Best Dry Lager Yeast.

[Greg2013]

Pilsner Malt 3.95kg

Flaked Barley 400 grams

Carapils Malt 135 grams

Northern Brewer 26 gr@60

Hallertauer Hersbrucker 12gr@10

Hallertauer Herrsbrucker 15gr@1

Whirlfloc @15



Seeing as it is cold as a witches nether regions at the moment i am going to attempt my first lager brew soon,i need to order some pilsner malt,flaked barley,and carapils,all of which i am familiar with.The correct dry yeast is another matter,ambient temp in the brew room atm is circa 10 celsius so ideal lager brewing temp and i have space in the chest freezer when its done to condition it.Which dry yeast is best to use for a pilsner or light american lager ? I will be pitching two packs either way.Liquid yeast just 'aint  my thing for a number of reasons mainly the over inflated price,also i don't have my stir plate built yet.

[DEMPSEY]

Only Lager yeast I ever used was Saflager W-34/70. Deffo on needing more than 1 pack.
http://www.williamsbrewing.com/pdfs/y16.pdf

[googoomuck]

What a coincidence! Was just in the shed and the thermometer there is at 11*c and was thinking of coming on here to get a decent beginner lager recipe.

[googoomuck]

What's the jazz with two packets of yeast though?

[Oh Crap]

I use S-23.... 2 pks and ferment 10-12 c

Two pks because if the low temperature...I think, less stressful on the yeast so less chance of off flavours

[DEMPSEY]

For Lager you need more yeast than Ale to compensate for the cooler ferment temp.

[Greg2013]

That recipe above is from "The Bible" (inside joke lol) nice and simple eh ? They guys are correct,given that you will be fermenting colder that a witches boobies you need at least double the cell count to counteract increased yeast cell stress,i'm a doctor trust me 

All joking aside guys do ye reckon the recipe above looks solid enough ? Also for a lager do i mash high or low ?

[Greg2013]

Flaked barley is an usual choice for a lager and will probably make it a bit hazy. But the head should be good and thick and it should have plenty of mouthfeel.

W34/70 is about the most expensive dried yeast you can get. Currently around a fiver and its liquid counterpart (WLP830) doesn't cost much more. As for pitching rates, follow what it says on the pack as it seems to vary. Some require one pack, some require two. I've always used one (as per the pack) and it has worked out fine. Also follow the temperature instructions. Yeast goes through a growth phase first and it needs warmer temps for that. And the faster the yeast is working the less likely an infection will take hold.

Whose malt are you using? Mash temps don't matter a whole lot for over modified Irish and British malts, so 66^oC will do. You could try a bit lower for a dryer beer but I don't think it matters much with these malts.

Ordering it later in the week,it will be Pilsner Malt from either HBC or Geterbrewed.The flaked barley was included in the recipe in the book so maybe leave it out and just go all pilsner malt ? I will have a look at that wlp830 but do i need to do a starter for that ? 

[oblivious]

Only Lager yeast I ever used was Saflager W-34/70. Deffo on needing more than 1 pack.
http://www.williamsbrewing.com/pdfs/y16.pdf

its a great yeast

[Greg2013]

Is it Irish/British or German malt?

You can make a lager from a single malt.

The main benefit to liquid yeast is that you could slant it if you were set up for it. You can't slant first generation dry yeast. But as the price is nearly the same you have a much wider variety of liquid yeasts, slanting aside.

German Pilsner,Weymerans afaik. Only getting enough for 2 brews,the group buy from MCI fell through.

[Gugs44]

I used sf-23 lately for the HBC American lager all grain kit, 2 packs rehydrated, fermented at 12c...turned out perfect, lagered it for 8 weeks, still bottled out in shed in boxes so I'd imagine only getting better

[nigel_c]

Never used wheat in any of my lagers. My understanding is wheat does not age very well in brews and may be past its best after a decent lagering period. That's why most wheat beers are frank fresh and young. I may be com early wrong and just missed that part on wheat in my research.

As far as yeast goes if u were using dry I'd probably pitch at least 2 packets cooler then fermentation temp and let if warm up to the 10 or 12 you would be fermenting at.
Not sure if it's really possible to over pitch with a lager. I've pitched 3 dry 34/70 and fermented cool and it turned out great.

[DEMPSEY]

Dont forget the diecetyl rest

[Simon_]

Do you bother making a yeast starter with w30/74?

I've got 2 packets so would I be better
a) making a starter with one and pitching
b) pitching both packets dry

[Oh Crap]

Pitch both....rehydrate then pitch