it is still pretty cloudy with yeast and when i pulled a sample there was lots of yeast rafts on the surface…Hopefully that will be enough for the D rest…good to know i can pitch a active starter if all else fails…thanks alot Wort Hog…you da man
what lager did you make? just curious.
couple lessons i learned that really helped with diacetyl: pitch lots of yeast-1 gal + starter. pitch at 45-46F, let it come up to 48-49F and hold it there for about 5 days of active fermentation. let temp rise 3-5 deg per 12 hours and when you get to 65F, let it go there for another 48hours. when i do this, all is well and clean as a whistle.
I made a Boston lager style except i used munich lager yeast…I did a 2L starter decanted stepped up with another 2L and added a smack pack( it was getting old so i threw it in)…pitched cool at around 50 give or take a few degrees and lowered it to about 46 and let it rise to 48 and held it steady since oct 23…today i started to ramp the temp…It tasted very much like boston lager just had that slight buttery flavor a little bit of slickness…if i can get rid of the butter i think i have a winner…First time i messed with water chemistry aswell…I appreciate all your help.
good-so next time try pitching at 46F vs at 50+ and lowering, then follow the schedule from there. its can be frustrating making lagers at first, but stick to it, keep good notes, and you’ll be where you want to be in no time.
+1. I pitch @ 46-47F and ferment @ 50F for most lagers.
Yup pitching at 46 for now on…it was difficult getting the wort temp down…I gonna buy a small pump and recirculate ice water thru the chiller…With the tap water i was only able to get it down to around 55 and that took awhile then i threw it in the chest freezer to drop it down more but i started to worry about it just sitting there without yeast so i pitched in the 50 degree neighborhood…Once i take care of this diacetyl either by raising the temp or active starter…im gonna lager this sucker for at least 2 months maybe more…im pretty confident it will be quaffable…cheers
One more question…This beer calls for a dry hopping i quess during the D rest is a good idea right? or should i make sure this diacetyl is sorted out first?
Dry hopped beer is best fresh, so do your D rest, lager it, then dry hop @ room temp a week before packaging.
Cool sounds like a plan…thanks bud
Good luck ! Be sure to post how it comes out.
Also, don’t be overly concerned about letting the wort chill for a period in your lager freezer. If your sanitation is sound, that wort will be fine chilling to proper pitching temps.
I always let my lagers sit in the fermentation chamber overnight, then I transfer to another carboy, hit with O2, and pitch the yeast. It’s amazing how much break material settles in just 12-14 hours. Pitch at 45F, free-rise to 50F then a D-Rest at 55-56F for a couple days.
i just kegged and started the lagering process…was kinda strange, it almost had a wine like character but finished malty/hoppy …Anybody know what this wine flavor is? is very subtle but very annoying…im hoping the lagering will take care of it…Lager styles are tricky i am quickly realizing
hmm. if by wine like you mean vinegar like, that can be acetobacter infection.
what kind of beer was it you made?
I could see acetaldehyde giving an impression of wine-like if you’re not familiar with it. Sherry like could be oxidized ingredients (grain) I suppose
[quote=“klickitat jim, post:36, topic:18239, username:klickitat_jim”]
I could see acetaldehyde giving an impression of wine-like if you’re not familiar with it. Sherry like could be oxidized ingredients (grain) I suppose
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you know since you said that it made me notice im getting a apple note rather then wine…there is no sour vinegar presence at all…i just confused wine with apple some how…im getting sam adams with a splash of apple juice…gonna let her rip @ 33 for 2 months
My guess, acetaldehyde. It might reduce in time, might not. If its still drinkable but just annoying, maybe dry hop it to cover.
+2 to acetaldehyde.
if it’s acetaldehyde you should be able to ‘boil’ it out. acetaldehyde boils at around 70*f so if you take a sample and warm it to 75 for a day you should no longer taste the apple, or at least it should be reduced.
You might also be able to deal with it by krausening the beer (pitching a large active starter into the beer).