German Lager
Crisp and clean, with a malty finish. Needs a large pitch, cold fermentation and a diacetyl rest before it is packaged. The Weihenstephan 34/70 lineage, and the most-used lager strain on earth.
Apparent attenuation
73-77%
73% - 77%
Fermentation
9-13 C
9C - 13C
Flocculation
Medium
Drops reasonably over a week or two in the cold.
On a 1.050 wort
1.012-1.014
the finishing gravity its range implies, or 4.8-5.1% ABV
The same organism, different labels
SafLager W-34/70
Wyeast 2124
White Labs WLP830
Labs do not confirm each other’s provenance and these are not guaranteed identical. They are close enough to plan a batch around, which is what the list is for.
Find this strainWhere it belongs
- Munich Helles
- German Pils
- Marzen
Pitching it
A lager needs roughly twice the cell count of an ale at the same gravity, pitched cold, into well-oxygenated wort. Under-pitching a lager produces sulphur and diacetyl that weeks of cold conditioning will not fully remove.
Other lager strains
Czech Lager
70-74%Finishes fuller than a German strain, which is where a Czech pale lager gets its body. Slow, sulphury early, and worth the wait.
California Lager
67-71%A lager strain that works at ale temperatures, which is how steam beer exists. Clean at the warm end of its range where most lager yeasts would throw sulphur.
Mexican Lager
72-76%Clean and slightly fruitier than the German strains, suiting the lightly sweet, corn-inflected lagers it is named for.
Bohemian Lager
70-76%Malty and rounded, with a soft finish and heavy sulphur production during fermentation that disappears entirely with lagering. Nerve-racking the first time.
Munich Lager
73-77%Bred for the dark Bavarian styles: emphasises malt depth rather than crispness, and finishes with a fullness that suits a dunkel or a bock.