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Fake Lager
Hi All,
Just kind of curious on something I decided to try yesterday. I'll know the results in about six weeks, but wanted to know what you thought...
I decided to brew a Schwarzbier style beer, but this winter hasn't been stable enough temperature-wise that I can rely on proper fermentation temps for lager yeast. So I picked up some Wyeast 1007, German Ale which sounds like similar qualities to most German lager yeasts (Apparently a dry finish if fermented cooler, and some sulfur which, according to my LHBS guy, is a good thing for this style):
Wyeast 1007: German Ale
A true top cropping yeast with low ester formation and a broad temperature range.
Fermentation at higher temperatures may produce mild fruitiness.
This powdery strain results in yeast that remains in suspension post fermentation.
Beers mature rapidly, even when cold fermentation is used.
Low or no detectable diacetyl.
Origin:
Flocculation: low
Attenuation: 73-77%
Temperature Range: 55-68° F (13-20° C)
Alcohol Tolerance: approximately 11% ABV
Styles:
American Wheat or Rye Beer
Berliner Weisse
Bière de Garde
Düsseldorf Altbier
Kölsch
Northern German Altbier
So it's currently bubbling away in the basement; I figure with an OG of around 1060, this batch should be ready to go in 5-6 weeks. I'll probably have to call it Black Heart Ale or something like that, I think. I understand it can't be a "true" Schwarzbier.
What do you guys (and gals!) think?
I like the alt yeast and think it should make a pretty good beer. I'll be making an alt fairly soon.
Kinda funny cause I'm in a similar situation. I had weighed out grains to do two consecutive bock beers but was dealing with older yeast and ran out of time. So I only had enough yeast for one batch. Now I have all the ingredients measured out for another batch of bock but no yeast. I likely will just hold off until I get more yeast but am actually playing with the idea of fermenting it with an English ale yeast. Might make an interesting comparison.
I've heard of people making fake lagers with us-05, fermenting as cool as it will go, then lagering the beer for a few months. it's supposed to come out pretty lager-like. the alt yeast should work fine for that as well.
getting a fridge with a temp controller is the way to go though. Really helps set the needed temp. I have a lager going right now. Used a recipe for a cali common, but used budejovice lager yeast, fermenting at 50. most brews I make I don't smell much from them, but this one I opened the door to check on it, and wham! I was hit with a big whiff of the tantalizing aroma of Northern Brewer hops.....
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