What's your next brew

MaxStout said:
A few lager folks here...I'll throw a question at you. What are your thoughts on SafLager W-34/70? Later this winter I plan to brew a Schwarzbier and Festbier. Probably do a double-header the same day. If I'm going to tie up my ferm chamber a few months, might as well get two of them in there. :)

I'm not new to lager brewing, just never tried 34/70. It's the classic Weihenstephan strain. I like to go with dry, as I don't want to order liquid via mail. I suppose I could drive to Midwest, but that's across town and I don't get that way very often.

Anyway, if anyone has some general thoughts on the yeast, I'd appreciate hearing.
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I use it for lagers all the time except winter when I get liquid Imperial harvest. I think it’s easy to use, versatile, and forgiving. If has that touch of sulphur you get from Weihenstephaner. Not saying it’s exact. It makes good German lagers and it is what you see recommended 99% of the time in brewing magazines for German beers.
 
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I recall reading somewhere that fwh gives more flavour/aroma than adding at the beginning of the boil.
But I really can't remember where, what, when or if this was fact or fiction :D
 
Zambezi Special said:
I recall reading somewhere that fwh gives more flavour/aroma than adding at the beginning of the boil.
But I really can't remember where, what, when or if this was fact or fiction :D
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Supposedly also purported smoother bitterness.
You'll also extract a few extra IBUs out of FWHs they also can help reduce boil overs.

I routinely FWH my brews just a process thing for me though that way I don't forget to add them.
 
Zambezi Special said:
I recall reading somewhere that fwh gives more flavour/aroma than adding at the beginning of the boil.
But I really can't remember where, what, when or if this was fact or fiction :D
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I don't know about more flavor or aroma, but brewers back in the day used it for a less harsh bitterness. I'm pretty sure modern science has debunked that one. I still typically do it when brewing lagers
 
Josh Hughes said:
I FWH and can tell more than it simply bittered…. It’s convenient but it does let the flavor come through imo.
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I lost something on the Citra when I did it that way. The recipe I was doing called for a late Citra addition. Couldn't taste it at all. Did the same recipe back to back, and put the Citra in at 10 minutes til flameout, made a world of difference in the flavor. Something in Citra definitely disappears if it's boiled too long. It isn't a particularly bitter hop to start with, certainly not like Warrior.

I use both techniques, usually FWH with the initial additions for boil, but saving the late additions for their normal scheduled time. Anything that's going in for a full boil gets chucked in as soon as I crank up the heat for boiling.
 
Oh I wasn’t saying it was a replacement for late addition hops just that flavor does come through for me on FWH. Many times I do nothing else especially a lager
 
Trialben said:
Supposedly also purported smoother bitterness.
You'll also extract a few extra IBUs out of FWHs they also can help reduce boil overs.

I routinely FWH my brews just a process thing for me though that way I don't forget to add them.
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I think the boil-overs was exactly what made me try your suggestion to FWH. I've learned to tweak the Warrior by a few pellets because of the high bitterness, but bitter is bitter to me, and I couldn't tell you if it was smooth bitter or harsh bitter. It definitely made a huge difference in boil-over. I was already fighting hot-break boil-over, then throw in a strong hop (like Warrior), and I was almost certain to wind up hosing the place down after I brewed. Now, I sneak through the hot-break while heating up, and FWH my bittering hops, but by and large, went back to late addition hopping in the boil for flavoring stages. It all may be my imagination that it makes a difference. Typically, I'm not trying to get IBU's from flavoring/aroma and tend to dry-hop those targets if it's an especially fragrant hop. My only objection to dry-hopping is the risk of infection, but since hops have an antiseptic effect, I'm getting more comfortable with the concept.
 
RoadRoach said:
I think the boil-overs was exactly what made me try your suggestion to FWH. I've learned to tweak the Warrior by a few pellets because of the high bitterness, but bitter is bitter to me, and I couldn't tell you if it was smooth bitter or harsh bitter. It definitely made a huge difference in boil-over. I was already fighting hot-break boil-over, then throw in a strong hop (like Warrior), and I was almost certain to wind up hosing the place down after I brewed. Now, I sneak through the hot-break while heating up, and FWH my bittering hops, but by and large, went back to late addition hopping in the boil for flavoring stages. It all may be my imagination that it makes a difference. Typically, I'm not trying to get IBU's from flavoring/aroma and tend to dry-hop those targets if it's an especially fragrant hop. My only objection to dry-hopping is the risk of infection, but since hops have an antiseptic effect, I'm getting more comfortable with the concept.
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Have you ever tried using FermCap or something similar in the brew kettle? I got tired of fighting with boil overs and gave that a try... works great. Haven't had a boil over since and I'm no longer paranoid to step away for two seconds. I haven't noticed any effects on the beer itself using it, although they say it actually improves head retention in the finished product.
 
