I want to brew the schwarzbier recipe out of Gordon's strong book Modern Homebrew Recipes. My homebrew shop currently doesn't have any liquid German lager yeast. The recipe in Gordan's book calls for Wyeast 2206 Barvarian Lager yeast. In your opinion what would be the best dry yeast for German lagers?
I have limited experience using dry lager yeast (lots of experience using dry ale yeast). IMO the 'expert' here is Jim (@premierpro). I have had the pleasure of drinking several of his lagers brewed using a variety of dry lager yeast. All of those beers have been of very high quality. Hopefully he can provide his input here. Cheers!
For malty lagers I like S-189, if using dry (prefer liquid though). In fact, the only Schwarzbier I’ve brewed I ended up using S-189, and if I recall it turned out nice. Nothing wrong with 34/70, but not a lot of character, quite neutral flavor profile. Those are the only dry lager yeasts I’ve used.
Have brewed with all the aforementioned dry lager yeasts and this one. https://www.morebeer.com/products/diamond-lager-yeast-lallemand.html Take your pick, but make sure you use at least 2 sachets, imho.
This matches my experience. S-189 makes a damn fine lager, and W-34/70 is a close second. Diamond is most likely from the same source as W-34/70.
Going to be using Mangrove Jack's Bohemian for a schwarzbier in a few weeks. Currently ageing a Veinna and Dunkle that use it as well. I have no real preference over the other two mentioned.
I do not brew Schwarzbier but I do Brew Dunkels and Bohemian Dark Lagers. I do a split batch every time I brew them. Always with 34/70 and S-189. They both do a great job with these beers. I prefer the malty goodness I get from the 34/70 in my Dunkels and the S-189 in the Bohemian Dark lager. I also only pitch one pack per five gallon batch without re hydration. Take care!
I too have only used 34/70 and S-189. I slightly prefer the S-189 but then again this was for Dunkel and I felt the malt shone better with the S-189. Cheers!
