Lager help

I brewed my first lager a couple of weeks ago. After I started the mash I realized I only had one package of yeast instead of the two I though. Rather than cooling to the 55 F I was planning and pitching with two packets or a starter, I chilled to 70 F and pitched hoping to get the yeast count up and then cool down. About 12 hours later fermentation was going well and I moved the fermenter to my 55 F location.

Eight days later, I planned to move it to my keggerator (40 F) but found I could not fit the carboy with two other kegs. I moved the beer into a cornelius keg, removed the CO2 port and plugged a tube over the fitting for a blow off tube/ airlock.

Everything for the brew has been reacting to a problem or by seat of the pants. Any advice or reassurance would be appreicated. Most importantly, the brew does taste good.

Heh whackful.
I am a lager brewer as well.
considering your first situation. That is being short on yeast. With two packs i don't think you are incredibly short though. What you did was smart. The worst thing I have ever done to my lagers is under pitch & put into a 50F situation. It will not turn out well. And definitely if you give the lager yeasts a chance to get going at warmer temperatures it will take off & then you can bring the temperature down.
I am not a big fan of your 8 day duration into the 40F location. A little longer would ensure the fermentation is complete. The cool temperatures need a little more time to complete the fermentation. Ie. 2-3 weeks. (Some people say four weeks)

As far as racking into kegs or splitting it. I used to worry about it. I don't anymore. I do double batches & have even split the ferment. As long as your clean you will be fine.

As a final note. It is still preferable to have a high yeast count & get that lager at the 50f as soon as possible for the cleanest lager possible. I do this with large starter. For me 1 gallon is the biggest I can go comfortably. I called the guy at Wyeast. Here is his suggestion. This guy is more knowledgeable than me.

This is a fine procedure if you are fermenting an ale, however you will need a larger inoculums for a cold temperature fermentation.



There is no problem with adding the yeast to the complete volume of starter wort (3 jars approx 1800ml.), rather than dosing it. I don' think that you will see a huge difference.



Recommendations for propping and then cold pitching:



Option 2 (Best/ Easiest)

2 Activators into 4 L starter wort (1.040 @ 70F). You can do this in smaller jug other than your fermenter.

Allow it to attenuate (probably 24 hours).

Refrigerate (40F) until brew day.

Decant off top liquid and pitch slurry into 10 gallons @ 55F.



Option 2

1 Activator into 2L starter wort (1.040 @ 70F). You can do this in smaller jug other than your fermenter.

Allow it to attenuate (probably 24 hours).

Add another 2 L starter wort.

Allow it to attenuate (probably 24 hours).

Refrigerate (40F) until brew day.

Decant off top liquid and pitch slurry into 10 gallons @ 55F.



This yield enough yeast for a healthy fermentation.



I hope that this helps.



Cheers,



Greg

Greg,
Thanks for your reply. I feel better about my approach. I especially appreciate the yeast starter options. I plan on another lager in a week or so and will definitely use one of the options.

One clarification I need to make is I fermented for eight days at 55F and then moved to a keg at 40F. I plan on leaving it here for two or three weeks. I clarify because, I am not sure from your reply whether you thought I did not leave it at 55F for long enough or 40F long enough. Is this the enough time to fully ferment? If not how long would you recommend for each step? Will any fermentations occur at the 40F temp or is this strictly conditioning? The lower range of the yeast is 48F.

Cheers,
Whack

fermentation will occur NOT at 40F.
I follow the guidleline in the email i sent you. I believe 8 days is to short to ferment for a lager. 2-3 weeks (some people say 4). The times I ended the ferment under 2 weeks, the beer did not taste as nice.
In your case you have ended the ferment at 8 days (but you fermented your lager at 55 not 48F so you may be ok,) In any case it is done & I am sure what you have is fine. Keep notes for your next beer. Making a really good lager & refining your (& my) system will take us years.

Lagering (40F) after the ferment should be 12 weeks. As if we have this kind of patience!!! However I have sampled my beer in the lagering stages & you will notice suttle improvements over the three months.

Good Luck!!

Well, if it was lager yeast you should have let it ramp back up to around 68 or so for a few days when fermentation was about done. This cleans up the Diacetyl that lager yeasts produce. It is a compound that they excrete during fermentation then when the sugar supply is reduced they ingest back the compound they crapped out.

Oh well, live and learn. At worst you will have a slight butter flavor to the beer (think movie popcorn butter) and a slick mouthfeel to the beer like there is a film on the inside of your mouth.

But it will still be beer.

hmm, i gotta chime in here, i did my first lager,
I pitched 11 grams dry yeast at 55 degrees , primary for 5 days, then moved to a secondary (keg) and kept it at 48 degrees in the fridge..
so its like 2 weeks old, i did not put an airlock on the keg seeing it can handle alot of pressure, so i just pull the blow off ring every few days..id did take a sample ( yes im an impatient ale guy) and it was cloudy still but tasted good,
question,
I have how many weeks til it is consumable?
My brother in law is coming at the end of june and i hope itll be ready..so that would have been about 4-5 weeks in 2ndary 48 degree temps

Consumable? You could drink it today. Ready? I've done a few lagers and kettle to glass is usually ~10+ weeks.
I do a 3-4 week primary, IMO 5 days primary for a lager is way too short.
2-3 week secondary.
~2 weeks to carbonate.
As many weeks to cold condition as I can stand, at minimum 1 week.

hmm , yeah im a newbie to the lager scene, im having a hard time finding info on just lagering.

hmm , yeah im a newbie to the lager scene, im having a hard time finding info on just lagering.

Click to expand...

Here's a start: Kaiser's Fermenting Lagers page.

FWIW, I ferment my lagers for only 7-9 days and then rack it to a keg and let it naturally carbonate the beer while it finishes fermenting (usually let it go another 3 weeks or so). I put a gage on the gas-in post but I rarely have to vent it, I just let the pressure slowly build in the keg (it usually gets up into the mid-to-high teens psi @ 48-49 F). Then I do a closed-transfer (no exposure to air) to another keg and let it lager/condition for a month or more there.

Thanks, thats an excellent source of information..so i guess i can still save my Vienna.
i kept the yeast slurry, so i can re-pitch some if needed.