how many packs of 34/70 would you use for a 3 gallon 1048-50 lager rehydrated pitched cold 45F no aeration besides the splashing of filling the fermenter?
from all the research i have read pitching cold reduces diacetyl, i was always told to pitch cold and let the temp warm up to fermentation temps 50-52F, pitching warm gets the fermentation going faster but increases diacetyl. IDK maybe a more experienced lager brewer can chime in and clarify
I have tried both ways (pitching warm and cooling down in the first day or chilling to below fermentation temp and pitching, then allowing to rise to fermentation temperature.) I have had luck with both, as long as the pitch temperature is reasonably close to the fermentation temperature, so there is no shock involved. I prefer to get the wort to fermentation temperature now, but that is partly because I ferment my lagers a tad warmer these days than my old practice (I ferment in the mid 50’s for lagers a lot, occasionally cooler). YMMV, so give both a try and see what you prefer.
In my experience, Diacetyl rests are relatively unnecessary when you pitch an adequate amount of healthy, active yeast.
IDK Denny, but from what i heard pitching a few degrees colder then fermentation temp reduces diacetyl and esters but it also seems that every other day a old method is proven to be obsolete, i really dont know what is what nor do i know what is important for making great beer anymore cause everything i learned seems to not matter
Hi Denny,
I’m struggling to find the original source I stumbled upon but here’s one tidbit straight from the mfr: Yeast and Fermentation | White Labs
I personally have found that my yeast used to take a good couple days to hit a high level of activity/krausen and now I’m rocking and rolling 12 hours later or less.
I’m no chemist/yeast guru so I’ll be over my head if the conversation goes town a technical rabbit hole, sorry…
yeah but in order to see what works for you one should have a firm grasp on fundamentals and thats where the problem begins cause all the fundamentals that i have learned turned out to be of no consequence
Or an old myth gets new life by someone repeating it. I used to believe it, too, I til I tried pitching at 65F. No diacetyl. And if you think about, that makes sense since more active yeast reduces diacetyl. I recommend you try everything you have a question about and see what YOU think.
No, all you need is to pitch a batch warmer and let it cool down, and pitch another cooler and let it warm up. Then see how each fermentation proceeds and how each beer turns out, and decide whether anything about either method makes it more appealing to you, either for what it does to the beer or for its convenience. You’ll identify your own fundamentals.
Yup, in my experience it has been an improvement. Not trying to shove my workflow down anyone’s throats here, simply sharing my experiences and asking questions.
Feeling bad that I kinda hijacked this thread but here we go:
-Beer is ready faster = win!
-intuitively feels right having yeast jump off faster = healthier? maybe. less risk of contamination? probably?
-i think I’m getting lower FGs but I’m no brulosopher so a bit of non-scientific observation there
-cleaner/less esthery finished product, especially on non-hop forward styles like dubbels, kolschs, marzens… but again, i’m no brulosopher so these observations could very well be biased.