29 replies to this topic

[Stout_fan]

Ewanzel,Thanks for the podcast link.

[Stout_fan]

... I do is let it get about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way to FG and then raise the temperature into the low 60's. ...

So, if it took me 6 days to do half of the sugars at 50°F,I should EASILY finish this beer in another week.Dang! that's a fast lager...I like this!Mtn are your lagers this fast?Or am I missing something here?

[dagomike]

I racked a lager that time forgot this weekend. It was in there about 8-10 weeks. Not sure I even recorded this one in the log, just know it was sometime around MLK Day. :rolf:It honestly seemed fine. I turned the freezer down to 32 after 3-4 weeks or so. When hot water hit the fermenter the yeast didn't smell so great, but I didn't pick anything up in the aroma or flavor after kegging. We'll see once it gets carbonated and settled.

[Big Nake]

One thing that I found with my lagers is that if everything is done properly with regard to primary, the extended lagering phase doesn't seem to matter much. I only say this because I have had lagers in cold secondary at 35° or so for 2-3 weeks and they were delicious when they were served & I've also had lagers sit in extended cold secondary for 5-6 months and while they were good, I can't say that the extra time was worth the wait. I put a lager page on my site with some of my basic lager steps. It seems that if you formulate a good, balanced recipe, oxygenate your wort properly & chill it to primary temps (or slightly lower), pitch the appropriate amount of fresh, healthy lager yeast & keep primary temps consistent... it seems that the secondary is less important. Also, I will do a d-rest on every lager, just in case. I think I've experienced more diacetyl with ale strains than I have with lager strains.Also... the idea of pitching into room-temp lager wort, waiting for activity and then lowering the temp is not good. Lager yeast should not swim in warmer wort, even for 24 hours. Pitch into wort that is at or below your desired primary fermentation temp. Cheers.

[dagomike]

I agree with what Ken is saying, except that I think lagers in particular significantly benefit from sedimentary effects of extended conditioning. Meaning lager yeast generally aren't very flocculant, plus all the polyphenols and other stuff in typical homebrew does not at all compliment a delicate lager. This isn't a function of the yeast, but time and temperature. Certainly though, fining and filtration may help here. I've put some gelatin in a few lagers and it seemed to help within days, but still felt it got better after time.And while pitching warm is clearly gone out of favor, I think it may still be SOP in many breweries, particularly the smaller and pub breweries. Even though they still make pretty good lager, that's likely more a matter of it being unpractical to pitch enough for cold pitching, and that even chilling that cool may not be possible.

[Stout_fan]

So, if it took me 6 days to do half two thirds of the sugars at 50°F,I should EASILY finish this beer in another week.

don't know why I had half on my brain, duh!

[Stout_fan]

The krausen's been down for the last 5 days or so.And it's been two weeks at 60°FThree weeks total fermentation, the first spent at 50°FIt looks done.Hydro sample is 1.016That's 2 points BELOW anticipated.Still just a touch overly sweet. Still getting some small bubbles in the hydro tube.KEGGED IT!And no diacetyl!This procedure rocks! https://www.brews-br...tyle_emoticons/default/headbang.gif Thanks to all you guys who helped. My Octoberfest Marzen is done... 6 months ahead of time!Guess that means I have time to make more.Anybody ever re-use lager yeast?

[Jimmy James]

Anybody ever re-use lager yeast?

Yes. I just store the slurry in the fridge same as I would for an ale strain, and pitch into my new wort that's been chilled to 45.

[Stout_fan]

FWIW, I was listening to an old basic brewing podcast (January 19, 2006) about a week ago that had John Palmer talking about lager techniques. He basically agreed with Mtn, but I learned/relearned a lot from that one.

linky