I never thought I’d find American malts that could match German malts in a German style beer.Thanks to Denny and some others who have recommended Mecca Grade Malts. I even like my Dunkel more with the Mecca Grade malts,so I decided to brew it again.I don’t use all American ingredients in this recipe and it would be interesting to use American noble hops and an American Lager yeast.Maybe someone could recommend a yeast strain?Here’s my latest recipe.
8 lbs Metolius (Munich style)
3 lbs Pelton (Pilsner style)
.5 lbs Chocolate
Hallertauer Tradition 25 IBU
WLP 830
I used to be a big fan of Wyeast 2035 American Lager, but it’s one of the Private Collection limited release ones now. Haven’t used it in years, but it might have been the first lager yeast I ever used back in the early 90s and I really liked its character. It supposedly came from August Schell in MN, which long advertised their special house yeast saved from before Prohibition, but I’ve also read that in recent decades they’ve switched to different strains, acquired from different breweries, for different beers and under different conditions. Worth trying whenever it comes around, but I don’t know when that is. You can never go wrong with good old 2206 though. My current go to yeast, although it’s German and not American.
Thanks for the WY 2035 suggestion.WY 2206 was also my go to yeast for malt forward lagers.Unfortunately,my LHBS doesn’t carry Wyeast anymore just Whitelabs and dry yeasts.
You might want to try White Labs 833 for malt forward lagers, if that’s the brand your LHBS has. It might be a viable substitute for 2206 for you. It doesn’t drop clear quite as fast as 2206 does, but the flavor balance is similar. I like either one better than the 34/70 strains like 2124 and 830.