5g Lager w/ 1 pack of yeast?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

jlatenight

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Messages
125
Reaction score
1
Location
East Bridgewater
Hi All, I bought a brewer's best "European Bock" kit. For a 5gal. batch they provide one 12g package of Brewferm Lager yeast. I just built a small ferm chamber so I can keep it at the right temp (this will be my first lager attempt). Should I rehydrate the yeast as the packet instructs and pitch, or would you make a 2L starter first (I have a stirplate). I've read you should pitch a lot of yeast for a lager, and 12g of dry yeast doesn't seem like enough to lager a 1.064 beer. However, I've read here you really shouldn't make a starter with dry yeast since it's packaged at the height of it's viability and a starter could "weaken" the yeast. What do you think?
 
http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

the respected mr malty yeast calculator says 2.3 packs dry yeast for lager??? FWIW I think I would get another pack of yeast especially if you are intending to ferment at the cooler end of the range.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/brewferm-lager-yeast-317851/index2.html

or rather than making a starter...make a 2 gal batch and pitch that slurry into the 5 gal batch...bam!

I do realize this isn't really an option as you are kit brewing. Maybe contact brewferm and ask them WTF?
 
I'd make a starter, 2L is probably enough as that's all I ever make. Some will say it is not.
 
Making lagers has taught me one thing. They need a metric ton of yeast. Take your calculated yeast value, then double it. Then maybe double it again just for fun.

Fermenting over 1060 in the lower 50 degree range requires your body weight in yeast.
 
Crap, thanks for the replies. I had a feeling you guys would say that. I brewed it and rehydrated the dinky "sachet" of yeast per the instructions and pitched it. I guess we'll see what happens. I can tell you nothing's happening yet. I would have made a starter if I had more time....and I was more patient.
 
And yes you can make a starter out of your dry yeast you would have needed to make a 3l for this lager. It is just sooo much easier to just buy to packs of dry rehydrate and pitch.
 
Thanks all for the replies.

What temp did you pitch at?

It got to mid 60's I'd say,pitched, then threw it in my ferm chanber at like 55.

It's been 2 days since I pitched and I'm seeing almost no activity. Maybe a bubble every minute or more. I'm thinking I should buy some more dry yeast and pitch it, what do you think? 2 packages? Should I re-oxygenate, or is there still enough Oxygen in there?
 
I'd give it another day. Cool (50-55) temperatures can delay fermentation at least 72 hours.. If it is at 55 it should be working by then if the yeast was viable. If not repitch.
The BB kit came with a 12 gram pack of yeast..should be enough..

OMO

bosco
 
Thanks bosco.

So it's day 3 at 55 and as of this morning there's really no increase in activity to speak of. I'm thinking I should pickup some more lager yeast and pitch it. Mr Malty says I need 25g of dry yeast. If I can't find Brewferm Lager yeast (the stuff I already pitched) what do people recommend given my situation? It's a European Bock kit.

Should I re-aerate? Or do you think the Oxygen I originally put in is still in there? Given there hasn't been many bubbles, I would think I'm ok, right?
Muchos gracias for all the help!
 
Just as a thought. Have you taken a peek into the fermenter? Bubbles and airlock activity depend on a perfect seal, something that sometimes is not perfect..

A quick peek to see if you have krausen formation at this point might show that there is something happening in the fermenter.

As for re-aerating I don't think I would at this point.. But others may have more info for you on doing it. Maybe re-pitch and a gentle stir ??

bosco
 
there is a very (very) thin layer of patchy tiny bubbles on the surface, slightly more airlock activity, but I think I need to repitch. Here's what I plan to do. The LHBS was out of dry lager yeast (of course), so he gave me WL German Boch yeast WLP833. He also threw in a slightly expired one for free. I'm going to make a starter, throw it on my stir plate over night, and pitch this time tomorrow night. Not going to re-oxy. That should get this baby goin'!
 
Crap, thanks for the replies. I had a feeling you guys would say that. I brewed it and rehydrated the dinky "sachet" of yeast per the instructions and pitched it. I guess we'll see what happens. I can tell you nothing's happening yet. I would have made a starter if I had more time....and I was more patient.