Zefram said:
Have you ever tried using FermCap or something similar in the brew kettle? I got tired of fighting with boil overs and gave that a try... works great. Haven't had a boil over since and I'm no longer paranoid to step away for two seconds. I haven't noticed any effects on the beer itself using it, although they say it actually improves head retention in the finished product.
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Thanks for the reference. I figured some of it out by using a lid on the kettle to get the temperature up close to boiling (around 200F) quickly and get the hot break started. Then I take the lid off and don't put it back on for the rest of the boil. If I FWH (as suggested by @Trialben), that tends to keep the boil-over at bay, too. I haven't had one in a while just by exercising some caution with heat control. Once it gets boiling, I find other things to do (clean up, bottle prep, etc) to keep me busy while the boil is in progress. Otherwise, sitting on top of a boil is much akin to watching paint dry.
 
MaxStout said:
A few lager folks here...I'll throw a question at you. What are your thoughts on SafLager W-34/70? Later this winter I plan to brew a Schwarzbier and Festbier. Probably do a double-header the same day. If I'm going to tie up my ferm chamber a few months, might as well get two of them in there. :)

I'm not new to lager brewing, just never tried 34/70. It's the classic Weihenstephan strain. I like to go with dry, as I don't want to order liquid via mail. I suppose I could drive to Midwest, but that's across town and I don't get that way very often.

Anyway, if anyone has some general thoughts on the yeast, I'd appreciate hearing.
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I've used it several times, about as dcead reliable as it gets for a nuetral lager yeast. Where I had the best results was one pack of 34/70 and one of Diamond Lager pitched together, used that slurry for several generations. Couldn't tell you the exact difference, but it I liked it better than either of them by themselves.

I switched to MauriBrew 497 Lager a couple years ago, mainly because my Dad is allergic to most lager yeasts, but not the MauriBrew(witch is TECHNICALLY a bottom fermenting Ale strain). Another nice option for warmer fermented lagers, but it does need 4-5 weeks of lagering to really come into it's own.
 
Over the past few days, I have put together a couple recipes. The first is Amber Ale Use ‘Em, a brew that will make use of measured bits of hops that have been hanging around in the freezer for a while. The other is AC Pale Ale, which is based on a recipe I found on the Yakima Valley Hops site. The AC uses Azacca and Citra hops, exclusively, but to make it my own, I have made some changes to hop schedule and amounts.

With both of these planned brews, I intend to make some process changes. When I started brewing, I stirred the mash every 15 minutes, while checking temperature and gravity. That practice was abandoned when I switched to my 5.5 gallon kettle. I will go back to that practice, but stir and measure at 20 and 40 minutes during the 60 minute mash, hoping the stirring will result in better extraction. Another change will be in the hopping regimen. I have always used a strainer bag to contain the hops, but I’m going to try one or both of these brews without the bag. The AC will be dry hopped, so I will deploy a bag for the dry hops. Most of my brews employ a hop stand, so I’m going to try whirlpooling, which is one reason that I decided to drop the bag. When transferring wort to fermenter, I’m going to try to slow down the transfer in an effort to minimize disturbance of the solids at the bottom of the kettle.

So one of these 2 brews will be next for me, utilizing harvested yeast slurry.
 
Zambezi Special said:
5.5 gallon kettle?
I thought you did small batches like me?
What efficiency do you get Herm?
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I started with a 3 gallon pot, making 1.5 gallon batches. With the 5.5 gallon pot, I make 2.5 to 2.75 gallon batches, so I’m still a small batch brewer. My brewhouse efficiency is currently set at 75%. Sometimes I come in above, sometimes below.
 
Next up for me is a toss up. Either an ever changing German lager I call Holschuh Biergarten (Grandmothers grandparents family name) which is 75-80% pils and rest Munich, Vienna, or Red x, whatever I have and hopped to about 25-30 ibu. I guess a Kellerbier that’s carbonated more. OR a Swartzbier since I have plenty of carafa 2. Last lager for me for a while since I’ll stay in the British isles until summer :) I won’t be brewing for a few more weeks due to job/Sophie’s birthday party.
 
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