Tips for Lager Brewing

[Haciluku]

Finish your beer with a few days at 20C until there are zero bubbles on the surface then crash chill back to 12C and then 1C per day only to 3C. Hold at 3C for three days, drop to -2C for conditioning a few days. Keg, carbonate and leave the keg another week.

Labels,
Why crash chill back to 12C, then 1C per day? Can I slow chill from 20C to 3C in 1C per day interval?

 

[manticle]

2042 listed on the wyeast website, no reference to it being discontinued. I don't brew heaps of lagers but that one is the cleanest fermenting of the ones I have used and I'd be sorry to see it go. Any more info/confirmation Labels?

 

[labels]

2042 no longer available?
Really?

This information was passed onto me by me LHBS

[SIZE=11.5pt]Phase out March 1st : [/SIZE]

• [SIZE=11.5pt]2000 Budvar Lager[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=11.5pt]2001 Pilsner Urquel H-Strain[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=11.5pt]2035 American Lager[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=11.5pt]3333 German Wheat[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.5pt]Phase out March 13th: [/SIZE]

• [SIZE=11.5pt]3942 Belgian Wheat[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=11.5pt]2042 Danish Lager[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.5pt]Phase out March 20th: [/SIZE]

• [SIZE=11.5pt]3463 Forbidden Fruit[/SIZE]

 

[labels]

Labels,
Why crash chill back to 12C, then 1C per day? Can I slow chill from 20C to 3C in 1C per day interval?

Yes you can do that, just extends the time frame that's all and is what I used to do. Now I crash back to 12C with no noticeable difference except time

 

[Haciluku]

This information was passed onto me by me LHBS

[SIZE=11.5pt]Phase out March 1st : [/SIZE]

• [SIZE=11.5pt]2000 Budvar Lager[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=11.5pt]2001 Pilsner Urquel H-Strain[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=11.5pt]2035 American Lager[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=11.5pt]3333 German Wheat[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.5pt]Phase out March 13th: [/SIZE]

• [SIZE=11.5pt]3942 Belgian Wheat[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=11.5pt]2042 Danish Lager[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.5pt]Phase out March 20th: [/SIZE]

• [SIZE=11.5pt]3463 Forbidden Fruit[/SIZE]

I should stock 2001 and 2000 if they are still available.

 

[Bribie G]

The guy who used to win big in the Nationals with lagers just did a single infusion mash like Labels.

 

[Rocker1986]

That'd be fuckin right... phase out the lager strain I like the best so far and the one I want to try next. :angry:

 

[Bribie G]

Hopefully MJ will bring out a version.

 

[Rocker1986]

Maybe I'll just get it from WL instead... I'm buying the next one this week so it should still be in stock which means I won't have to worry about it for another year, or if it's anything like the strain that I'm about to retire after the next batch - 2 years.

 

[labels]

Knowing this was going to be an issue I ordered and received two packs of 2042. The first pack has been split into seven.

A small amont of yeast, maybe 2mls was decanted into a sterile test tube. The remainder has been divided into six two litre starters at 1.050, more than enough for next weekends brew of six 25 litre fermenters.

The test tube yeast will be used for inoculating 40 sterile test tube slants.

And I got still one pack left

 

[Meddo]

Is there a White Labs equivalent? The equivalency tables I've seen don't have a WL match for 2042.

 

[Haciluku]

Labels, you mentioned Saaz is not suitable for late hopping.
I do no chill, does it work as a cube hop (say at 80C in the cube)? Basically, my 15 min in beersmith will be used as 0 min whirlpool addition, 0 min addition in beersmith will be used as cube hop.

 

[labels]

Labels, you mentioned Saaz is not suitable for late hopping.
I do no chill, does it work as a cube hop (say at 80C in the cube)? Basically, my 15 min in beersmith will be used as 0 min whirlpool addition, 0 min addition in beersmith will be used as cube hop.

I can't say. I can't answer your question as I have never done a no-chill beer. I suggest you do a Google hunt on the effects of late hopping with Saaz and other noble hops but particularly Saaz - there's lots of information out there for you to make up your own mind.

 

[manticle]

Adding to whirlpool is ok in my experience - just not in huge amounts. Dry hopping is a definite no-no (again my experience, others may differ)

 

[Haciluku]

I found something about dry hop with Saaz on the HomeBrewTalk website.
No no for dry hop. Ok with flame out addition but with small quantity like 28g for standard batch.

 

[Rocker1986]

Is there a White Labs equivalent? The equivalency tables I've seen don't have a WL match for 2042.

Not sure about 2042 but there is one for 2001 which is what I've been using for the last two years, mainly in Bo Pils but I have done a German lager with it as well which contained some home grown Hallertau.

I'm gonna throw 50g of Saaz in at flameout for a pilsner batch I'm brewing on the weekend. I'm brewing it as a 25 litre batch but only cubing 22ish litres this time. I've never tried doing this before, normally the latest addition is at 15 minutes but I also no-chill which would effectively lengthen that addition. I'll try to remember to come back to this thread once it's on tap in 3 months time and report whether or not I can detect any grassy tones from it. If I can then I won't do it again but if it works and gives me a good whack of that awesome Saaz flavour then I may well keep it in the recipe.

 

[Haciluku]

. I'll try to remember to come back to this thread once it's on tap in 3 months time and report whether or not I can detect any grassy tones from

It would be good.

Found a Saaz hop experiment on Brulosophy: http://brulosophy.com/2016/08/04/the-hop-chronicles-czech-saaz/

 

[Rocker1986]

Interesting use of it, probably not something I'd do myself though. Generally I tend to stick to style with my hops, not always but most times. Interesting that grassy was picked as one of the least prominent flavours/aromas given the late and dry hopping done. It's a very small scale experiment in the scheme of things though, with perhaps some other variables at play. Would have been interesting to see what happened if a proper pilsner was brewed instead of an ale, since there's less for off flavours to hide behind in them. But, obviously those tasters couldn't detect it for some reason, I'm hoping that's the case with this next batch of mine too.

Saaz is the only hop that ever goes into my "authentic" pilsners, even if the AA% is so low that I have to use 390g in the boil (including the 50g flameout addition) like I will be on Saturday's batch to achieve the bitterness levels. Bloody 1.3% :blink: :lol: :lol:

 

[Hpal]

My last batch which is nearly done fermenting 50L no chilled, 21g Saaz at 5 mins and 16g flameout, nice Saaz aroma.

 

[Mardoo]

Maybe I'll just get it from WL instead... I'm buying the next one this week so it should still be in stock which means I won't have to worry about it for another year, or if it's anything like the strain that I'm about to retire after the next batch - 2 years.

FWIW there are a couple websites out there saying 2042 has a WL equivalent, but when you go to the sites that list yeast sources, none of the supposed equivalents match up, so my guess is no, no equivalent.