Warpig75

Recipes 

im doing my first lager in a few days so tonight im making a yeast starter.

because it's a lager and im using yeast lager so the question begs; do i need to lager the yeast starter? or will a 60 room temperature do just fine?

dontman

Recipes 

60 degrees is a good temp to do that starter. Then pitch at the same temp and keep it there until you see the first signs of activity then go to your designated lager temp.

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Yooper

Recipes 

I always pitch my lagers (and my ales too) at fermentation temperatures. The starter is fine at 60 degrees- you're growing yeast, not making a lager. But after it ferments out, you can chill down the starter and then decant the spent wort. I like to bring my yeast up to about 48 degrees from the fridge while my wort is chilling, and chill my wort to 50 degrees. Pitching ever so slightly colder yeast into the 50 degree wort seems to encourage the yeast to take off. I then keep it at 50 degrees for about 14 days in primary.

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shertz

Recipes 

I always do my starters at room temp(65-70) and then put in fridge the night before. Day of brewing I get the starter to temp that I will start primary fermentation(usually around 50) and decant. I don't like to confuse the yeast, so I am always catering to the yeast.

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Warpig75

Recipes 

sweet; thanks for the quick feedback.

i plan to lager using a combination of frozen packs in water along with the fan & t shirt method. that should be enough to keep it at lager temps right? (below 50 degrees?)

Yooper

Recipes 

Fermentation temp would depend on the yeast you're using- generally 50 degrees or so.

Lagering is a different beast. That happens after the primary fermentation is completely finished, and after the diacetyl rest (if needed). Then the beer is racked to secondary, and the temperature dropped 5 degrees per day until you are at lagering temperature. You can lager at any temperature you choose- I usually do 34 degrees for 8-12 weeks. This gives a much smoother lager than those done at slightly higher temps.

Frozen packs in water with a t-shirt might work just fine, as long as you can maintain a decent lagering temperature that doesn't fluctuate. I do mine in an ice cube cooler with a styrofoam lid that I made so that the airlock pokes through. I have an ambient temperature of 48 degrees, though, in my basement in the winter, so it's easy to get it to a steady 34 degrees for the lagering.

I'll see if I can find a link from howtobrew.com for some good lagering info.

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Broken Leg Brewery
Giving beer a leg to stand on since 2006

Yooper

Recipes 

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Broken Leg Brewery
Giving beer a leg to stand on since 2006

Warpig75

Recipes 

thanks for the link yooper; that was a great read

hope it's not a PITA like it seems it's going to be lol