96 replies to this topic

[Poptop]

I've made a Marzen and now a gold lager with this S-189 and I have no other plans for it. I think I'll make one more Vienna Lager before I switch over to ales for awhile. Problem is... I'm out of Vienna malt.

Why not a simple ultra ultra ultra pale lager? Or maybe a Bo Pils? I've been reading my old BYO on German & Czech Pils and got really thirsty.

[Big Nake]

Why not a simple ultra ultra ultra pale lager? Or maybe a Bo Pils? I've been reading my old BYO on German & Czech Pils and got really thirsty.

I made the hell out of that style over the summer. Lots of helles, pilsners and this so-called American Lager that I make. I have a helles on tap right now and a keg of the American Lager in my on-deck fridge and then this other gold lager I made last weekend... so I'm set for gold lagers. Plus, I dial that style back a little when the weather starts to turn (it's declining now... rainy and in the 50s). I almost always have one available even in the coldest part of winter but I really crank up the gold lagers over summer.

[Seven]

Thanks, Ken! I've been looking for inspiration and I think this did it for me! I went hoppy most of the summer and now want to dial down the hops and get some malt going. Have you made this one with dry yeast yet? If yes, which?

[Big Nake]

Thanks, Ken! I've been looking for inspiration and I think this did it for me! I went hoppy most of the summer and now want to dial down the hops and get some malt going. Have you made this one with dry yeast yet? If yes, which?

It doesn't look like it. According to my notes, when I had S-189 up and running last year I made a pilsner, American Premium, helles and amber lager. S-189 is the only dry lager yeast I have used in a very long time and it's what I have running right now so when I make this next batch of Vienna Lager it will be with S-189 and I will report back.

[Seven]

Thanks! I've become a big fan of dry yeast (IOW, the simplicity) but haven't tried the lager ones yet. Is 1 pack enough for 5g of a 1.050ish wort?

[Big Nake]

Thanks! I've become a big fan of dry yeast (IOW, the simplicity) but haven't tried the lager ones yet. Is 1 pack enough for 5g of a 1.050ish wort?

If I made a 1.050 beer I would use one pack of S-189. The Mangrove Jacks yeast strains (M76, M84) have been known to start slowly so two packs might be necessary and I think most people who use W34/70 also use 2 packs. I have been more open minded of dry yeast lately but my experience is still very small.

[Poptop]

For every Vienna or Pale Lager I've made to date, I pitched 2 packs of 34/70 having some type of lift off by 24 hrs. High praises for 34/70 but only recently explored liquid. I'll be kegging a WY2000 Budvar Lager this weekend with high hopes. Will also be trying Biofine instead of Knox at kegging.

Next up 10 gallons of Vienna, 1/2 with the Budvar and 1/2 with a 34/70 slurry. The Vienna seems to be the way to travel since so many Brothers are on board to make it again or for their first time

[BlKtRe]

Dang it, I want this yeast so I can brew some of these beers. 

[HVB]

Dang it, I want this yeast so I can brew some of these beers. 

This place is said to be a distributor of their yeast http://www.brewlabkc.com/

 

I have a "work from home" day tomorrow and I am trying to figure out how to sneak this beer or another one in.

[BlKtRe]

This place is said to be a distributor of their yeast http://www.brewlabkc.com/

 

I have a "work from home" day tomorrow and I am trying to figure out how to sneak this beer or another one in.

 

This place is about a 40-45min drive for me but when they get Omega it sells out within a few hrs. 

[HVB]

This place is about a 40-45min drive for me but when they get Omega it sells out within a few hrs. 

That fast .. wow!

 

It is getting cooler out so maybe mail order will be an option?

[Big Nake]

I want to say that my experience with this yeast is just my experience. I don't want to build it up so much that anyone using it in the future will wonder why I thought it was so good. It's like people telling you how good this or that movie was... to the point that the movie couldn't live up to the hype. My experience with this yeast was outrageously good. The character that the beer gets from the yeast is the type of thing that would have confused me when I was a new brewer. I guarantee I would have said, Okay, how did you get that character? Is this what you get when you use a certain malt or is this what happens when you use fresh ingedients, mill the grain just prior to brewing or what? Now I realize that the yeast in certain styles can REALLY push it in various directions and this yeast did that for me on a grand scale.

[Seven]

Just started playing with my water profile in case I get a chance to brew this recipe this weekend. How does this look?

Ca 65
Mg 8
Na 4
Cl 62
S04 38
BiCarb 76
Mash pH 5.44

[neddles]

Just started playing with my water profile in case I get a chance to brew this recipe this weekend. How does this look?

Ca 65
Mg 8
Na 4
Cl 62
S04 38
BiCarb 76
Mash pH 5.44

Very similar to what am planning for mine. When I get to it....

[Big Nake]

A couple of random thoughts: Dunkel vs. Vienna. Different beers, different country of origin, different recipes but similar beers. Over the last month or so I have been fortunate enough to find myself in front of three commercial Vienna Lagers. All three of them were more pale than I might think (leaning towards amber, not dark) and they were also slightly hoppier than I might think which is not surprising. Both my Vienna and my Dunkel have an ounce of noble hops like Hallertau or Tettnanger with 10 minutes left. I often use the same yeast too which might make them seem more similar. I might do something where I adjust the Vienna to come in a little more pale than the Dunkel and then maybe use more hops. In yesterday's batch of Vienna I used 1.5 ounces of Tettnanger with 20 minutes left. I'm thinking I should have thrown the other half ounces into the WP but I didn't. This Live Oak Amber Lager (which they call a Vienna) that I had in the Austin airport was really nice and had just a waft of late hops. I need to do something to separate these two styles a little more.

[neddles]

These aren't styles I know as well as you thats for sure. It seems though that they would be pretty distinct from eachother in that one is typically more driven by Vienna malt and the other more driven by Munich (more commonly dark Munich IIRC). Do they not come across that way?

Edited by neddles, 28 October 2017 - 12:26 PM.

[Big Nake]

These aren't styles I know as well as you thats for sure. It seems though that they would be pretty distinct from eachother in that one is typically more driven by Vienna malt and the other more driven by Munich (more commonly dark Munich IIRC). Do they not come across that way?

You have Vienna, Munich and pils in the Vienna along with carafa and the hopping is often very close. In the Dunkel you have MORE Munich and pilsner and carafa and a very similar hop schedule. Use the same yeast and they just get a little too close for me. Or maybe it's just the way I've been making them. Seems like these commercial versions of the Vienna are more pale so that's why I'm thinking I could offset the two styles by "more pale and slightly hoppier" on the Vienna and "darker, maltier and smoother" on the Dunkel.

[neddles]

You have Vienna, Munich and pils in the Vienna along with carafa and the hopping is often very close. In the Dunkel you have MORE Munich and pilsner and carafa and a very similar hop schedule. Use the same yeast and they just get a little too close for me. Or maybe it's just the way I've been making them. Seems like these commercial versions of the Vienna are more pale so that's why I'm thinking I could offset the two styles by "more pale and slightly hoppier" on the Vienna and "darker, maltier and smoother" on the Dunkel.

 

Yeah that makes sense. I guess alternatively you could drop a pound or two of the Munich malt from the Vienna Lager and add Vienna or Pils in its place. But I see where you are going with it.

[HVB]

I didn't have enough dark Munich for a Dunkel so I did a modified version of this. Brew day was nice and easy, wort is chilling to pitching temps now and I am bringing some bayern back to life to pitch tomorrow.

[neddles]

That's going to be real nice Drez. I primed and kegged mine tonight. The smell and the sample were, as Ken might put it, outrageous. Saving some Bayern for Pils and Helles next.