# Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager



## adz1179 (9/3/12)

Hi brewers,

just smacked a pack of 2124 for an Oktoberfest i plan to make over the weekend, noticed on the back of the pack the instructions state to ferment between 18-22 deg - no mention of fermenting lower for larger and other styles.

i was planning at fermenting around 10 on this one, just making sure this would be ok... ????

Im also curious....what style of beer would you make using this lager yeast at 18-22? according to the wyeast page it is for "common beer production"
(http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=30) 

Thanks in advance


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## big78sam (9/3/12)

adz1179 said:


> Hi brewers,
> 
> just smacked a pack of 2124 for an Oktoberfest i plan to make over the weekend, noticed on the back of the pack the instructions state to ferment between 18-22 deg - *no mention of fermenting lower for larger and other styles*.
> 
> i was planning at fermenting around 10 on this one, just making sure this would be ok... ????



"A versatile strain, that is great to use with lagers or Pilsners for fermentations in the 45-55F (8-12C) range."

http://www.wyeastlab.com/rw_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=30

Fermenting at 10 is smack bang in the middle of the range for this yeast. I have used it at this temp and got good results.


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## adz1179 (9/3/12)

big78sam said:


> "A versatile strain, that is great to use with lagers or Pilsners for fermentations in the 45-55F (8-12C) range."



Cheers Sam, i did see that on the wyeast page, but was curious as it is not on the packet instructions....


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## Nick JD (9/3/12)

Sure it says to ferment at that temp? Or to pitch at that temp and then lower to ferment temp?


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## adz1179 (9/3/12)

Nick JD said:


> Sure it says to ferment at that temp? Or to pitch at that temp and then lower to ferment temp?



no it says to ferment at that temp. it does mention additional yeast is required for lower ferment temps, but the only range given in the instructions is 18-22

(crappy iphone pics)


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## doon (9/3/12)

It says pitch at 18-22 wait till activity then lower to desired temp. See very last point in photo.


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## Ronin (9/3/12)

EDIT: Quote from Craftbrewer website
"A Carlsberg type yeast and most widely used lager strain in the world. Produces a distinct malty profile with some ester character and a crisp finish. Will ferment in the 45-55F range for various beer styles. Benefits from diacetyl rest at 58F (14C) for 24 hours after fermentation is complete. *Also used for pseudo-ale production with fermentations at 75F, (24C) which eliminates sulfur production*."

I've tried it...keep it at lager temperatures.

James


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## dmac80 (9/3/12)

I've had good results with this yeast, with a big starter and pitching at around 10-12 deg.


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## adz1179 (9/3/12)

doon said:


> It says pitch at 18-22 wait till activity then lower to desired temp. See very last point in photo.



yeah, got that... apologies if the OP was a little misleading... the point i was trying to make was that it was odd they wouldn't put a lager ferment range on the pack considering 
its the "most widely used lager strain in the world"




Ronin said:


> I've tried it...keep it at lager temperatures.
> 
> James



plan too. cheers mate


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## Nick JD (9/3/12)

I prefer to use 34/70. Cheaper, same thing.


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## Nick JD (9/3/12)




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## SJW (9/3/12)

2124 is one of the best Lager yeasts IMO.


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## adz1179 (9/3/12)

SJW said:


> 2124 is one of the best Lager yeasts IMO.



Fingers crossed. Have high hopes for this one! Although I smacked the pack about 6.5 hrs ago and is still as flat as (insert inappropriate joke about a girl with no cans)

Just getting my starter ready now.


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## Nick JD (9/3/12)

adz1179 said:


> Fingers crossed. Have high hopes for this one! Although I smacked the pack about 6.5 hrs ago and is still as flat as (insert inappropriate joke about a girl with no cans)
> 
> Just getting my starter ready now.



Lager yeasts can take forever to swell. 

Smack a weizen yeast and it's like BANG!


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## ashley_leask (9/3/12)

This is the only lager yeast I use and always ferment @ 10C, with great results.


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## Rob S (9/3/12)

I used this for a Pilsner.

I pitched at 18*C and lowered to 9*C

It hit FG after about 7 days and I raised back to 18*C for 72 hours.

I then lowered to 1*C for a fortnight then bottled.

A bit of a process but I had heaps of time. 

The Pilsner turned out great - not a hint of diacetyl, crisp and dry.

I'm sure if you take your time your lager will be fabulous.


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## adz1179 (9/3/12)

Rob S said:


> I used this for a Pilsner.
> 
> I pitched at 18*C and lowered to 9*C
> 
> ...



Cheers mate. As I said, high hopes with this one. No hurry at all, will follow your schedule.


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## Dazza88 (9/3/12)

You don't need to swell the smack pack if you are making a starter, the only advantage of doing so is to verify the yeasties are alive. I would pitch the yeast as soon as your starter wort is at desired temp. 

A general question i have is what temps do people do their lager starters at? Lager ferment temp or around 18 c like an ale?


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## SJW (9/3/12)

DazDog said:


> A general question i have is what temps do people do their lager starters at? Lager ferment temp or around 18 c like an ale?


I just do my starters at room temp. 
As I keep the yeast cake from the first brew with a new Wyeast and split it into about 3 or 4 500ml swing top bottles. This way I dont need to make a starter to build up yeast number, just to fire it up. Once its done I put back in the fridge and the next morning decant off the clear and later that same day I will pitch, and she fires straight up every time.
If I dont make that starter it still works but will take a few days.
So yes there is no need to do Lager starters at 10 or 12 deg C.

Steve


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## manticle (9/3/12)

If, like me, you generally make active starters from identical wort and pitch the whole thing, you might want to treat it the same way. If decanting, just get what growth you can at whatever temp you can and get rid of the crusty tasting beer.


