Aleforge
Well-Known Member
Im going to attempt my first Lager this week and need some tips. I went ahead and did something simple, throwing away the batch sparging I just got into for Ales and went with an Austin Homebrew kit after seeing many other members highly recommend them. I figured I should keep it as simple as possible for my first try.
Anyways I was reading the directions they sent with it and had a touch of confusion. It has me pitching the yeast and let sit for 12-36 hours until the fermentation begins. Im assuming it means at normal Ale temps? Like 65-70 degrees?
Ok And then it has me slowly cooling the temp down to 50-55'F, 1 degree per hour! There is no way I can be up for 20 hours straight and dail it down on the hour. How much slack is there on this?
And I really thought Lagering meant bringing the wort down into the 30's as I have seen some members accidently freezing them!?
Ok after 10 days of this I am then to raise the temp from 50-55 to 60-70 and let it sit for 2 days at this temp. (to improve flavor it says) Then bottle / keg as normal.
This is not really what I had in mind, so if you guys can clarify the process better for me I would appreciate it!
OH and one more thing! I have never used a vail of liquid yeast. I had them ship it with ice pack, the ice pack was completely melted and at room temp when I opened it. Is the yeast ok, and how long will this type last? I can't brew until the weekend! I stuck it in the fridge here at work and im refreezing the pack for the drive home!
Thanks guys!
Anyways I was reading the directions they sent with it and had a touch of confusion. It has me pitching the yeast and let sit for 12-36 hours until the fermentation begins. Im assuming it means at normal Ale temps? Like 65-70 degrees?
Ok And then it has me slowly cooling the temp down to 50-55'F, 1 degree per hour! There is no way I can be up for 20 hours straight and dail it down on the hour. How much slack is there on this?
And I really thought Lagering meant bringing the wort down into the 30's as I have seen some members accidently freezing them!?
Ok after 10 days of this I am then to raise the temp from 50-55 to 60-70 and let it sit for 2 days at this temp. (to improve flavor it says) Then bottle / keg as normal.
This is not really what I had in mind, so if you guys can clarify the process better for me I would appreciate it!
OH and one more thing! I have never used a vail of liquid yeast. I had them ship it with ice pack, the ice pack was completely melted and at room temp when I opened it. Is the yeast ok, and how long will this type last? I can't brew until the weekend! I stuck it in the fridge here at work and im refreezing the pack for the drive home!
Thanks guys!