Pitching yeast for czech pilsner

Hi all, I am making a pilsner style beer and are going to ferment in fridge at 8-10c(46-50). I am using 2206 Bavarian yeast smack pack, can I pitch this a low temp or should I pitch a little higher and then drop temp? Or starter? And is 1 pack enough for this style of brewing sg 1.062 cheers.

Anyone?

One pack is not enough. Depending on how fresh your yeast are you and whether you have a stir plate you would need about a 4.5 to 7 L starter or more with just one pack. Check MrMalty.
You'll get varying opinions on the pitching but I never pitch hot, I prefer to pitch mid to low range for the yeast.

When doing a lager I try and get it a few degrees under my target temperature then pitch the yeast and allow it to rise up to my target fermentation temp.

As for the amount of yeast needed, one pack won't be close to enough. Lagers need more yeast to get a good healthy ferment than an ale does. Starters for them are highly recommended as it'd take a few smack packs worth of yeast to be able to pitch an appropriate amount.

Check out: http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

So make a starter with 5lt you think?

Always pitch at or even slightly below fermentation temperature. Even with ales, you don't want to pitch at 80 degrees and cool it down, but with lagers you especially don't want to do that. Fermentation can starter well before the desired fermentation temperature is reached, and all the esters and off-flavors are created in the first 24-48 hours.

Even Wyeast recommends more yeast and/or a yeast starter when making lagers. One yeast pack for a 1.062 beer is a big underpitch.

http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_lagerbrewing.cfm
Directly from Wyeast:
Pitch Rate:
Lagers typically have a reduced ester profile and are characterized as clean with discernable malt character. It is very important to recognize that pitch rate is directly related to ester production. Increasing the quantity of yeast pitched is the most effective method of reducing the ester profile in the finished beer. A minimum of 12 million cells per milliliter is recommended to keep esters at a minimum.

One Wyeast Activator pack will deliver about 6 million cells per milliliter to 5 gallons of wort. In order to increase this rate to 12 million cells per milliliter it is necessary to either pitch two Activators or to make a 0.5 gallon (2 liter) starter with an Activator.

The best results will be achieved by pitching at least 12 million cells per milliliter into cold and well aerated wort (48 to 58°F, 9 to 15°C).

So, since even Wyeast tells you that you don't have enough yeast, I'd definitely make a big starter. I also think Wyeast gives you the "best case" scenario and I'd consider consulting mrmalty.com's yeast pitching calculator to see an optimum pitching rate: http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

For some lagers over 1.060, I've made 3 gallon starters, in order to have enough yeast!

A one gallon starter would be sufficient. And remember, you are not pouring that spent wort into your batch, just the yeast. So make sure you give it a day to cold crash and then pour off the spent wort

So once I have made starter in 2 days discard water and only use yeast sitting on bottom? Is that right?

Stellarstar said:

So once I have made starter in 2 days discard water and only use yeast sitting on bottom? Is that right?

Click to expand...

Yes, but make sure you put the starter in the fridge once it's fermented out for at least two days (keep the foil on the top). It takes lager yeast a little longer to fall to the bottom in the fridge, when compared to ale yeast.

Then pour off the clear spent wort, all but a small amount in the bottom. When you pour the yeast into your brew, you can swirl up the little bit of spent wort in there to make the yeast easier to pour into your wort.

Thanks heaps for all the info would of stuffed it up for sure. One last question, how much dme would I add to a 5lt starter? And do I add yeast nutrient?

500gms dme to 5lts. Found it thanks again all.