WLP835 German Lager X is in Production

[dx250]

I was just billed today, now I need to figure out what to brew with this yeast now. Anyone use this yeast in the past?

 

[thespiff]

I haven't used it before, but I'm going to do a pretty straightforward german lager with mine. 50/50 split of Weyermann Pale and Munich I, plus 1/3LB of Carapils. Hop to ~25 IBUs with Spalt or something else from the Noble family.

I'm tempted to try a Schwarzbier, but I want to rebrew my last german lager with tweaks from my tasting notes. Otherwise, how does one improve?

I like to do a Hochkurz mash on my lagers: 30 minutes at 146F, then raise to 158F for another 30 minute rest, the mashout at 168F. Beersmith doesn't know what FG to estimate with this sort of mash, and I know Brulosophy has ruled it pointless. But, I BIAB and it's pretty easy for me to do multiple rests, so why not. (You'll never talk me into pulling a decoction again though.)

Hopefully it gets here with sufficient time for me to build up a good start before my next scheduled brew on MLK day.

 

[waldoar15]

Where are you buying it from?

I'm always interested in trying new lager yeasts.

 

[couchsending]

It’s an awesome yeast. It’s one of the most popular yeasts used by professionals and one of the hardest for home brewers to get. I believe it’s the most popular yeast for pros from BSI. It’s supposedly the Andech’s yeast.

It’s a little slow to get going but finishes in a 7-10 day period fermented at 48. It doesn’t produce a ton of sulfur and has a nice soft profile to it. Not as dry as 34/70 and not as malty as say 2206.

I never do a diacetyl rest and have never got any diacetyl from it.

It’s my go to lager yeast. Got it on generation 4 at the moment.

I’ve ordered another 6 vials of it just in case I can’t get it again. No really desire to use anything else at the moment.

 

[dmtaylor]

It couldn't be any better than 833....... could it?!

 

[thespiff]

Where are you buying it from?

Pre-ordered via the WL yeast vault. It recently crossed the threshold for them to make a batch of it.

https://www.whitelabs.com/yeast-ban...il&utm_term=0_c4a32e6361-ead02444f5-244981257

 

[dx250]

Well this sounds promising! it I tend to stay in the English styles so I thought that this yeast would force me out of my comfort zone. As of now I am leaning toward a dortmunder or a maibock.

 

[cladinshadows]

It couldn't be any better than 833....... could it?!

Not bloody likely!

 

[Hellbender1]

Just received my WLP835 in the mail today. I haven't used it previously but I'm going to overbuild a starter to save some for later and use the bulk of it on Gavin's Majestic Munich Dunkel: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/gavins-majestic-munich-dunkel.565768/=
I brewed this one a year ago with 833, no decoction, and ghetto lagered it in my garage. It was outstanding!

 

[dx250]

Schwarzbier it is, mine showed up today. Now I need to get it in my yeast bank.

 

[Bilsch]

Mine showed up today as well.. and I didn't even order any.

 

[cladinshadows]

Seems that there is not a way to order once it's under production. Is that right?

 

[dx250]

Unfortunately that is correct. You could try calling WL to see if there are any extras.

 

[thespiff]

Hmmm I am still waiting on mine. Had to reschedule my MLK day brew. No e-mail updates or anything. Maybe it will show up this week?

 

[dx250]

The last one I was in on I got mine showed up 3 weeks after the first that posted but only took 2 days from the ship date. My guess is multiple production batches.

 

[couchsending]

My vault experiences with White Labs have been so all over the place.

I’ve only ever ordered German Lager X on the vault program. Last year I ordered 4 vials. They shipped me 2 vials randomly, 2 months after they were produced. I called and said I ordered 4 but only got two. Two days later they shipped me 4 more? Got 6, paid for 2??

Placed another order randomly this summer through the vault for 835. Forgot about it completely. Saw that it had been “released” and was going into production in December. Downloaded the app and saw I could just order it through the app. Placed an order and radio silence??? 1 month later I thought maybe my CC on file wasn’t updated, placed another order. Radio silence.

Called the next day and talked to someone who saw both orders in the system but was unsure why neither had shipped?? He cancelled one and said that the yeast was in production and I would be notified when it shipped. Two weeks go by, radio silence.

