First lager advice

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THEUKRAINIAN

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Hello all, last night I brewed a match of lager, my first. I pitched last night at 89f last night and chilled to 66F this morning. My concern is this large "pus" mass floating in my beer.

Thoughts?

image-3077854437.jpg
 
aiptasia said:

Hahaha! Cali lager wyeast 2112 looks like that? Learned something new today. Sorry noob at beer making. What other expectations do I have to be aware of while fermenting this pus monster?
 
Patience. The lagering process usually starts with a warmer pitching and initial ferment at say 65-70 degrees F for a day to help the yeast multiply and gorge themselves on the malt sugar. Then, you drop the temperature on the yeast and let it lager for two to six weeks at 45f to 55f depending on the yeast strain.
 
Every lager yeast I've seen has that fibrous clumpy look to it. It floats up in chunky rafts, and then sinks back down over and over again.
 
aiptasia said:
Patience. The lagering process usually starts with a warmer pitching and initial ferment at say 65-70 degrees F for a day to help the yeast multiply and gorge themselves on the malt sugar. Then, you drop the temperature on the yeast and let it lager for two to six weeks at 45f to 55f depending on the yeast strain.

Thanks! I was concerned I pitched it at way to high a temperature and killed it. I was expecting a krousen and aggressive bubbling. This thing is as very docile.
 
The advice about high temperature pitching and initial fermentation is contrary to nearly everything I've read on the subject. For my own, I have pitched in the mid-40s and then slowly raised to around 50°F for most of the fermentation. The optimal temperature depends on the particular strain.

This depends on pitching a large quantity of yeast---a 1-gallon starter is typical for an optimal pitch rate for even a moderate gravity lager, and larger is not uncommon. If you go the high-temperature start route, you're essentially making a starter in your finished beer. It'll work, but from what I understand (and have seen hints of in my own projects), you are probably going to get some funk in there. With a starter, you can decant and dispose of the funk.

But people do it all sorts of ways. I will say that none of my lagers have looked anything like that photo (though photos of carboys are hard to take well, so it may be reflections off the glass). They do typically start more slowly than ales, but I've had pretty similar churning with a foamy Krausen on top. My experience is limited to one strain (WLP833), though, and others may look different.
 
I wouldn't pitch ANY yeast over 75 degrees, and especially not lager yeast.

next time, chill your wort first, and then add the yeast!


Agreed. Pitching a lager yeast @ 89F and letting it sit overnight is asking for trouble. Keep a close eye on it. It's possible it will be OK but watch out for funk in the form of fusels and phenols.
 
BigEd said:
Agreed. Pitching a lager yeast @ 89F and letting it sit overnight is asking for trouble. Keep a close eye on it. It's possible it will be OK but watch out for funk in the form of fusels and phenols.

Thanks for the advice! The bubble rate has begun to increase and the mass has ascended to the top, no krousen, but plenty of activity. I will have to apologize for the stupidity on this, a bunch of drunken Ukrainians and drunken peer pressure can really make good decisions. Lol
 
I will have to apologize for the stupidity on this, a bunch of drunken Ukrainians and drunken peer pressure can really make good decisions. Lol

It's ok. Stupid drunken decisions occasionally lead to breakthroughs, and even if they don't, they can be entertaining.
 
Well guys and gals, an update on this Lager

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f57/lakeside-lager-52185/index2.html

I am having issue with this. Yesterday the fermentation has drastically slowed to 45-60 seconds per bubble in the airlock. The yeast has settled and is now appears to be not active in the Primary Fermentation stage. The recipe calls for a longer primary fermentation time and then racked into secondary. My question is, should I leave it as of now in Primary or should i rack to secondary for a longer time, per the recipe. my SG reading was at 1.012
 
You could go either way. If you need to do a diacetyl rest, now is probably the time. Otherwise, it's up to you. For a lager, I would probably go to "secondary" (i.e., lagering) very shortly after the final gravity is reached, but others leave it for a while after that before lagering with great success.

So, if I were you, I would taste test for diacetyl. If there is even a hint of buttery or butterscotch flavors, smells, or mouthfeel, I'd raise it up to 65°F or so for 2-3 days, then bring it back to the fermentation temperature. If it is diacetyl-free, then I'd wait a couple days and check the SG again. I'd repeat that until the SG reading is stable, then lager. At that point, you can essentially wait as long as you like, though there's a bit of risk that you'll get some unwanted flavors from the yeast if you want a LONG time. (A lager is somewhat more susceptible to this than an ale.)

For my own first couple lagers, I did the D-rest for about 3 days after it had reached around 1.020, then I lowered the temperature slowly (around 5°F per day) until it reached lagering temp. I didn't bother checking the SG, I just trusted that 3 days at high temperature and another week at a slowly decreasing temperature would be enough for things to finish up on their own.
 

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