Why did you ask for advice and then ignore all of it?

In general you massively underpitched, but you might be OK. Keep in mind that lagers ferment more slowly than ales so the level of activity you are seeing may be just fine - only time will tell.

What is the SG at this point?

In general you should always pitch 2 rehydrated packets of lager yeast for an average gravity 5g batch of lager. And be sure to pitch at fermenting temps (~50*F) and nothing above.

Since you pitched in the 60s you'll likely have noticeable Diacetyl, so be sure and do a Diacetyl rest.
 
Wait. You didn't pitch enough yeast. Like I said....metric ton. Swirl your (closed) carboy to re-suspend the yeast. YOu will eventually begin fermentation once they replicate enough to do so. Long lag times are the major problem with making lager beers and the cure is more yeast that the human brain can even conceive of and lots of O2.
 
Why did you ask for advice and then ignore all of it? .

I asked the question right before I started brewing. With a wife and two kids, if I have a window of opportunity to brew, I can't pass it up....could be weeks before the next one.

Wait. You didn't pitch enough yeast. Like I said....metric ton. Swirl your (closed) carboy to re-suspend the yeast. YOu will eventually begin fermentation once they replicate enough to do so. .
Thanks Sam, I see more activity, but I can't imagine it's going to ramp up enough to actually complete the job. Is there any harm in me swirling the carboy to suspend the existing yeast, and pitch the starter of lager yeast I made to give it a big boost?
 
Over the last few days the yeast have been reproducing to the numbers they need to ferment the wort. Once they are at that point fermentation starts to get going. Pitching more yeast after that is not going to Hert anything but wont help out that much ether. By the time you get your stater finished and cold crashed your fermentation should be going pretty good. Also oxygen is not a concern until fermentation is over.
 
It might be interesting and informative to see what the SG is at this point...

Might tell you what is or has been going on in there over the last few days.




bosco
 
Well, like Beerman and others said, activity did increase very gradually; slight krausen forming and more steady bubbles in the lock. In the meantime, I made a starter, cold-crashed it, and pitched it. Before pitching the SG was 1.068 and OG was 1.074. A day after I pitched the 2nd time, there's a nice healthy krausen on top....we're in business! I have a feeling it was bound to happen eventually, given the steady increase in activity, but pitching the extra yeast gave it that extra oomph. So far so good! I'll be sure and give it a good healthy Diacetyl rest before I lager it.
 
Why did you ask for advice and then ignore all of it?

In general you massively underpitched, but you might be OK. Keep in mind that lagers ferment more slowly than ales so the level of activity you are seeing may be just fine - only time will tell.

What is the SG at this point?

In general you should always pitch 2 rehydrated packets of lager yeast for an average gravity 5g batch of lager. And be sure to pitch at fermenting temps (~50*F) and nothing above.

Since you pitched in the 60s you'll likely have noticeable Diacetyl, so be sure and do a Diacetyl rest.


This. My god this. You asked for help and several of us who have had exactly the same problem you're describing told you to be patient. That "thin layer" of bubbles on the surface -- that's the starting stages of your fermentation. You don't need more yeast. At this point, your fermentation has begun.

Relax. You're fine here. You grotesquely underpitched your yeast, but everybody does that when they first start making lagers.

Remember -- metric ton. You need a metric ton of yeast.
 
Sorry about the last post. I didn't read through the posts that followed (including one I posted) -- opps.

Glad your beer is going. It'll work out fine.
 
Here's an update on my Boch: It was at 54F for 16 days and looked to be having a healthy fermentation. It slowed down so on Tues (2 days ago) I pulled it for a two day diacetyl rest at about ~65. I just checked the SG and it's 1.022. Not bad! I have a thin blow-off tube going into a small container of starsan and a steady stream of tiny bubbles is still coming out.

Now, should I let it sit at 66F, put it back in at 54F, or rack and lager?
 
Sit. It's probably still fermenting. The higher temperature won't matter at this point as most of the non-lager flavors are produced during the initial fermentation. The higher temps will help you reach full attenuation.

Take gravity readings every 2 days. When they're the same for two consecutive reads, then you're done.

Lagers need to primary typically for at least 21 days.
 
Back
Top