Hi, I need a quick recommendation. I planned to order Wyeast 2206 for a batch of Oktoberfest I planned to brew in a few weeks. Wyeast doesn’t have it at the moment. Is there another good Wyeast I could use? I’ve use 34/70 in the past but wanted to try something different. Would I be better off just waiting a few weeks until I can get 2206?
If you want to go dry, S-189 is a great choice.
Thanks. I’d be fine with liquid or dry. I just want a good one. I felt my batch with 34/70 seemed a bit thin in my limited experience.
I was going to say S-189 as well. It’s even better than W-34/70. Love the S-189.
Wyeast 2633 is my favorite for Octoberfest. 2124 and S189 are great choices, too.
My Oktoberfest won a First Place Award this year at the Bluebonnet, and it was made with Wyeast 2633 (Oktoberfest Lager Blend). I do not like the flavor profile. And I will not use it again.
The judges obviously liked it. But not me!
Might give S-189 a try here.
I’m a big fan of 2206, but if I couldn’t get it I wouldn’t hesitate to use 2124.
2124 produces more sulphur than 2206, but it will dissipate during conditioning.
Thanks for the advice. They have some Wyeast 2352 which from what I can tell comes from Augustiner. Anyone have experience with that? I always like the Augustiner beers I’ve had.
S-189 is very tempting. Dry yeast is easy.
I like Omega Bayern for an Oktoberfest. It’s supposed to be Augustiner’s yeast. It makes a great helles, pilsner, Vienna, bock, etc. but I especially like it in an Oktoberfest. S-189 is very good as is Diamond but I feel like S-189 is just a little bland on the yeast character. I believe it’s technically a Swiss yeast but that shouldn’t necessarily exclude it. Another good option is 2308.
EDIT: We were posting at the same time. Wyeast 2352 and Omega Bayern are the same strain.
Yes, dry yeast is easier. But Wyeast can be easy as well, provided you are patient and make a good starter the day before. This is where the black-magic art of brewing comes into play.
I have S-189 in the fridge now, planning to use it soon. If it is any consolation, we have won brewing competition medals with both dry yeast (Fermentis) and liquid yeast (Wyeast).
Omega Bayern is a great lager yeast - I use it without hesitation; but I use S-189 the most anymore; Diamond is a close second for dry yeasts.
Next up for me is a festbier with S-189
Another product that is said to be the Augustener stran is Imperial L-17 Harvest.
You probably have a good recipe, but my entry at the Bluebonnet scored 43 points, and was perhaps one of the best beers we brewed last fall. I got the idea for the grain bill here, from the Village.
60% Pils
20% Vienna
20% Munich.
That was my assessment too, that is, other than the low-level phenolic off-flavor in the finish. I am surprised to read that White Labs was distributing Lallemand Diamond Lager culture. Granted, they have a vested interested in liquid culture production, but one of the things that they have repeatedly claimed in their catalog about dry yeast cultures is the possibility of phenolic off-flavors with dry yeast (page 10 of this document: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi2pYTH4-TvAhUOGFkFHdoQC9IQFjAAegQIAxAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwhitelabs.com%2Fpublic%2Fuploads%2Fckeditor%2F5f8914dc7a8c71602819292.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3a3AWxMUGFqlxWb6Iqp_nC). I am glad to see that information in print, even if it may only be confirmation bias. One thing I want to know about Fermentis W-34/70 is how does a culture that is claimed to be flocculent morph into one that is not? Additionally, the loss of flocculence does not appear to be consistent from package to package. However, enough brewers have complained about how powdery this yeast strain can be that the loss of flocculence is occurring on a fairly regular basis. Even brewers on this forum have remarked at how long it takes W-34/70 to drop out of suspension.
Thanks for the advice. I went with WY 2352. I made a Helles this past weekend to use as starter for the 10 gallon Oktoberfest I plan to brew in a month.
The helles is fermenting nicely at 54F degrees as Wyeast suggests 52F-62F. I’m looking forward to trying that and even more excited to get the Oktoberfest brewed as it is one of my favorite styles.
Wyeast 2352, eh? That’s a rare release. Most of us have never tried that one. Hope it turns out for you. My guess is it will be similar to like WLP820… which is okay but not a favorite due to its low attenuation. I hope I’m wrong and/or you like it.
I recently scored a fresh pouch of 2352 and brewed a helles with it, which I’m kegging on Wednesday. I’ve never used it before, fingers are crossed. I’ve read that 2352 is functionally, if not phylogenetically, the same as Imperial Harvest, which I like.
tbh Im ready for a lower attenuating lager yeast. I dont find most highly attenuated lagers as desirable as most it seems.
Taste is subjective, that’s for sure.
One thing interesting I have found about S-189, which is my current favorite, is that although it ferments up to 79% attenuation which seems pretty high, it still results in a sweeter tasting beer in your mouth, but the finish is dry. Just about perfect in my opinion.