MiniFerment data:
What is MiniFerment? White Labs yeast strains were tested using the same wort in its proprietary MiniFerment process. The process simulates large-scale brewing. To learn more about MiniFerment click here. To learn more about understanding the data, click here.

Fermentation temperature: 55° F
Attenuation: 78%
Hours to get to 50 percent attenuation: 85

Reviews:
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"No esters, very clean "
By: Anonymous
Date: Jan. 6, 2010
Beers brewed: Helles
Comments: 1.050 to 1.010 in 8 days! Beautiful, clean, flavor profile. Grainy, malt character. I pitched at 70F and slowly dropped temp to 59F, then 48F. No esters, very clean. All from a one liter, rushed starter. Highly recommended++

"This yeast emphasizes the malt flavors ... "
By: Jim Givens
Date: Dec. 28, 2009
Beers brewed: Light Pilsner, Dunkel, Oktoberfest, Doppelbock
Comments: WLP838 Southern German Lager yeast is great for speed of ferment – gets beers out the door faster than any other lager yeast I know of. Be prepared for gushing kraeusen even in the first generation. The yeast clears on its own better than most lagers so it is much easier and faster to get a visually pleasing beer. It tends to subdue the hop flavors – not dramatically like some English ale types but noticeable. WLP838 is great for beers where the malt profile needs to shine; it excels at darker beers like Doppelbock or Oktoberfest. This yeast emphasizes the malt flavors although they are not exactly true to form – it seems to smear or mix them together with its own unique flavor profile. This can be a good thing because making a convincing lager is much easier to accomplish; there is more error room for the brewer to hide behind which means the recipe doesn’t need to be nailed down to perfection to get a very believable rendition. If WLP005 British Ale yeast is a sweaty working man in dirty clothes than WLP838 Southern German Lager yeast could be his cold-loving cleaner brother in a well-pressed suit.

"Highly recommend as 'house' lager"
By: Christopher Leonard 
Brewery Name: General Lafayette Inn & Brewery
Date: July 25, 2007
Beers brewed: Pilsner, Oktoberfest, Bock, Doublebock, Dunkel, Specialty Lagers
Comments: Clean, fast (for a lager), highly attenuative. Ferments well with good flavor results at a wide range of temps. I highly recommend this yeast as a "house" lager strain. It will let you produce traditional beers while also being versatile enough for unusual, experimental brews. I've used this yeast each fall for the past 4 years. The beers fly out of here (and we are mostly an "ale house").

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