Wow! Not sure how I feel about that LOL
But I guess I’m keeping my cost per post low
Klick how long did it take u to get to that pitching temp? ive got a vienna lager on a d Rest at around 58F for two days before i lower it again . Still on the yeast cake . Gonna prime in bottles around day 18?
From boil to 48 in about 15-20minutes
Pretty much everything is covered here. I love lagers…actually thinking about doing lagers most of the time now as they’re the beers I enjoy drinking the most. I keep trying to brew all of these oatmeal stouts and stuff and just get disappointed because they’re not what I want to be drinking. Some of the best beers I’ve brewed have been lagers…I need to keep rollin’ with that. Got a helles in the fermenter now…so excited for that.
I like to start the fermentation cold, around 48, let it roll for a few days, then increase the temp by 5 or so degrees, let it roll for a couple days more, then increase again 5 or so degrees. Then after a couple days I’ll let it free rise to room temp, which is anywhere between 63 and 70 for another week, about. Good clean beers… Best beer I ever made was a schwarzbier I made a few months ago…damn that was good. Liquid Schwarz! (patent pending ;) )
Guys a quick question since i am thinking to go with my first lager soon: on forums and books i have read the lagering process is suggested for 4-6 weeks at 32F after fermentation is over… But if i have not misunderstood you guys hold it at that temperature a lot less (a week or so)… I will not keg but bottle. What do you suggest? Am i interpreting this wrong?
Yeah, I think you might be confusing our discussions about fermentation schedules with lagering. Many of us start fermentation in the upper 40’s or lower 50’s, then start to ramp the temperature up over a period of time to 60+ degrees to help the yeast finish up fermentation and clean up diacetyl. After that, the temp goes down to near freezing for the lagering phase. I usually shoot for 4-6 weeks of lagering, but since I lager in the keg I may cheat and sneak a taste or five earlier than that.
That’s what i thought! Thanks for clarifying it!
The idea of ending fermentation warm is that it accelerates the yeast metabolism and cleanup of off-flavors, reducing the need for extending cold conditioning. My average-gravity lager are generally ready after about two weeks of lagering, or about four weeks after brew day.
When bottling, I would follow the same fermentation guidelines, but then bottle and carbonate at room temperature before lagering. That will scrub any O2 out of the bottled beer and prevent potential carbonation issues from the dormant yeast.
Sean, just looking for a little clarification here: are you saying to bottle at room temp as well as carb at room temp, or just hold at room temp after bottling to carb? I know it needs to be at room temps to carb, just wondering if its better to have at room temps when bottling rather than at lager temps. I know I have bottled fresh out of my chest freezer at lagering temps, and the only issue I had was condensation evdrywhere from my bottling bucket as the lager temp beer warmed up waiting to be bottled. In the end my carb level was fine, just checking for your thoughts
I’d bottle at room temp, rather than cooling it down only to warm it back up for conditioning. Full disclosure, I’ve never bottled a lager, but that makes sense to me.
Thanks Sean
I have bottled my fair share of lagers, and that has worked for me. I would let the beer come up to room temp for a D-rest, then bottled and held it warm until it was fully carbonated. At that point you can lager in the bottles. You want to carbonate first to ensure you don’t crash all your yeast out before they do all the carbonating.
Thanks Eric. I lagered my dunkel and then bottled and it did carb up nicely but I will try it the other way with the bock I have finishing up now
Well here’s the finished product. Klickitat Helles! Im calling it a keeper.
Great looking beer. Nice pic, too.
Nice looking beer. I want to live where you live. All i see is snow!!!
Thanks! Weird year for weather. Normally we are snowed in right about now. Usually fighting the wheel barrow to get wood hauled in. Instead I spent all weekend drinking beer and servicing equipment. Jeep, mower, tiller, and generator all got fresh oil changes and scrubbed. We’ve used almost a cord of wood so far as compared to 3 or 4 normally.
The helles is very nice. I brewed a dunkel after that. I’m comparing it side by side with an Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel. They look the same, but thats where it ends. Mine has similar hop bitterness but way too much hop flavor, and lacking that hint of toffee raisin thing. So my next go around I’m going to bitter with about 10 gm of Magnum instead of 40 gm of Hallertau. Drop the little dash of gypsum I added and use all CaCl instead. And I’ll cut my Carafa II a bit and up the Munich 20L. What about special B? Does anyone think Ayinger is slipping some in there?
Could try a bit of Weyermann CaraAroma - I get the raisin/dried fruit from that.
The raisin/dried fruit thing could also be some oxidation depending on how old the bottle is.