# Australian Lager Yeast?



## rockeye84 (5/5/14)

Hi all,

Anyone got any ideas on what is the best yeast for an aussie lager?

I have be using S-189 with good results, but it doesn’t quite give that beery metallic taste found in various aussie lagers.

I have re-cultured coopers pale ale yeast for a few ales, it def. gives the aussie taste, too bad there isn’t a aussie cloudy lager on the market to steal the yeast out of. 

Or has anyone tried coopers pale yeast at lager temps, the lowest I have ever taken it to about 15c, it still performed really well. fermented out in 3/4 days..


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## GalBrew (5/5/14)

Doesn't CUB use Danish lager yeast?


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## mje1980 (5/5/14)

I have a xxxx gold clone in the fridge with 2042. It's the best mega swill type lager I've made, not that I make many, but it's quite good.


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## rockeye84 (5/5/14)

Yeh not sure what CUB use, I was under the impression had their own strain. I’ve tried 2042 a couple of times, its clean, but I’ve found s-189 a little cleaner. Maybe ill give 2042 a go again once I’ve used up all my s-189.

Whats your xxxx clone recipe look like?


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## RelaxedBrewer (5/5/14)

I have heard that CUB use the danish lager yeast as well.


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## TheWiggman (5/5/14)

Thirsy Boy (CUB employee) has stated that CUB use a proprietory yeast for at least some or all of their staple beers. He also recommends 34/70 or S189 for Carton Draught if attempting a clone.

Danish Lager 2042 is the yeast of choice for an Aussie lager according to most on this forum. I kegged a XXXX Bitter clone last night and an uncarbonated sample tasted 100% faithful to the real thing. I was grinning like a Cheshire cat.


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## Bribie G (5/5/14)

I entered two Aussie styles in the State comp, one using Wyeast Danish Lager 2042 and the other one using S-189.
The Danish went on to the Nats and won second in the Pale Lagers.

The trick is to ferment it at 13 degrees for about 5 days then let it rise to 19 degrees (total of 10 days or until clearing from the top) then lager for 10 days.

I still haven't mastered the lagering bit, whether to crash it fairly quickly to -1 or just crank it down a couple of degrees a day and let the yeast do its thing. Probably try the latter next time around. Also got that info from TB. The actual yeast is Fosters B strain but I believe that when they have problems they get on the Skype to Copenhagen. h34r:


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## dicko (5/5/14)

I try and use the 2042 or the S189 although the 2001 which is slightly sweeter, and the 34/70 work ok as well. I'll tell you one not to use and that is the Bavarian Lager 2206...it leaves the beer far too malty for that style.


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## rockeye84 (5/5/14)

Bribie G said:


> I entered two Aussie styles in the State comp, one using Wyeast Danish Lager 2042 and the other one using S-189.
> The Danish went on to the Nats and won second in the Pale Lagers.
> 
> The trick is to ferment it at 13 degrees for about 5 days then let it rise to 19 degrees (total of 10 days or until clearing from the top) then lager for 10 days.
> ...


What kind of starter size you using Birb?


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## mje1980 (5/5/14)

rockeye84 said:


> Yeh not sure what CUB use, I was under the impression had their own strain. I’ve tried 2042 a couple of times, its clean, but I’ve found s-189 a little cleaner. Maybe ill give 2042 a go again once I’ve used up all my s-189.
> 
> Whats your xxxx clone recipe look like?


Here it is. 

82% dingemans pils
8.2% dextrose in the boil.
6.6% wheat malt
3.3% carahell

2g citric, 5g gypsum in mash. 

62-60mins, 70c- 2.5 hours ( I got called away, not intentional, anywhere from 15-30mins is fine ).

1.039
9 IBU ( yes, 9! )

2 litre starter of 2042 Danish lager. When starter done, put it in the fermenting fridge with the cube. 2 days later pitched the starter and let fridge come up to 10c. I broke my knee cap a week or so after that, so it sat for around 6 weeks+ at 10c. I did bring it out for a few days at ambient (20c), then slowly cooled it to 5c. Then kegged. 

This is for a 17 litre cube.




P.S with a one hour rest at 62 and the dex, this finished at 1.006. 
Edited by mje1980, 01 May 2014 - 04:08 PM.


This is my first xxxx gold type lager and my best Aussie lager by far. Bribie would probably have a closer recipe, I hear he's done a few Aussie lagers


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## Trevandjo (5/5/14)

Bribie G said:


> I entered two Aussie styles in the State comp, one using Wyeast Danish Lager 2042 and the other one using S-189.
> The Danish went on to the Nats and won second in the Pale Lagers.
> 
> The trick is to ferment it at 13 degrees for about 5 days then let it rise to 19 degrees (total of 10 days or until clearing from the top) then lager for 10 days.
> ...