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## Dazza88 (9/3/12)

sure. brew room temp can be thirty degrees where i live. but i have done my starters at room tenp or ale temp in the ferm fridge. 

when pitching starter into brew do you bring starter to ferment temp. i want lagers this winter, at lager temps.


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## Nick JD (10/3/12)

Just pitch 2 packs of 34/70 and be done with it. Same price.


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## adz1179 (13/3/12)

ok, so this yeast was pitched at around midday on Sunday and as of now there are no signs of life +2 days later. gravity is still at 1.050, smells and tastes really sweet, no krausen etc.... its on at 10deg.. the smack pack did not swell over 24hrs either... should i be concerned?


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## donburke (13/3/12)

adz1179 said:


> ok, so this yeast was pitched at around midday on Sunday and as of now there are no signs of life +2 days later. gravity is still at 1.050, smells and tastes really sweet, no krausen etc.... its on at 10deg.. the smack pack did not swell over 24hrs either... should i be concerned?




yes you should be concerned, if you have pitched the pack, then i bet you have underpitched


how many litres of wort ?

what was the date on the yeast packet ?

what was the temp of teh wort when you pitched ?



this will tell us by how much you underpitched


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## adz1179 (13/3/12)

donburke said:


> yes you should be concerned, if you have pitched the pack, then i bet you have underpitched
> 
> 
> how many litres of wort ?
> ...



20lt batch, pitched the full pack of yeast. Can't remember the date on the pack but it was under 6 months from manufacture, I'm sure of that. Pitched around 17-18 in the fridge set on 10.


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## Nick JD (13/3/12)

I've found that the lager yeasts are very susceptible to heat stress in the packet - quite a few of my Wyeast lager yeasts have taken a couple of days to swell and only a tiny bit. When it's like this you need to make a starter from the pack.

Which kinda sux when you paid ten bucks. 

I'd be chucking in 2 packs of 34/70 (or any other yeast you can get hold of quickly) asap. 48 hours of no activity and you wanna hope your fermenter was damn near sterile, because all the other bugs that love oxygen are in there now and growing rapidly.

If I don't get activity from a yeast within 12-18 hours I panic, because it's rare to have a good beer with that long a lag.


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## adz1179 (13/3/12)

Nick JD said:


> I've found that the lager yeasts are very susceptible to heat stress in the packet - quite a few of my Wyeast lager yeasts have taken a couple of days to swell and only a tiny bit. When it's like this you need to make a starter from the pack.
> 
> Which kinda sux when you paid ten bucks.
> 
> ...



Crap shit bags. 

I can get some more yeast tomorrow, but will not be until this time tomorrow until I can pitch. 
I wonder if it's worth the extra $10 if it's doomed?


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## adz1179 (14/3/12)

would appreciate some opinions on this one... should I re-pitch this afternoon or dump it - there are no visible signs of infection yet, smell and taste ok too (sweet)


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## manticle (14/3/12)

If it tastes like sweet wort, pitch.

If it tastes shit dump.


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## big78sam (14/3/12)

If the SG hasn't moved that's a good sign that no wild yeast has started eating the sugars yet. Seems it tastes OK to. Repitch and RDWAHAH


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## donburke (14/3/12)

Nick JD said:


> If I don't get activity from a yeast within 12-18 hours I panic, because it's rare to have a good beer with that long a lag.



even with a big starter, if pitching cold, i can have a lag, but i dont panic as i have confidence in that i pitched a large quantity of yeast

a couple of years ago i pitched a single vial of wlp800 into a pilsner @ 10 degrees and it took 3 days for any activity, and the beer did turn out fine, maybe not ideal, but certainly a good beer

i have brewed many lagers since then, and i have always used starters since then, to avoid the anxiety attacks

i had worked out that most of the imperfections were caused by either underpitching or pitching warm then cooling

i now always make a big starter, and make sure i pitch cold (i.e. at or just below primary ferment temp)


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## raven19 (14/3/12)

You could 'double drop' (rack with some splashing from Vessel 1 to Vessel 2) it, or aerate the wort/young beer to get it going.

Exercise high levels of sanitation in the above processes.


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## the_new_darren (14/3/12)

raven19 said:


> You could 'double drop' (rack with some splashing from Vessel 1 to Vessel 2) it, or aerate the wort/young beer to get it going.
> 
> Exercise high levels of sanitation in the above processes.




Yep, I agree with above of simply give the fermenter an all mighty swirl every couple of hours to get the yeast roused. 

tnd


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## adz1179 (17/3/12)

So this is what i did back on the 14th (Wednesday), turned the fridge up to 18 deg, left it for a while, sprinkled on a fresh pack of saf 34/70, let it sit for a few hours on 18 and then down to 12.

Thursday = nothing
Friday = nothing
This morning = nothing

4pm today:





To smell and taste is not offensive in any way, but there is something i cant quite put my finger on with both.... bit of a velvet mouth feel if that makes any sense whatsoever.... 

gravity is still on 1.050, exactly as pitched....

i think its finally time to put this one down the drain and move on.......

whadareckon??????


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## Nick JD (17/3/12)

adz1179 said:


> whadareckon??????



I reckon it's got buboes (from the bubonic plague).  

It's not a total loss though - you'll now know not to pitch a smackpack that doesn't swell. Sounds like something is killing your new yeast pitch. There's a war on in there!


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## adz1179 (17/3/12)

Nick JD said:


> you'll now know not to pitch a smackpack that doesn't swell. Sounds like something is killing your new yeast pitch. There's a war on in there!



yeah, got that right... cheers Nick
hope the fermentor survives....


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