Novalager

[The Baron]

Yes, well sort of. I wouldn't want to convince anyone else not to use it. And I always would recommend someone to try it out themselves.

As for pressure fermenting, I don't notice much difference between fermenting cold, warm or pressure fermenting once you let them sit for a month.

Hi Pennine
not aimed at you at all hope you did not think so just that you had pressure fermented and I would like a few others to comment on straight brews so that we can see if it gives the same results.

 

[Pennine]

Hi Pennine
not aimed at you at all hope you did not think so just that you had pressure fermented and I would like a few others to comment on straight brews so that we can see if it gives the same results.

Agreed, I am looking forward to hearing others opinions on it. I also think it makes a great beer and I had no problem drinking multiple pints in a row of it. Which is rather unusual for me. No worries about comnenting on the difference in process either, it's an important point.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I'm slightly disappointed by your experiences Pennine. Had high hopes for this. Certainly doesn't sound like a viable option for me preferred types of lager eg yer European, German Helles or Czech style.

I guess further info will come out with experience of more people trying it.

Seems to be the general view at eg the HBT thread.

But it's perhaps to be expected given that it is more ale than lager. That's OK. No doubt they will be doing a more lagery low-sulphur hybrid at some point

 

[An Ankoù]

Seems to be the general view at eg the HBT thread.

But it's perhaps to be expected given that it is more ale than lager. That's OK. No doubt they will be doing a more lagery low-sulphur hybrid at some point

Some interesting comments on the thread you linked above, and a variety of experiences. Optimistic on the whole and I expected more reference to apple flavours. Glad one brewer managed to get his keg to drop crystal clear after a few weeks. I bottle everything and would expect conditioning to take a few weeks for most beers anyway whereas I tend not to touch my lagers for 6 months. Lallemand have no doubt invested a tidy sum in creating and distributing this strain and I'm impatient for mine to arrive so I can try to figure out what all the excitement is about.

Interesting reference to something called x lager yeast. Never heard of it. Another rabbit hole to jump into,

 

[Clarence]

Ill be getting some of that. It'll be interesting to see how it works in my Carlsberg Special Brew recipe.

 

[NDE79]

I've used it. Pitched two packets and it didn't attenuate fully. So, my spruce pilsner finished sweeter than intended.

 

[An Ankoù]

I've used it. Pitched two packets and it didn't attenuate fully. So, my spruce pilsner finished sweeter than intended.

It's supposed to attenuate up to 84%. What FG did you get?
Spruce Pilsner? Sounds interesting.

 

[NDE79]

It's supposed to attenuate up to 84%. What FG did you get?
Spruce Pilsner? Sounds interesting.1.018

1.018. should have been 1.012. Doing the calculations the apparent attenuation was 64.6%. Real attention 52.9%

 

[An Ankoù]

1.018. should have been 1.012. Doing the calculations the apparent attenuation was 64.6%. Real attention 52.9%

That's quite a bit out. While I haven't used Novalager yet, I have trouble at the other end and regularly end up with FGs lower than 1008. That's my fault as I mash at 64-65C and mash for at least 4 hours to fit the brew in with my daily routine. That suits me though as I don't really like sweet beers. The Sierra Nevada Pale Ale I bottled yesterday came in at 1004 or 7% abv with CML Five. That's going too far and I'll increase the mash temperature (or recalibrate my thermometer or both) for the next batch. I reckon your 1.018 might have something to do with the mash temperatures, perhaps?

 

[YeastFace]

I’ve got 2 packs of this gratis from lallemand sitting in my freezer right now. I’ll be doing a German Pils fermented in a standard ss brewtech bucket so I can give another view on how it turns out after that.

Have you used it yet? Any feedback?

 

[The Baron]

I have just pitched my first one this morning so I will report when it is done

 

[YeastFace]

I may be using it tomorrow (haven't decided whether to brew an Italian Pils or Peach Saison tomorrow yet) so will report back too if I do.

Probably will ferment at the lower end to try to supress the red apple esters as much as possible.

 

[Braumeister]

Have you used it yet? Any feedback?

Not yet I’m afraid, I’ve got 2 other brews to do then it’ll be that one, so a few weeks away.

 

[evil.soup]

Well yesterday I started my first ever kit brew, coopers lager kit, and after recommendation on this site, I switched out the yeast to novalager.

I guess this will be the most basic measure of how this yeast works as I don't have temp control and I am using a basic bucket kit. Temp will be sitting around 16 to 18°C. I won't see the brew again until tomorrow evening as I'm not home today, but given what I have read, I expect to see it bubbling away furiously.

I will however be dry hopping 50g of hersbrucker for 2 days after 5 days of fermentation, so thar will be the only other thing that will influence the end flavour. I am aiming more for a 1664 style lager.

In terms of clearing, did cold crashing not help?

 

[dmtaylor]

In terms of clearing, did cold crashing not help?

I've seen Novalager beers that were clear. It seems that the key factor with clearing with this yeast is TIME. After a few months it will clear up just fine.

 

[YeastFace]

There are a few (4 I think) videos on Lallemand's YouTube page with interviews with some of the breweries they partnered with for trials. Worth a watch if you've not seen it.

I'm at ~40% attenuation 3 days after pitching, not as quick as some but I am at the lower end of the ferm range at 12°.

 

[YeastFace]

Am crash cooling the Italian Pils now. FG was 1.008 so 80% attenuation.

Clarity was decent enough pre-crashing, and didn't get many esters from the sample. Will keg in a couple of days and lager for 4 weeks.

 

[evil.soup]

Gravity at day 3 was 1032 and day 5 1018 and still bubbling, today is day 8 but I haven't been back to check, will see where it is at tomorrow evening. Taste has already improved though.

I won't be cold crashing until maybe Wednesday night as long as my gravity numbers stay steady.

Be interested to see how yours clears during cold crash.

 

[hoppyscotty]

Well mine turned out nice and doesn't seem to have suffered from the temp fluctuations I saw in fermentation due to issues with my fermentation fridge. It wasn't pressure fermented and remained within the quoted fermentation temperature range at all times but no off flavours that I can identify.

As someone who is not a lager fan it's a great lager style drink...not a true lager, but better as far as I'm concerned. Will brew again. The Novalager seems to work just fine.

I did fine this because I wanted it to clear quickly, but brewed a Pale Ale at around the same time and that has dropped out brite too so have no doubt it would have achieved this clarity without the finings by now.

 

[evil.soup]

That looks great, if mine ends up looking like that I will be very happy indeed!

Forgot to mention in my post, mine has been fermenting at around 17°C pretty consistently.

I have ready you can get some apple flavours when using novalager at this temp and my day 5 taste test was a bit fruity, will update if that remains the case.