New to Saflager

[fa50driver]

I've only used liquid yeasts in the past and I have a customer who wants a beer brewed with Saflager W-34/70. For those of you who use dry yeasts - 1) Where are you getting this product - my typical distributor/yeast supplier doesn't have it, and 2) how much would you pitch for a 15 bbl lager fermented at 55?

Your replies are greatly appreciated.

[AnthonyB]

Brewers Supply Group carries all the Fermentis yeasts.

[ConradG]

We've used Saflager S-23 and pitched 1kg for 13 hl. I haven't used 34/70 but with S-23 the first generation is noticeably more estery.

Conrad

[AnthonyB]

We've used Saflager S-23 and pitched 1kg for 13 hl. I haven't used 34/70 but with S-23 the first generation is noticeably more estery.

Conrad

Are you oxygenating the first pitch? One thing I've noticed with both Safale and Danstar is that oxygenation on the first pitch seems to significantly increase esters. So can not following their "recommended" pitching rate... for 13hl, their recommendation is a minimum of 1kg up to maximum of 1.5kg.

[almalkin]

Also haven't used this particular strain, but from my experience I would not recommend oxygenating the first pitch. I would also highly recommend re-hydrating the yeast as the manufacturer recommends. We pitch 500g of Fermentis ale yeast for 7 bbl batches, so you may want to go up to 1.5 kg for 15 bbl of lager.

[kererubrewing]

Can anyone cite references to not oxygenating a first pitch of dry Fermentis yeast?

[AnthonyB]

Both of the larger yeast manufacturers, Danstar and Fermentis, have indicated that it isn't necessary. I can't find a current source for Fermentis saying that but Danstar's response is on this page: http://www.danstaryeast.com/about/fr...sked-questions

There are a number of anecdotal threads on Probrewer over the years as well.

[Beer_Nut]

I was working for a major brewery chain in the South East for a while and eventually I was told to stop brewing because we would be closing. Well to make a long story short the closing was delayed and the company had upcoming promos for certain lagers coming out and I was then told to crank them out if I could, I had less than 3 weeks to get a bock brewed and out on the market. I used the Saflager 34/70 with no real issues. I didn't pick up any excessive esters if I remember, and this was a very light bodied bock. I aerated the wort like normal and pitched the dry yeast right through the manyway as I was knocking out. Under suggestions from the Director of Brewing Ops, I pitched three 500 gram packs for a 20 bbl batch. I had a bit of a lag, a little over 24 hrs before it started taking off. I did ferment a little bit warmer than normal though. But the beer finished just fine and the public absolutely loved it. I continued to use dry yeast for a few batches past that, until the brewery did end up closing. I'm sure you will get better results using the methods recommended by the manufacturer (hydrating before using), but pitching it dry worked just fine for me the few times I did it. I believe I got mine from BSG.