I recently fermented a batch of Amber Lager (SABL homage) with Mangrove Jack’s M84 Bohemian Lager at 54F. The beer came out malty and clean. Fermentation kicked off quickly (less than 24 hours to develop a krausen). The beer cleared quickly also.
My overall impression, MJ M84 is a nice option for dry lager yeast.
I have a Dark Czech Lager on deck and ordered M84 for it but the online Homebrew store shot me an email saying their stash was expired. I chose a different yeast as a replacement but I really wanted to try that yeast. Your post makes me even more interested in it.
I took it to mean the source of the yeast strain. (i.e. Urquell) Though I’d also like to know, it’s not likely to find an authoritative source to tell us definitively where they harvested the strain.
I am not sure of the source. I have never seen source information for any of the Mangrove Jack’s yeasts. Just speculation.
Frankly, people online say US-05, WLP001, and 1056 are all Chico. But all three behave and taste different. So, even if different brands actually have the same source they become different strains in reality.
They all came from the same source many years ago. But there are differences between them now. We tested the difference between 001 and 1056. Most people preferred 1056. Marshall tested the difference between 001 and 05, with 001 preferred. You can draw your own conclusions.
I have drawn my conclusions. US-05 is the peachy king. I don’t like it.
WLP001 is quite clean and lager like at low temps. This is my preferred Chico strain.
I have only used WY1056 once or twice because it is harder to get in my area. I have no negatives.
I just bought some BRY-97 and MJ M44 to compare. I would like a reliable clean dry yeast. I may just need to use a dry lager yeast. I have had good results with several.
I have drawn my conclusions. US-05 is the peachy king. I don’t like it.
WLP001 is quite clean and lager like at low temps. This is my preferred Chico strain.
I have only used WY1056 once or twice because it is harder to get in my area. I have no negatives.
I just bought some BRY-97 and MJ M44 to compare. I would like a reliable clean dry ale yeast. I am also adding MJ’s California Lager yeast to my comparison. It’s not an ale yeast but it gets lots of good reviews. I may just need to use a dry lager yeast. I have had good results with several (34/70, MJ 84, MJ 76.) I want a less finicky clean strain that is quick. By less finicky, if i accidentally under pitch or my temp is not quite right I want the beer to still be clean with a Helles type malt bill and hop schedule that has nothing to hide my screw ups.