Any chance of sharing this recipe Bribie?


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## RelaxedBrewer (5/5/14)

mje1980 said:


> 1.039
> 9 IBU ( yes, 9! )


wait, why 9 ibu? Even with the relatively low OG that does not make sense to me.


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## rockeye84 (5/5/14)

mje1980 said:


> Here it is.
> 
> 82% dingemans pils
> 8.2% dextrose in the boil.
> ...


Cheers man.. Looks good!! Good to see there is other people out there trying brew this style!

In general people cop flak for trying to brew megaswill style.

Been trying to crack this style since I started brewing a couple of years ago.

What hops you use?


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## mje1980 (5/5/14)

RelaxedBrewer said:


> wait, why 9 ibu? Even with the relatively low OG that does not make sense to me.


Nickleback makes no sense to me but they still ******* play it!. 

Seriously, I based this on xxxx gold, which is 3.5%. I was aiming for a very dry finish, without too much bitterness. Guess what?, it worked. The Danish lager yeast and wey pils ( not ding, wrote that wrong ) gives a hint of malt sweetness too. I was worried, but I'd do the same again.


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## mje1980 (5/5/14)

rockeye84 said:


> Cheers man.. Looks good!! Good to see there is other people out there trying brew this style!
> 
> In general people cop flak for trying to brew megaswill style.
> 
> ...


Sorry, I used Aussie cluster, apparently the xxxx hop. 9 Ibus at 60mins, and a touch at 5 mins. I'd use a touch more late next time but not too much.


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## Online Brewing Supplies (5/5/14)

mje1980 said:


> Sorry, I used Aussie cluster, apparently the xxxx hop. 9 Ibus at 60mins, and a touch at 5 mins. I'd use a touch more late next time but not too much.


POR and AU cluster and you have it nailed.
Done few like this, all winner, winner chicken dinner.
Nev


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## Bribie G (5/5/14)

I lost all my BrewMate recipes when I had to wipe my machine a couple of months ago but a fair re-creation is:

*Aussie Lager*
Australian Premium Lager

*Recipe Specs*
----------------
Batch Size (L): 23.0
Total Grain (kg): 4.600
Total Hops (g): 45.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.048 (°P): 11.9
Final Gravity (FG): 1.009 (°P): 2.3
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 5.04 %
Colour (SRM): 3.1 (EBC): 6.1
Bitterness (IBU): 21.2 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

*Grain Bill*
----------------
4.000 kg Pale Malt (86.96%)
0.600 kg Cane Sugar (13.04%)

*Hop Bill*
----------------
20.0 g Pride of Ringwood Leaf (8.3% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (0.9 g/L)
25.0 g Hersbrucker Plug (2.8% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil) (1.1 g/L)

*Misc Bill*
----------------
5.0 g BrewBright @ 0 Minutes (Boil)

Single step Infusion at 62°C for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 13°C with Wyeast 2042 - Danish Lager

*Notes*
----------------
Based on the old Cascade Premium Lager

Hersbrucker plugs x2

Mash at 62 for two hours then raise to mashout at 78

Ferment at 13 for four days then let it rise to 19 degrees over four days and hold for a couple of days (total ten days)

Lager at -1 for ten days.


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## Trevandjo (5/5/14)

Thanks for the recipe. I'll give it a crack.


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## rockeye84 (5/5/14)

same goes.. cheers birb, looks good.. reckon it would go ok with s189(as i have some lying around)? with the rise in temp etc?


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## Black Devil Dog (5/5/14)

That's similar to one that I've got on tap at the moment, I used Wey Pils and dropped the sugar though. 

POR cops a bad rap, but I'm so happy with this brew, I did another one on the weekend and actually increased the bitterness to 25 IBUs.

Couple of other things I did, were gelatin and polyclar. Happy days.


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## Bribie G (5/5/14)

I found that the other batch (a standard Aussie Lager that I made first and I'd forgotten to order in some Danish) turned out way too sulphury, more like a Euro lager and didn't have that mouse pee flavour that is such a feature of Aussie mainstreams. The mouse piss isn't objectionable, just a bit of a musky twang that you will recognise instantly if you ever had a mate when you were a kid who kept caged mice, the twang seemed to permeate the house or shed as soon as you walked in.


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## TheWiggman (5/5/14)

Bribie G said:


> I found that the other batch (a standard Aussie Lager that I made first and I'd forgotten to order in some Danish) turned out way too sulphury, more like a Euro lager and didn't have that mouse pee flavour that is such a feature of Aussie mainstreams. The mouse piss isn't objectionable, just a bit of a musky twang that you will recognise instantly if you ever had a mate when you were a kid who kept caged mice, the twang seemed to permeate the house or shed as soon as you walked in.