I call again after randomly receiving 4 vials from the vault order I had placed during the summer. Again, zero notification that they were even coming. Talked to some guy who was clearly the most competent person I’ve ever dealt with there. He says I have two other orders in their system and he has no idea why they never shipped???? Gives me a 20% discount, free overnight shipping, and sends me a bunch of SWAG and I wasn’t even complaining, just incredibly confused.

All in all some of the worst customer service experiences ever followed by one of the best.

Place strikes me as a complete sh*t show.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

White Labs seem to have been having real problems in the last year or so - I guess they were trying to keep production going whilst cleaning up after the diastaticus lawsuit, but it seems they struggled. I've heard all sorts of problems from both the retail and wholesale side, it's no surprise that with all that going on, the Vault went down the priority list. There was a thread last year about the delays people had with WLP773 emerginng from the Vault, I think it took about 3 months from money being taken to yeast in hand.

 

[thespiff]

It's a bummer. Lagers for me require some planning since I primary in my kegerator. I try to leave a gap in my pipeline rather than pull kegs. Plus with these tiny little WL pitches I need time to build up an appropriate starter. Then find a free weekend. At this point I'm gonna probably move on to something else.

 

[Bilsch]

IMO just use 2206 and never look back at 835. Not worth the hassle.

 

[thespiff]

Well I am still waiting for my Lager X vial. Talked to customer service 4 weeks ago and they said they would send it out and I'd receive it the following week. 2 weeks went by and I e-mailed again to indicate I still don't have it. Radio silence since.

 

[BrewingAroundtheRrealm]

Well I am still waiting for my Lager X vial. Talked to customer service 4 weeks ago and they said they would send it out and I'd receive it the following week. 2 weeks went by and I e-mailed again to indicate I still don't have it. Radio silence since.

I guess I should call them then. I'm still waiting as well. I've not had an issue in the past.

 

[TooManyTacos]

Same here, bought the yeast, was billed in Jan, and honestly forgot about it till now. I'm emailing them right now.

 

[schematix]

Save yourself the hassle. Cancel the order and get some Wy2206.

 

[Bilsch]

I got 10 tubes of it I didn't even order so I'm thinking if others got phantom orders as well, they are probably out and don't want to make another full batch for just a few people.

 

[couchsending]

Looks like it’s an October/November/December vault release along with wlp030 (another yeast I’d like to try).

How long does it take retailers to get the vault releases usually? Does White Labs actually ship them out In a timely manner or is it all over the place as usual?

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Looks like it’s an October/November/December vault release along with wlp030 (another yeast I’d like to try).

How long does it take retailers to get the vault releases usually? Does White Labs actually ship them out In a timely manner or is it all over the place as usual?

It really varies - and virus disruption is making things even less predictable. They were getting better last year - the Vault stuff was generally coming in to the UK about a month into the quarter, but it does depend on the retailer a bit, I get the sense that most here hold back until a couple of people ask them. But if you ask them directly then they may add one on for you to an earlier order than they would otherwise do.

I see WLP665 is rounding off the Q4 releases.

 

[Twinkeelfool]

I have a 1.035 flaked rice lager with this yeast fermenting now. Pitched at 8c, then raised to 10c. My fermentation fridge is dying so I had to get a bag of ice to keep it at 10c for the first few days. Brought it up to 14c for the last few days. Now at 1.009, and smells and tastes really clean. So far it’s been really easy to use. I like easy, easy is good

Tempted to brew another batch and put on the yeast cake but with my fridge struggling I’m not sure. I could just get another bag of ice I suppose.

 

[Twinkeelfool]

I had a taste of my lager today, early days but I definitely like it. Very clean with a very light sulphur note that is quite pleasant. I’m pretty happy with how it went. Fermented fairly quickly at lager temps with no fuss

 

[Twinkeelfool]

Got my 2nd batch of rice lager fermenting now, and brewing a Schwarzbier to go on the yeast cake. Really like this yeast.

 

[bkboiler]

Oh man I wish I had known about this when I placed my last order. I've got a helles recipe that I'm going to make with Diamond Lager...
But I really wanted to share it with my Dad, since Andechs is his favorite.
Lots of business trips to Germany in the 90s...we got to go there on a family trip during the 2006 world cup...and I got to have a "large" Bier, pretzel and an entire Schweinehaxe all to myself. What a lunch!
Hoping to do something like that when I make my helles!