I’m new to home brewing in the past 4 months. We’ve had great results with the three ales done so far: pale ale, pumpkin ale (baked out the seasoned pumpkin then added during the last 10 minutes of boil) and finally a fantastic nut brown ale. We started with the basic $100 kit then added a wort chiller and secondary carboy.
We heat the upstairs with wood so the basement is running 55 to 60 this time of year. My son gave me an Aussie Lager extract kit utilizing Saflager s-23 dry yeast. Being a lager, I have a few questions: 1) the kit recommends using a liquid yeast if available; Is this necessary? I’ve had good results with the dry ale yeasts so far. 2) Temperatures: can I run the entire fermentation/bottle conditioning process at 55-60 degrees? The yeast packet characteristics indicate 48 to 72 degrees range but recommend 53 to 59. I’ve read on the internet that some recommend stepping the temperature down along the process. At this point without a refrigeration unit, I have to live with the cool winter temps in the basement. 3) I’m learning lagers are bottom fermenting. What considerations do you have to think about when transferring to the carboy? With ale, if I understand correctly, you are to siphon down the beer but not pull up any of the dead yeast sediment on the bottom. If the active yeasts are on the bottom for lager, how do know when to stop the transfer?
Thank you for the answers. I’m hoping to take a shot at the lager in late January
S-34/70 or S-189 would be better choices for dry lager yeast. The S-34/70 does real well in the temp range you have. Bottle carbing might take longer.
Bottom fermenting. Argh! Why does this “Information” keep circulating. While lager yeast may tend to drop more than ale yeast the actual fermentation is done by the yeast that is still in suspension
I use 34/70 slurry that I’ve saved from originally pitching dry. You have to pitch at least 2 packs. Your temp will work but chill your wort down below 50 to pitch. Hydrate the dry yeast. As far as racking I don’t do secondary just cold crash. Don’t be afraid to cold crash outside in the cold weather it works fine even below freezing
I don’t have a refrigerated fermentation unit, and I have 4 lagers in various stages- 2 lagering, 1 in primary, and 1 bottle conditioning. The key is keeping track of the temperature of your fermenting beer and adjusting. Of course, I’m in Maine but the outdoor temps this year haven’t been our usual consistently subfreezing. I keep things in a swamp cooler filled with water, and keep track of the temperatures of the water. Studies have shown that the temp of the water bath is the same or within 1-2 degrees of the temp of the fermenting beer. I move things closer or farther from an open door, and add ice bottles if necessary. Have been able to keep my fermenting beer between 48-50 degrees, which is where I wanted to be with the Bavarian lager yeast I was using. Toward the end of fermentation, I take the bucket out of the swamp cooler and let it warm up to low 60’s for a D-rest. Then rack to a carboy for lagering for 4 weeks to a couple months depending on what I’m making and how lazy I am. Last year my bock lagered for 3 months, and even froze in the carboy at one point. Boy, is it good!
So, yes you can do lagers without a fancy temperature control unit.
I agree with rookie and brewcat that if you’re using dry yeast rather than liquid, use 34/70 rather than s-23. The posts I’ve seen indicate it’s a much better yeast. It worked real well the one time I tried it. I don’t have an opinion about S-189. And yes, rehydrate and pitch 2 packets.
Racking to a carboy for lagering is nothing different than any other racking- be careful not to splash things and make sure you fill to the neck to minimize the air-interface to limit oxidation. If I siphon up a little yeast, no big deal. It’s going to settle during the lagering.
Good Luck- you can do it!
Maybe that’s key. I froze a beer once and it was the cleanest I ever made. I set my controller for 32 deg so it goes on and off
So if I should try another yeast, go with White labs liquid or the dry suggested here?
It is hard to go wrong with the 34/70 or S-189. But it is hard to find the S-189. I would NOT use the S-23. It may be a lager, but it doesn’t ferment cleanly like a lager should.
You could try a liquid yeast, but if you do you will need to make a big starter (three or four liters, depending on the OG) to get enough yeast for the fermentation. If you haven’t used liquid yeasts before, you might want to have your first attempt on a more forgiving ale yeast. Not that there is anything intrinsically more difficult with lagers, but smaller volumes (even in starters) are easier to deal with if you haven’t done it before.
rebuiltcellars said
“It is hard to go wrong with the 34/70 or S-189. But it is hard to find the S-189.”
More and more places are starting to carry it. If your LHBS doesn’t there are quite a few on the web that do.
Agreed that the problem with you using a liquid yeast is that lagers need huge starters with liquid yeast. With my lager series, I usually start off with a 5G low gravity(1.050 OG) that I make up 2 quarts of a stepped up starter that should give me about 400billion yeast. Takes a full week to prepare. After that it’s easy. I just save a couple of quarts of yeast slurry from each batch and pitch it to the subsequent batch. If you’re not used to making starters yet, I’d go with a couple packets of dry.
S-23 works very well for me. I do Helles and Munich Lager and Bocks, and the two yeasts are both clean and crisp and attenuate nicely. No off flavors from either. I wonder how many people who comment negatively on S-23 have brewed with it, as opposed to merely reading reviews about it.
FYI I don’t rehydrate but I do pitch two packets to a batch of 50 OG lager (and ferment at 50 degrees). I use two yeast cakes to ferment my 85 OG doppelbock ( a blend of 34/70 & S-23).
I’ll admit, I’ve only brewed with it once, but that was enough for me. The pilsner I made with it was not very clean tasting, and the only reason I could think of was the yeast.
I’ve been repitching 34/70 for quite a few generations it takes off fast and its never let me down. Good yeast IMO
