[Steve Ruch]

I've only used s-23 once and didn't detect the fruitiness that some people get.

[Silver_Is_Money]

I've only used s-23 once and didn't detect the fruitiness that some people get.

Do you remember the temperature regimen you followed?

[BrewBama]

It's time I asked this.  Has anyone on this forum used S-23 yeast and gotten wholly satisfying results from it?

Annie Johnson past AHA Homebrewer of the Year said on an interview right after winning that award that she used it a lot.  She’s know for light lagers.

Time 58:45.
http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/post2143/

She also said she loves US-05. Maybe she uses it warmer to avoid the peach off flavor.


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[denny]

It's time I asked this.  Has anyone on this forum used S-23 yeast and gotten wholly satisfying results from it?

Annie Johnson past AHA Homebrewer of the Year said on an interview right after winning that award that she used it a lot.  She’s know for light lagers.

Time 58:45.
http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/post2143/

She also said she loves US-05. Maybe she uses it warmer to avoid the peach off flavor.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

All I know that I'll drink any beer Annie makes. Everything I've had from her was stunning.

[Steve Ruch]

I've only used s-23 once and didn't detect the fruitiness that some people get.

Do you remember the temperature regimen you followed?

No, it was a long time ago and I've only recently started keeping much in the way of notes.

[tommymorris]

It's time I asked this.  Has anyone on this forum used S-23 yeast and gotten wholly satisfying results from it?

Annie Johnson past AHA Homebrewer of the Year said on an interview right after winning that award that she used it a lot.  She’s know for light lagers.

Time 58:45.
http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/post2143/

She also said she loves US-05. Maybe she uses it warmer to avoid the peach off flavor.


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I have used US-05 in hoppy ambers with out noticing the peach flavor too much. It’s definitely a problem with lighter beers.

I have always wanted to try S-23. Just haven’t gotten around to it. I like 34/70 so inertia generally wins out when I buy yeast.

[Village Taphouse]

This whole conversation reminds me that dry yeast has come a long way.  For many years I stayed away from them thinking that they produced subpar beer when compared to liquid yeast.  34/70, Diamond, S-189 and even S-04 have their place and can produce very nice beer.  Denny and I have compared notes on the peachy-apricot thing that US-05 can produce and I think we agreed that we had both experienced it.  At the time I guessed that I was trying to use it on the cool side because I typically brew ales somewhat cool (between 60 and maybe 62°) and maybe US-05 is just not about it.  This latest run of lagers I made with Lallemand Diamond has been excellent all the way through.  I hope the dry yeast companies keep churning out good, high-quality strains for us.  Cheers brothers. 

[skyler]

To answer OP's question, I do not believe W34-70 is "too clean" for Czech Pilsner. In fact, I think it is a great choice for the style. I have been to the Czech Republic many times and had tons of Czech Pilsner from at least a dozen breweries. I think plenty of them are clean and dry and even crisp. Others are more soft and delicate, but a lot of that softness comes from the water profile and (according to the Czechs) the way it is poured into the glass.

To address the Brulosophy test, I also did that same test myself. I brewed a Czech Premium Pale Lager (came in big at ~1.058 due to a larger-than-expected efficiency boost from the single decoction Hochkurz mash) and split it, fermenting half with S-189 and half with W34/70 and I personally far preferred the W34/70 beer. The beers were very similar and had the same final gravity, but I found the S-190 tasted more "flat" and less lively, if that makes any sense. I similarly split a dunkel between S-189 and MJ Bohemian Lager yeast and found I liked them equally, though neither tasted "flat."

I am currently fermenting a festbier with WLP 802 Czech Budejovice (I assume the Czechvar strain) and intend to brew up a Czech Pilsner with the slurry.

[Silver_Is_Money]

More conversation (via email) with my contact at Fermentis.  It is his belief that for specifically Pilsner Urquell, they pitch their yeast at 36 degrees F. and allow it to rise to 48 degrees F..  He still feels that S-23 is the best match in the dry yeast arena, but admits that he has never pitched at 36 degrees F., and he stated that doing so would place a huge burden load of challenge upon the dry yeast.

[denny]

More conversation (via email) with my contact at Fermentis.  It is his belief that for specifically Pilsner Urquell, they pitch their yeast at 36 degrees F. and allow it to rise to 48 degrees F..  He still feels that S-23 is the best match in the dry yeast arena, but admits that he has never pitched at 36 degrees F., and he stated that doing so would place a huge burden load of challenge upon the dry yeast.

You're not using PU yeast, right? So why try to force it into a PU fermentation schedule?

[hopfenundmalz]

From the Keller at PU. They pitch at 5C in the open wood tanks.



https://photos.app.goo.gl/hjjGnwj1XxuuYNE26

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[Silver_Is_Money]

From the Keller at PU. They pitch at 5C in the open wood tanks.

Thanks much!  That converts to 41 degrees F. 

[hopfenundmalz]

Don't know what they do in the CCVs the production beer ferments in.

5C/41F is pretty cold, it ramps up to 8C over 7 days, so if that was the end it got to 46.4F, still on the cool side.

[Northern_Brewer]

I emailed Fermentis and asked their opinion as to which of their yeasts is considered most appropriate for Czech (Bohemian) Pilsner, and their reply was S-23.

Also worth noting that the latest DNA sequencing results suggests S-23 is a Frohberg yeast that is the closest known relative to Wyeast 2001-PC "Pilsner Urquell H-Strain" Almost as related are WLP940 Mexican Lager and WLP515 Antwerp Ale, it's not surprising that a famous yeast would end up being exported to other countries.

[Stand]

I recently made two versions of my house beer back to back with different hops to do a comparison, and until I introduced a palate cleanser I couldn't tell the difference.   First impression of the first beer was fine, but the second was impossible. Eating a piece of bread made a big difference.