Welcome to our latest post on Lallemands newest lager yeast strain, NovaLager. This yeast has a wide range of interesting and useful characteristics, making it an ideal choice for craft and home brewers. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at this yeast and its features, so you can decide if it’s the right choice for your next brewing project.
Nova Lager Overview
NovaLager is the result of a partnership between the Renaissance Bioscience Corporation and Lallemand.
The goal of this partnership was to produce an authentic lager yeast strain that would help brewers produce lager more easily and efficiently than before.
This yeast is aimed at craft and home brewers, and is suitable for a wide range of lager beer styles.
Comparison to Other Yeast Strains
To better understand NovaLager, we’ll make a comparison to Diamond and Nottingham Yeast.
NovaLager has a much wider temperature range than other lager yeast, with a range between 20 and 20 Celsius (50 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit). This is in contrast to Diamond Yeast, which has a maximum temperature of 15 Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit).
Additionally, NovaLager has a preferable pitching rate of half a gram per liter, compared to the double rate of Diamond and Nottingham Yeast.
Speed and Flocculation
One of the most impressive characteristics of Nova Lager is its ability to ferment a lager in under one week, which is faster than both Diamond and Nottingham Yeast. Additionally, Nova Lager is a medium flocculation yeast, which means that it may not drop as clear as some other strains. However, this yeast can be used with fining agents to achieve a clearer beer.
Alcohol Tolerance and Flavor Profile
Nova Lager has an alcohol tolerance of up to 13%, which is similar to Diamond Yeast. Additionally, this yeast has enhanced biotransformation properties, which allow for more flavor to be extracted from dry hopping. This yeast also has a low chance of excess diacetal, which means that a standard lager diacetal rest is not required.
The flavor profile of Nova Lager is clean and neutral, with the potential for light red apple and tropical fruit flavors when fermented at higher temperatures.
Temperature Range and Pitching Rate
One of the key features of NovaLager is its wide temperature range, which allows for a variety of lager styles to be brewed. Its temperature range is between 20 and 20 Celsius (50 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit) which is wider than Diamond Yeast, which has a maximum temperature of 15 Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit).
Additionally, NovaLager has a preferable pitching rate of half a gram per liter, compared to the double rate of Diamond and Nottingham Yeast.
Flavor Profile and Biotransformation
Another great feature of NovaLager is that it enjoys enhanced biotransformation properties compared to regular yoga yeast which will then allow you to get more flavor from your dry hopping. This yeast also has a low chance of excess diacetal leading to those nastier flavors so as such a standard lager diacetal rest is not required with this yeast. The flavor profile of Nova Lager is clean and neutral, with the potential for light red apple and tropical fruit flavors when fermented at higher temperatures.
Conclusion
In conclusion, NovaLager is an impressive yeast strain that offers a wide range of features and benefits for craft and home brewers. Its wide temperature range, fast fermentation time, and enhanced biotransformation properties make it a great choice for a variety of lager styles. Additionally, this yeast’s low chance of excess diacetal and high alcohol tolerance make it an ideal choice for anyone nervous about brewing a lager.