Brewing with Mangrove Jack's M76 Bavarian Lager yeast

[joolbag]

Hey guys, this is my first try with the Mangrove Jack’s M76 lager yeast and I started this thread to share my experience and to hear from others who have (or plan to) use this yeast.

 

I brewed a partial-mash Munich Helles on Saturday night. OG = 1053. I rehydrated 2 x packets of Mangrove Jack’s M76 Bavarian Lager yeast in 200mL previously boiled water, cooled to 22C. The yeast was left for approx 15mins to rehydrate as per the MJ website recommendations.

 

I didn’t get the temp as low as I would have liked for pitching, but it wasn’t overly high. 15.8C. Tipped the whole yeast cream in.

 

I left the fermenter at ambient temperature, in a water bath to increase the “heat bank” and minimise swings to due night lows and day highs.

 

In the morning (8 hours later) the fermenter had cooled to 10.2C. It cooled a bit quicker to a lower temp than what I would have liked.

 

No visible activity for 24 hours, maybe the slightest bubbles on top. This morning (32 hours) about the same, perhaps a few more small bubbles on top, nothing happening in the airlock. Temp of the water bath is 11.5C now so something is happening in the brew. Rather slow going, but this is a lager yeast after all and I’m not overly concerned. My sanitation and hygiene for this brew was top notch.

 

I plan to keep this thread alive for this brew and the next and will update at each stage. Am going to harvest the yeast cake from this beer and pitch it into a pilsner recipe. I expect it to take off a lot quicker for the 2nd go, just like when I harvested, washed and pitched the W34/70 yeast. It took off like a rocket!

 

[joolbag]

Ha! This is a yeast for Lusty. If you thought BRY-97 was a slow starter, try this lager yeast.

 

Even at 48hrs there were barely a few patches of fine bubbles developing. By 56 hrs it was rocking n rolling, full coverage and 8mm dense krausen.

 

Def not a yeast for the stress-heads!

[Otto Von Blotto]

I had a similar experience with my latest use of 2001 Urquell yeast. It took about 44 hours to show any real signs of fermentation. Then it ripped through it in about 8 or 9 days.

[DirtyStew]

Dry pitched mine at about 24. Then 2 days at 15 now down to 10 and bubbling away. Producing a little heat as well.

[ben 10]

Ha! This is a yeast for Lusty. If you thought BRY-97 was a slow starter' date=' try this lager yeast.

 

[/quote']

 

You do know lager yeasts are bottom fermenting?

[joolbag]

Thought I read somewhere that the term "bottom-fermenting" was a myth or misnomer.

[ben 10]

Dunno. I have not had any issues with that yeast and have used it a few times.

[joolbag]

Update on this yeast. I like it! My Munich Helles has been fermenting for 17 days. About a week of that was a diacetyl rest at 18C.

 

There was a distinct lack of bubbling happening throughout the entire ferment. It's the first time I have experienced this. Could be a dodgy seal - won't know until I bottle and put down my next brew. Fermentation was apparent through the usual suspects - bubbles on surface followed by thick krausen and condensation on the lid. Krausen stuck around for a while - at least a week before it sank.

 

OG of this brew was 1053, and it is now down to 1012 @ 17.5C. Flavour of my hydrometer sample is nice and clean as I would expect of this style of beer. Very happy with the good attenuation figure. Could be the yeast. Could be the malt (1st time trying Briess LME). Could be my mini-mash technique with 450g of pilsner malt. Mashed at just the right temp and sparged thoroughly.

 

Will check SG on the weekend and will bottle if FG is stable. Saving the trub for one more lager brew.

 

Great first experience with Mangrove's Jack yeast. Have a few more to play with. Next will be their Californian Lager yeast in a Steam Beer. Then have the West Coast Ale Yeast and Workhorse for some ales

[Otto Von Blotto]

I doubt 450g of pilsner malt grains would do much to affect the FG, more than likely be due to the Briess LME and the lager yeast. Lager yeasts tend to ferment out to a lower FG than ale yeasts.

 

I'd say it's finished at that SG, but always good to check again to be sure of course. Glad to hear it worked out!

[joolbag]

I bottled the first brew from this yeast (Munich Helles) on Saturday night and harvested the yeast using Antiphile's method. Splashed some sterilised water in there, swirled, settled for 10mins and then harvested via the fermenter tap.

 

Looks good, better than the W34/70 I harvested last time. Took 72hours to settle to this point - seems to flocculate rather slowly. but I am happy with the easily defined layers of beer/yeast/trub this time around

 

[Beer Baron]

So I got a couple packets of this yeast to try in a my upcoming Bohemian Pilsner. It has been a loonnngggg time since I have made a lager and I was wondering what temperature to pitch the yeast. Do I pitch at the recommended fermenting temperature range of 8-14 degrees or chill as close as I can to the range, pitch and let the fermentation chamber drop it down. 

Thanks,

BB

[Otto Von Blotto]

I'd go a midway point, pitch about 15-16, leave it for say 6-7 hours then chill down to your ferment temp.

[Worthog]

On 8/11/2016 at 7:47 AM, joolbag said:

.......Great first experience with Mangrove's Jack yeast. Have a few more to play with. Next will be their Californian Lager yeast in a Steam Beer. Then have the West Coast Ale Yeast and Workhorse for some ales

Good luck with the M54 Jools. My only yeast failure in 50 odd batches. After 48 hours, nothing, and after 72hrs no SG reduction. Early days in my brewing, though. Pitched it dry into a standard Coopers kit at 20 odd degrees from memory.  Too scared to use it since.

Cheers

 

 

[joolbag]

Hey @Worthog that quoted post brought back memories!  I had to dig out my brewing book and flick back to almost where it all began.

 

My notes say that mine took off and had a fluffy white krausen and a bubbling airlock at the 24hr mark.  I did pitch two packets of yeast at approx 20C and it dropped to 18.6C for the majority of the ferment.  This is pre-fermentation fridge, pre-yeast starters and pre-all grain!

 

Tasting notes aren't fabulous for this beer.  I thought it may have been the kit, or the yeast.  It was the Coopers Steam Beer recipe from their section.  I have written down that it is a bit spicy, menthol-like, very dark in colour.

And then I bought a commercial bottle of the Anchor Steam Beer and did a side-by-side comparison.

Turns out it is Steam Beer that I am not a huge fan of,  in particular the Northern Brewer hops.

 

I haven't tried this yeast again either.  I have a fermentation fridge now so don't feel the need to do pseudo-lagers anymore as I can do the real thing at 10-12C.