Pilsner malt

In my experience, 34/70 finishes drier than other lager strains. The yeast is used by so many commercial breweries, a complete list might crash the server here. And it doesn't seem to matter whether you use it in a very traditional way at a very low temp, or in a more contemporary higher temperature format, the yeast just ferments out and leaves a very crisp beer. I simply prefer that. It leaves the people on the brewhouse in charge of the body of the beer pretty much entirely.

206 and 278 are more flocculent lager strains that I have a decent amount of experience with. Both can leave quite a bit of diacetyl, but if handled correctly, can lead to a clean lager that does not require filtration. They are very good at emphasizing malt and can both make exceptional Bo-pils as swell as a host of maltier lagers. They are not my first choice for German Pils though there is a local brewer that is using the 206 to make a classic one that is epically good.

 

no, there are some lager strains that produce subtle pear or apple notes...not in as much quantities as many ale strains, but enough to make an effect

 

It seems to me though, that instead of looking for something that enhances sweetness (subtle pear and apple esters), sulfur production (which I believe would do the opposite - reducing perceived sweetness) has a much bigger effect in lagers...imho

btw you guys make fine lagers, cheers

 

Jeff,

Thanks for your thorough response.

Did you take note of the post by @OldBrewer above where he stated: “I also tried a Bohemian Pilsner with the 2124 yeast and found it to be relatively sweet as well, even though the final gravity was quite low.”

I have read in several places that Wyeast 2124 is the Weihenstephan 34/70 yeast strain. Would you say that the 34/70 has the ability to both produce a Pilsner beer with a low final gravity but yet have a sweetness quality to it? On the surface the aspects of low final gravity and sweetness in a beer would appear to be contradictory. Any insights you could provide on this topic would be appreciated.

Cheers!

Jack

 

Not bready, healthy graininess, slightly creamy mouthfeel. I have not used it 100% yet.

 

I have and I like it. The first time I used Swaen malt I made a pale ale with it. I posted the recipe in the BA recipe forum. I call it Swaen Mexico which is a play on the working name for HBC 438 aka Ron Mexico. This beer came out so well the first time I have made it a total of 5 times and my buddy at Sanctuary Spirits and Brewing in Grand Ledge has made it a couple of times for the pub. (tooting my own horn there...)

I call it a late hop pale ale. Very hoppy and flavorful. I also use the Swaen Aroma Malt the 160 levibond crystal. That stuff if awesome.

I really predict good things for Swaen in the future.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/swaen-mexico-american-pale-ale-ag.512097/

 

Where?

 

The first thing that company needs to work on is their website navigation
Keep trying...it's there

 

Go to any of the initially pictured malts (6), select any one (edit: not all work) and keep scrolling down ...I think
@plaztikjezuz
http://theswaen.com/product/ourproducts-malt-for-beer:swaen:ale/

 

I clinked on the link that Barry provided above and for Swaen Pilsner Malt it lists:

“Results

Strong, sweet malt flavour, light golden hue, produces excellent Pilsners and Lagers.”

I bolded the part of “sweet malt flavor”. It would seem that Swaen Malting company is stating that their Pilsner Malt has the aspect of creating a “sweet” flavor in beers that feature their Pilsner Malt product.

I suppose this is consistent with the post from @plaztikjezuz above of “Not bready”.

Cheers!

 

Like @GreenKrusty101 mentions, it's there on their website, just hard to find.

 

Jack, it looks like their Lager malt is every bit as "sweet"
http://theswaen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/TheSwaen_SWAEN_LAGER_specs_2017.pdf

All malt has sugar...sugar is sweet...malt is sweet (at least until different yeasties do their thing)

 

Yes, sweetness comes almost exclusively from the malt (of course some adjuncts can add some sweetness). But the strain of yeast can make a noticeable difference on the perceived sweetness at the end. I still don't know how yeast can make this difference. Theoretically, it shouldn't (assuming the same starting and final gravities), but in practice it does.

 

And that is the crux of the issue: how to determine the contributing ingredients for creating flavors in the finished beer.

The fundamental question from my perspective for a Pilsner beer that is brewed using 100% Pilsner Malt what specifically creates the flavor profiles of sweet vs. bready vs. cracker-like vs. ...?

Is it the brand (e.g., Malting Company) of Pilsner Malt? Is it the 'magic' of a given lager yeast?

I suppose somebody could research this further. For example brew a split batch using Swaen Pilsner Malt and ferment under the same conditions with two different lager yeast strains (e.g., a Tuborg yeast strain and a Carlsberg yeast strain). If both of the beers have a noticeable quality of sweet Pilsner Malt flavor than that would seem to indicate this is an artifact of the particular brand of Pilsner Malt.

Cheers!

 

Also, conduct another experiment, using each malt, but for each, try brewing the exact same recipe using two different yeast (e.g Wyeast 2124 and Wyeast 2278). Notice the difference in perceived sweetness and body. I did this with the Weyerman Pilsner Malt, and one was definitely sweeter and had more body than the other.

 

Doing this comparison is better via a split batch (i.e., the exact same wort) as I detailed above. Brewing two separate batches creates a confounded situation.

Cheers!

 

I suspect that the lovibond rating of the malt has some effect, the variety of barley has an effect, the brewing and even malting water, the yeast certainly, and a half dozen other variables...ie magic

 

I do not see where they are for sale on the Swaen site.

 

They are there...but not "for sale"...unless you are looking for wholesale...http://theswaen.com/to-buy/

 

I will have to listen to the podcast, I have meet Jace Marti a couple of times. Good guy.

Oh, from another forum I learned that the Saazer/Carlsurg strains are triploids that have 2/3 of their genes from S. Eubayanus, 1/3 S. Cerevisiae. The Tuborg/Frohburg strains are tetraploids, and are 1/2 S. Eubayanus and 1/2 S. Cerevisiae. The Saazer strains can handle a little more of a cold fermentation.