A testament to the Australia beer industry. I can see it on the tasting notes on oversees tastings site: "Neutral profile, mild hop bitterness, and has that distinct mouse piss flavour that quenches the palette."
Or thread title: "Chasing mouse piss taste without adding the real thing"


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## rockeye84 (5/5/14)

sooo the s189 would do the job?


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## rockeye84 (5/5/14)

mje1980 said:


> Here it is.
> 
> 82% dingemans pils
> 8.2% dextrose in the boil.
> ...


Whats the go with the wheat in this one? Help with head formation and lacing?


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## dicko (5/5/14)

My take for what it may be worth re the Aussie lagers is that the style guides say XX IBU's and my impression is that when you stick to this specification then they seem (to me at least ) to come out insipid and without any real flavour except for the "soapy metallic" taste that we seem to get from not using iso hop extract.
I have found that to ignore the specs and add a couple of extra IBU points over the maximum spec. with either POR or Hersbrucker at around thirty to forty minutes will give you a beer that is at least close and is palatable to most of the megaswill drinkers.

With the "Gold" type beer I tend to add a bit of Carapils (no more than 15%) in place of most of the dextrose and I have found by using the low attenuative "California Lager 2112" that you will have a beer that can hold the interest of a person who would love to be drinking the full strength but either is not allowed h34r: :lol: or has to drive.
This may be not how the "big boy breweries" achieve that taste but it seems to be a crowd pleaser with most people that I have inflicted my beer on.

Both full strength and mid strength would have a BU/GU ratio of around 4.8 to 5. If only using POR then keep it on the low side.
A bit of light munich also adds to the mix without being invasive...I tend to use around 4%.
I will add that I have tried cluster hops and it may be me but they just don't seem to do it when it comes to these styles.


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## Black Devil Dog (5/5/14)

rockeye84 said:


> sooo the s189 would do the job?


This yeast will do the job, but the flavour profile will be slightly different. 

Try both and see how you go. 



rockeye84 said:


> Whats the go with the wheat in this one? Help with head formation and lacing?


It will help, I often put about 5% in my beers, but there are other options and wheat can cause haziness.

Mash schedule is another way of improving head retention.


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## mje1980 (6/5/14)

I'm finding I can't have just one glass of mine, minimum of 3 or 4 hehe. Keg will be gone soon.


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## rockeye84 (7/5/14)

Birbie, How did you come up with your fermentation profile? Is it actually how the megaswillers do it?


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## Topher (12/5/14)

Hey guys, been following this thread and just cubed a brew similar to these recipes. Keen to use the 2042 but Where online do you guys get your smack packs?

My LHBS has no fresh ones, and am dubious about letting something like this sit in a big red postie truck for a few days.


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## Bribie G (12/5/14)

Marks Home Brew at Newkie will deliver with Fastway, probably overnight. Actually chilling smackpacks sounds good, but I've had them from Craftbrwer Brisbane - also overnight or one day to NSW - unrefrigertated and they have arrived here perfect. The yeast is asleep and I don't think that mid 20s or less in the winter is going to affect them too much. If doubtful, just specify a bubble-ice-pack with them.


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## Topher (13/5/14)

Thanks mate. Will give these guys a go.

Been trying to work out where I lost points on my brew yesterday, but just realised I forgot to put the dextrose in the boil. Any problem just disolving it and bunging in the fermenter when I pitch?


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## Bribie G (13/5/14)

I do that all the time when I use sugar or dex, why put it in the boil and have to throw about 10% of it away with the trub.


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## rockeye84 (21/5/14)

Birbie G, sorry to bug you mate, but I’m giving your fermentation profile a shot at present with Wy 2042, when you say ferment for 4-5 days then raise to 19c over 4-5 days, did you by any chance take a SG measurement at the 4-5 day mark?

Correct me if I’m wrong but should I start raising the temp at the 4-5 day mark or when I reach about 50% to FG, or it’s not really that important?


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## ASYLUM_SPIRIT (24/5/18)

Bribie G said:


> I entered two Aussie styles in the State comp, one using Wyeast Danish Lager 2042 and the other one using S-189.
> The Danish went on to the Nats and won second in the Pale Lagers.
> 
> The trick is to ferment it at 13 degrees for about 5 days then let it rise to 19 degrees (total of 10 days or until clearing from the top) then lager for 10 days.
> ...




Sorry I know this is old but still relevant.

Did you make a yeast starter with your Danish Yeast? What sort of OG was yours?

Cheers


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