. 34/70 package recommends up to 70 degrees I believe?

 

[Steveruch]

I used to freeze 2L bottles and wrap them in a blanket next to my carboy. Why not heat some water in a 2L and do the opposite?

Or just bring it inside. 34/70 package recommends up to 70 degrees I believe?

It is inside.

 

[Franktalk]

Do you have electricity in that thing, Steve? If so, could you use a brew belt?

 

[Soulshine2]

How far down into the 40s can these two operate?

do a search, or take the packets in hand...the temp range is right on the labels

 

[Dland]

Optimal fermentation temps for both 34/70 and S-189 are listed at about 53-59F. While I have run them colder, they seem to do well and make good beer in this range. Usually I run mine set at 54F. At temps too much lower than 50F, you may risk a stall, especially near the end of fermentation when they are beginning to slow down.

My brew cellar is usually in the mid 40sF in winter. It is quite easy and takes very little heat to keep brews a little warmer. I use Fermwraps and bubble wrap for insulation, controlled by inkbird 308s. Any simple resistance heater pad or wrap with any insulation should work. I've got a batch with each of them going right now.

 

[Steveruch]

do a search, or take the packets in hand...the temp range is right on the labels

The temp ranges on the label only tell the reccomended range, not how low it can actually ferment.

 

[Steveruch]

Do you have electricity in that thing, Steve? If so, could you use a brew belt?

We have a 50ft extension cord on the tail end of a 15 amp circuit, but being on a limited budget leaves me hoping to find a free solution.

 

[Steveruch]

Optimal fermentation temps for both 34/70 and S-189 are listed at about 53-59F. While I have run them colder, they seem to do well and make good beer in this range. Usually I run mine set at 54F. At temps too much lower than 50F, you may risk a stall, especially near the end of fermentation when they are beginning to slow down.

My brew cellar is usually in the mid 40sF in winter. It is quite easy and takes very little heat to keep brews a little warmer. I use Fermwraps and bubble wrap for insulation, controlled by inkbird 308s. Any simple resistance heater pad or wrap with any insulation should work. I've got a batch with each of them going right now.

I'm glad you mentioned wrap with insulation. I got rid of my original mashing setup that had a insulation jacket to go around the mashtun, but I did hang on to the jacket thinking I might give biab a shot some day. It would probably work to keep the fermenting bucket from cooling off too much.

 

[Soulshine2]

The temp ranges on the label only tell the reccomended range, not how low it can actually ferment.

yeah , there is also listed usually in parenthesis is the optimal temp range...so you go by the low one of the widest range. But, why would you want to stray out of the recommended range anyway?

 

[Immocles]

I used to freeze 2L bottles and wrap them in a blanket next to my carboy. Why not heat some water in a 2L and do the opposite?

Or just bring it inside. 34/70 package recommends up to 70 degrees I believe?

Before I bought a controller and heat pad, I did the heated water in bottles surrounding a wrapped bmb inside of a plastic tub overnights in our unheated room. It didn’t work well, but it helped mitigate a few degrees for certain. That room definitely dipped into the low 40s that year, quite often. I was using a kolsch yeast, though. Beer turned out great, but I can’t speak to what a lager yeast would do. I was wrapping with a heated towel around the fermenter, then bottles, then wrapping everything in a heavy robe.

 

[monkeymath]

A guy on the German forum hobbybrauer.de once did an experiment where he fermented a 30 Plato beer at 1°C using W34/70. It went well until the yeast's alcohol tolerance was reached (I think somewhere around 12% abv?).

So, yeah, you should be fine.

 

[Steveruch]

yeah , there is also listed usually in parenthesis is the optimal temp range...so you go by the low one of the widest range. But, why would you want to stray out of the recommended range anyway?

It's not that I want to, but circumstances leave me dealing with non-optimal brewing conditions.

 

[Steveruch]

A guy on the German forum hobbybrauer.de once did an experiment where he fermented a 30 Plato beer at 1°C using W34/70. It went well until the yeast's alcohol tolerance was reached (I think somewhere around 12% abv?).

So, yeah, you should be fine.

Good to know.

 

[Soulshine2]

It's not that I want to, but circumstances leave me dealing with non-optimal brewing conditions.

where is your fermenter located that you have to worry about this? Move it to somewhere that has stablized temperatures...closet, kitchen counter , laundry room...

 

[Steveruch]

where is your fermenter located that you have to worry about this? Move it to somewhere that has stablized temperatures...closet, kitchen counter , laundry room...

We're living in an old school bus and the entire thing (280 sq. ft.) Is very much subject to the outside weather and there are no stabilized temps.

 

[Franktalk]

I am fermenting an American Light Lager right now with Saflager S-189 at 50-52F that seems to be doing well albeit a bit slow. I don't see anything about the fermentation that would concern me, even in light of the fact that I'm a bit below the optimal temperature range.

 

[monkeymath]

From what I've heard, commercial breweries ferment their lagers much colder, around 5°C. Of course they have access to lots of vital yeast.

 

[madscientist451]

My basement stays in the mid 40's all winter and I've fermented lagers down there for years. No, its not the "optimal" temperature, but the yeast does its job anyway, maybe a little slower, but it works fine. I usually make 20-25 gallons of lager a year.
At lower temperatures you have to make sure you pitch enough yeast.
I build up the yeast by brewing a 2 gallon batch and then pitch the whole slurry into the 5 gallon batch. After that, I pitch about half of the slurry into the next batch until the cold weather season is over, maybe 4-5 runs. Lager yeast is pretty hardy stuff, you can save the slurry for the next year, but I usually start over with a new strain.

 

[Dland]

Between the two yeasts, 34/70 seems more able to fully attenuate under low temp conditions. This is with direct dry pitch at mfg recommended quantities.