Saflager W-34/70

[Rhodesy]

Last week on Saturday I brewed my first AG lager which went well. I used the therminator to get it to 19c going into the FV. I then aerated the wort with a 0.5 micron stone for around 40 minutes which created a large head of foam. I pitched 2 rehydrated (at 25c) packets of Saflager W-34/70 into the FV and then switched the brew fridge to bring it down to 12c which was achieved within a few hours. All in that part was fine.

The OG was 1.045 which was in line with expectations, I checked the gravity last night which was down to 1.015 (expected FG of 1.010), I have since raised this from 12C to 15c initially this morning and will up to 18C when I get home tonight for a diacetyl rest. The one thing I am querying is the speed at which it has fermented down to 1.015 when the STC 1000 controlled brew fridge has been a constant 12c. I did have good aeration and pitched 2 packets to be on the safe side but still seems rather fast to ferment down in just under a week? Has anyone else experienced this on this yeast?

[roscoe]

I pitched W-34/70 slurry last week into 10.5oC and it went 1052 > 1015 in 3.5d, depending on how active the slurry and pitch rate that isn't a surprise.
With the tap water so cold my CFC gets the wort from boil at this time of year easy well under 10, so it needs watching.

[Rhodesy]

Thanks Roscoe that is reassuring. Yeah being from your neck of the woods the tap water can make the chillers almost too efficient and especially if you are doing ales!! That was my first time using a plate chiller having previously used an immersion which always got me to 20cish. I think I got the flow rate ok on this one. Will give this a nice D rest then a bit of dry hopping before moving onto lagering in preparation of BBQ season.

[rpt]

I haven't used W-34/70 but I have used S-23 a few times. Last time it went from 1.050 to 1.016 in 6 days and reached 1.012 after a total of 15 days. This was at 12C although it was at 20C for the first 24 hours. I do this so I only have to pitch one packet in 22.4L. So your experience seems perfectly normal to me.

[Doingatun]

Brewed a Lager using W-34/70 my preferred Lager yeast, pitched 1 x 11.5g in 24.5 Litres, SG 1:043 at 20c which cooled to ferment temp 13/14c, second static FG 1:006 today, 10 days to finish, keg in 3 or 4 days, will brew another Lager after kegging using some slurry.

[Rhodesy]

Thanks guys, putting my mind at ease!

[Rhodesy]

Just another quick query on this, should I lager this for say 2/3 months. Will I need to pitch a small amount (2g) of yeast into the bottling bucket or should I still have enough in suspension? Only ever done one lager before previously on extract which was only lagered for 3 weeks and then bottled with no additional yeast.

Also are finings advised or just let the lagering do the clearing to hopefully help reduce any chill haze.

[Jimmy321]

Just thought I would chime in as I stay local (Paisley), It's a really good time to make lager as cooling the wort is not a problem.

I've made 4 lagers on the trot using WLP830 but the main point is re-using the yeast to get a big amount, I made a 2x2l starter and fermented at 9° without changing the temp and it was at final gravity within 10 days. I then used 3/4 of the yeast cake for the next batch and rinsed that for the next batch then used part of the yeast cake for the last.

My procedure was ferment at 9°C for 10-14 days then lower 1°C every 12 hours to reach 4° and hold for 2 weeks then keg and lager at 0° and it was good to go in 4 weeks so that's 8 weeks from mash tun to keg without finings, some are still at lagering temp as I have not got round to drinking and I made one at 6%.

The results are better that using less yeast with a diacetyl rest. Also I believe clarity is better with the rapid chilling and cold break achieved with the cold tap water temps.

[Jimmy321]

Just another quick query on this, should I lager this for say 2/3 months. Will I need to pitch a small amount (2g) of yeast into the bottling bucket or should I still have enough in suspension?

I would say it will be fine but may need more time to carb.

[Beer O'Clock]

Not wishing to piss all over your bonfire, but I have never had a decent results with W34/70. It might just be me, but if you are going to all the trouble of producing a lager then it pays to use a liquid yeast. Shortcuts seldom work and they haven't for me.

But, as I say, It might just be me.

[Rhodesy]

Thanks Jimmy, thats really helpful. I do plan to use liquid yeasts (used them in ales and have a stir plate) but admittently i decided to brew up last minute and didnt have time to ferment out a starter. Managed to pick up a 2nd brewfridge locally on gumtree so now have a dedicated conditioning/lagering fridge so plan to take my time on this.

[Rookie]

Not wishing to piss all over your bonfire, but I have never had a decent results with W34/70. It might just be me, but if you are going to all the trouble of producing a lager then it pays to use a liquid yeast. Shortcuts seldom work and they haven't for me.

But, as I say, It might just be me.

That's too bad. You're the only one that I've ever heard complain about 34/70.
I'm at the end of a pilsner brewed with it and will be sad to have it gone.

[Beer O'Clock]

Not wishing to piss all over your bonfire, but I have never had a decent results with W34/70. It might just be me, but if you are going to all the trouble of producing a lager then it pays to use a liquid yeast. Shortcuts seldom work and they haven't for me.

But, as I say, It might just be me.

That's too bad. You're the only one that I've ever heard complain about 34/70.
I'm at the end of a pilsner brewed with it and will be sad to have it gone.

Three tries with it and bland brews each time. Used the same recipe with WLP-830 and a great lager. I've used various other liquid yeasts and achieved much better results. WLP-800 being my fave.

But, as I say, maybe it's just me. I still stand by the maxim that if you are putting in the effort to make a lager then you owe it to yourself to use a liquid yeast.

[Rookie]

Not wishing to piss all over your bonfire, but I have never had a decent results with W34/70. It might just be me, but if you are going to all the trouble of producing a lager then it pays to use a liquid yeast. Shortcuts seldom work and they haven't for me.

But, as I say, It might just be me.

That's too bad. You're the only one that I've ever heard complain about 34/70.
I'm at the end of a pilsner brewed with it and will be sad to have it gone.

Three tries with it and bland brews each time. Used the same recipe with WLP-830 and a great lager. I've used various other liquid yeasts and achieved much better results. WLP-800 being my fave.

But, as I say, maybe it's just me. I still stand by the maxim that if you are putting in the effort to make a lager then you owe it to yourself to use a liquid yeast.

You've got to go with what tastes best to you.

[beerlover36]

I've used 34/70 for a few lager brews over the winter and it's been excellent. I fermented at around 13/14 C and got down to FG in a week on each occasion, that may seem a little warm but the instructions say 12-15C, and there was absolutely no off-flavours. The only other time I've brewed lager I used Wyeast Urquell which was good but took over 2 weeks and a rise to room temperature to finish off. I'll definitely be using 34/70 again, it's great to find a decent yeast in dried format