[denny]

Guys, I know that I'm very late on this but who thinks that Novalager would work in a Festbier/Oktoberfest Lager?  I have the chance to brew on Sunday and I'm considering this.  I would typically use Omega Bayern, 2124 or 838/2308 for this to give it some German character.  Would Novalager impart any German character?  If not, I might just not make a Festbier this year.  Cheers.

I think it would be a great choice. It seems to put the malt forward a bit.

[Village Taphouse]

I think it would be a great choice. It seems to put the malt forward a bit.

Nice.  Thank you Denny.  I believe this was covered but I have two 11g packs of the yeast.  Use them both in a ~1.052 beer?  The recipe is simple .. 65% pilsner, 35% Munich 2, one addition of Hallertau Mittelfruh to about 25-27 IBUs.  Instant Oompah.   

[Village Taphouse]

My new-from-YVH Hallertau Mitt is only 2.7% so I drew the recipe up with Magnum 12.7% instead.  The only "dark" Munich I have is Bonlander which always seems kind of pale to me so I changed the grist to 55/45 Avangard Pils and Bonlander.  I think it will be great.  Cheers Beerheads. 

[fredthecat]

I think it would be a great choice. It seems to put the malt forward a bit.

Nice.  Thank you Denny.  I believe this was covered but I have two 11g packs of the yeast.  Use them both in a ~1.052 beer?  The recipe is simple .. 65% pilsner, 35% Munich 2, one addition of Hallertau Mittelfruh to about 25-27 IBUs.  Instant Oompah. 

obviously theres experience, but i've found this thing accurate so far in terms of making middle of the range flavour profiles

https://www.lallemandbrewing.com/en/canada/brewers-corner/brewing-tools/pitching-rate-calculator/

[Village Taphouse]

I couldn't get that link to work but I did find the Lallemand calculator.  It says 15.5g of Nova for a 1.052 lager at 50° and at the bottom it says to use 2 packs.  I suppose I could use 1.5 packs and throw the rest away. 

[fredthecat]

yes, thats what it looks like maybe it was the /canada/ reigonalized address that didnt work

yeah it gives qtys of yeast like that, so i tend to overpitch or increase the size of the batch etc. up to you

[neuse]

I don't think it's realistic to come up with an exact amount of yeast needed. It seems like, given the state of the art, a range would be more realistic.

[denny]

I don't think it's realistic to come up with an exact amount of yeast needed. It seems like, given the state of the art, a range would be more realistic.

True of many things in brewing.

[denny]

I couldn't get that link to work but I did find the Lallemand calculator.  It says 15.5g of Nova for a 1.052 lager at 50° and at the bottom it says to use 2 packs.  I suppose I could use 1.5 packs and throw the rest away. 

Or you could use one 500g packet 😁

[Village Taphouse]

Or you could use one 500g packet 😁

Yeah, I saw that.  It made me feel stupid to think that 22g would be overkill on 15.5g.   

[denny]

Or you could use one 500g packet 😁

Yeah, I saw that.  It made me feel stupid to think that 22g would be overkill on 15.5g. 

I think what they're saying is that you can get the amount you need from either situation,  not that you have to use it all. I used 2 packs of Novalager.  Close enough. We're making beer at home, not curing cancer.

[BrewBama]

Come to think of it, I used NovaLager in a German Leichtbier that took 2nd place out of 10 entries in Pale/Amber Lagers of the Brewer’s East End Revival contest. I re-read the judge’s comments. No one mentioned Apple.

[Village Taphouse]

Come to think of it, I used NovaLager in a German Leichtbier that took 2nd place out of 10 entries in Pale/Amber Lagers of the Brewer’s East End Revival contest. I re-read the judge’s comments. No one mentioned Apple.

I just looked at the Lallemand site where it shows the character of the yeast.  Mostly "neutral" but also a mention of "red apple", "tropical fruit" and "acid".  A lot of yeast strains and hop varieties that say that you'll get a "whisper of vanilla" or a "hint of wood" .. I never pick those up.  I hope I do not experience the apple.

I brewed this Festbier yesterday and got a beautiful wort that was super clear going into the fermenter.  I added two packs of Nova and gave it some O2 and when I went past the fermenter around 10:30pm (pitched at 2:30pm) there was activity.  There was vigorous activity this morning.  When it's done and I have it kegged, cold and carbed I might try to sneak a sample so I can form an opinion on the yeast before I go crazy and make five batches with it.  I know Denny said that we're "making beer at home, not curing cancer" but I still don't want 25 gallons of red apple beer.   

[hopfenundmalz]

There is the green apple ester in Budweiser, but not detectable acetaldehyde. From Mitch Steele, who knows about beer, and worked at the Budweiser plant in NH.

"There is a common misperception that the green apple ester that some people use to describe Budweiser is acetaldehyde. I’ve heard this from very experienced, knowledgeable brewing educators, and it is absolutely wrong. Budweiser has the lowest measured acetaldehyde levels of any major American lager brewer, the green apple ester is something else, and this exemplifies some of the confusion about this off-flavor. "

From -

https://thefullpint.com/hoptripper/what-is-quality/

[Village Taphouse]

I transferred this Oktoberfest Lager to a keg and I was able to get a small amount into a cup for a sample.  The good news is that I detected ZERO red apple.  Hooray.  The weird news is that the beer tasted a little "hot" and "harsh".  I assume it's just young beer but I was surprised at what I tasted.  More later after it's cold, carbed and aged a little bit.  The aroma of the yeast is really nice and the room where I did the transfer smells AMAZING.  Hopefully it comes out nicely.  Another "gold beer" is planned for the Novalager this weekend.  Cheers Beerheads.