Wyeast 2002 Gambrinus

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giraffe

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Anyone use this strain yet, and have any experience with it to share? I got a starter bubbling away, going brew a batch on friday. The description sounds great, I hope it lives up to it.
 
Hadn't heard of it until just now. It DOES sound like a very nice and temperature-versatile strain. Please report back on your experiences with it if you remember. Cheers!
 
I have two batches where I used this yeast lagering now, a Vienna lager and a Czech Pilsner. Both had some diacetyl after primary ferment. I pitched a ton of yeast in both, two step 2 liter starters. Fermented at 52 F. Tasted before lagering and it was pretty good. The thing that was crazy with this yeast was my starters all fermented out in about 16 hours (stir plate). I've never had a yeast start and end so fast
 
My starters were the same. And heavily flocculant for a lager yeast. (and the starter beer tasted reasonably clean for fermenting and sitting out for 3 days at room temp). Got a batch fermenting at 48, very low lag time for a lager, had a full krausen by the morning, after pitching at 11 pm. Seems to be a quick fermenter. So far looks hopeful.
 
This weekend I transferred the first batch to a keg for lagering (a 1.040 svelte vycepni). Fermented politely and quick at 47 degrees, raised to 60 degrees when it hit 1.012. Went from 1.040 to 1.007. No diacetyl. Flocculated well for a lager yeast. The sample out of the fermenter tasted, well possibly the best ive tasted out of a fermenter. Malty, cleanish, with a soft, floral note. Very soft and complex. I am optimistic about this strain. Will know more in a couple of weeks. Brewing a third batch with the yeast tomorrow.
 
Anyone use this strain yet, and have any experience with it to share? I got a starter bubbling away, going brew a batch on friday. The description sounds great, I hope it lives up to it.

I bought a few packs of Wyeast 2002. I like a lager yeast with a bit of character. This was exactly what I wanted. It is not a perfectly clean lager yeast. But the ester profile is reserved, and only there if you really seek it out. It reminds me of the subtle character you get from a Heineken (in the can). It is very malt forward, and additional hopping is needed if you want something to have a lot of hop character. I made a beer that, with something like Wyeast 2124, would have been a pilsner. But with this yeast it was more like a dortmunder.

It has the ester profile that would make it outstanding for a Mexican style beer, like a Modelo clone, Corona clone, Sol, Bohemia, etc. Really easy to work with as well. Flocs nicely. Attenuation was quite good without too much fuss. Some sulfur, but not an excessive amount.

All in all, a very nice yeast if you like a lager yeast with a little character. It makes a beer that I think a lot of people across the beer taste spectrum, would find familiar and enjoyable. This would be a great yeast for a Baltic Porter, as well as a Common Beer just do it at typical lager temps.

I wish this was a year round yeast. I like it a lot. I'm trying Wyeast 2000 the Budvar yeast as a substitute. I have heard Wyeast 2035 is also a nice substitute for 2002.
 
Going to make my 5th batch with the yeast today. Havent tasted any of the finished beers yet, they are still conditioning/lagering, but samples have been great. Very malt forward. Slight floral nose, not super clean in a good way. Good attenuation, around 75-83%, ferments quicker than other czech strains ive tried by a day or two, flocs out quick and bright.

So far I havent had any beers with a diacetyl problem at the end of fermentation. (Ive been doing 47 for the first 70-80% of gravity and then raise to 57-62 to finish out for 3-4 days.) I havent noticed any sulfur either. Overall a very polite lager yeast, with a little bit of character which is pleasant.

I havent tried the budvar strain since Ive known what im doing, hopefully it is as nice as this, cause so far Im liking this yeast, and sad, that it will be years before it returns.
 
Reporting back for posterity. Tapped the first keg of beer I made with this yeast, A czech pale lager (lagered for 2.5 months). End results support what was said above. Absurdly clear beer. Slight very pleasant ester profile, light fruit, and a floral note. No diacetyl, sulfur. Nice smooth mouthfeel, soft finish. Really can taste the pils malt. A lot of complexity for a simple piss yellow 4% beer. Ill see how the other 8 beers i made on this yeast turn out, but so far it might be my new favorite lager yeast.

This is one of my favorite beers ive made, it was hard not to keep drinking glass after glass.
 
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