WLP0029 to make "lagers"?

[badmajon]

Hi, one of my favorite yeasts to use is WLP0029, German Ale/Kolsch yeast. The thing that makes it pretty special, imo, is that it can keep going in the high 50s (albeit slowly) and it has an incredibly crisp and clean flavor profile.

I don't have any lagering capabilities b/c I don't have a spare ferm chamber, so right now I'm limited to ales. However I was wondering if I could possibly cheat a bit and use this yeast in a lager recipe, and get something that tastes like a lager if I ferment it low enough? Has anyone tried doing that with this yeast or something like it?

 

[pericles]

If you're getting bored of Kolsch, I'd recommend that, instead, you use WLP810 to make a California Common. It's also a hybrid yeast.

 

[jfowler1]

I just had my first experience with WLP029, and I am very happy with the result.

I brewed a beer loosely based on the Centennial Blonde recipe. I used German Pils, Munich II, and good portion of Carahell. I used Centennial for bittering and Cascade for finishing.

I used Mosher's Ideal Mild Ale/Dark Lager water profile.

I pitched at a beer temp of 58F, and fermented at a beer temp of 61F for about 3 days. As the krausen fell after day three, I began upping the temp 1 degree a day, topping out around 65F. After 10 days in the carboy, I crashed down to 38 for 4 days.

Long story short, I could not believe how clean the beer is. The other thing that shocked me was the clarity - I always heard that it takes a really long time for WLP029 to fall out of suspension, but this was not my experience. I typically would say that a lager should be brewed with a lager yeast, but the Ale I made is very lager like, despite a quick 2 week turnover. IMO, a perfect 4.5 % ABV beer for football season.

So IOW, give it a shot in a lager recipe, but I would not overstress the yeast with a super-cool fermentation. Ferment around 60F, and warm it up for the end of conditioning. Couple that with a brief lagering, and I think you will be happy.

 

[paraordnance]

You can take lager grain bill and hop schedulle, brew it like one, but as soon as you pitch WLP029 it becomes Kolsch You can call it lager if you like but its not going to be lager by any means. Yeast is basically what sets them apart. Since ingredients and techniques for producing both is vertually identical