I am brewing with 2278 right now.
I brewed four times with it (re pitching).
Chill wort to 44F.
Pitch and let rise to 46F.
Keep at 46F a few days.
Do the bulk of fermentation at 48F.
Then at the end of fermentation raise temp again to 56F.
I am brewing Czech beers and there is just something strange with it.
I am getting BANANA esters.
So instead of nice Czech Pilsner I have mild wheat beer.
Does anybody have similar experience?
I’ve never had anything like that happen with 2278.
Neither have I. I brewed two wonderful CAPs this past spring with Czech Pils. No banana or other inappropriate esters were present. Maybe the yeast just needs a little time to think about what it’s done.
hey bud - yeah - I swore off that yeast a few years back - it ruined a rye bock of mine pretty severely.
Its a major sulfur producer too - brewhobby tried to warn me of that but I made a few batches with it on my own to learn the hard way.
can’t say I recall banana though - sure you didn’t get some 3068 in there 
;D
Interesting to hear as many complaints as not. I’ve only used it a couple times, but maybe I’ll think twice before I use it again.
He he. 3068 nice try.
I have WLP300 but no 3068.
Anyway.
My understanding was that 2278 was one of many strains that Pilsner Urquell was using.
Then they blended it to desired taste.
Not sure where I got this info from.
I do like the other Pilsner Urquell strain Wyeast 2001 Pilsner Urquell or Budvar strain Wyeast 2000 Budvar.
My next yeast I will try is WLP802 Budejovice Lager.
WY2000 and WLP802 are not supposed to be the same.
There are actually two breweries in Ceske Budejovice (Right across the street from each other).
So at one point it is very likely that it was the same.
What did your mash schedule look like?
Here is my Mash Schedule
Total Grain Lbs: 10.49
Total Water Qts: 16.79 - Before Additional Infusions
Total Water Gal: 4.20 - Before Additional Infusions
Tun Thermal Mass: 0.14
Grain Temp: 68.00 F
Step Rest Start Stop Heat Infuse Infuse Infuse
Step Name Time Time Temp Temp Type Temp Amount Ratio
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protein Rest 5 20 131 131 Infuse 141 16.79 1.60
Maltose Rest 10 20 143 143 Direct --- ------- ----
Alpha Rest 10 30 161 161 Direct --- ------- ----
Mash Out 10 10 172 172 Direct --- ------- ----
Total Water Qts: 16.79 - After Additional Infusions
Total Water Gal: 4.20 - After Additional Infusions
Total Mash Volume Gal: 5.04 - After Additional Infusions
Never noticed that, a bad starter? Sulfur yes it does that. Maybe that is your culprit to a lesser extent that Blatz’s beer.
Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
89.0 8.90 lbs. Pilsener Germany 1.038 2
5.0 0.50 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 1.033 2
3.0 0.30 lbs. Carahell Malt Germany 1.034 12
3.0 0.30 lbs. Melanoidin Malt Germany 1.033 35
I used Melanoidin Malt and Cara-Pils this time.
Normally I just skip them.
Could that be the issue?
I wouldn’t think so in those small amounts.
I agree about giving that batch a little more time. I finished a BoPils about 2 months ago with 2278 and it wasn’t until after 4 weeks of lagering at 35F that the stench went away. I remember it stank pretty bad when I pulled it out for the diacetyl rest, besides the sulfur I also got some banana-type esters. So I threw it back in the fridge and nearly completely forgot about it.
Needless to say suddenly “remembering” the beer I “forgot” about was a really good surprise.