Lagers

What is your technique on lager beers? Please no fancy answers just the steps. Explain at time of adding yeast through the end. Diacytel rest, ETC..... Please give details as temp, time and methods.

Thanks,

I pitch a 46-48 degree yeast slurry (made from a 3L or so starter) into 50 degree wort. I ferment at 50 degrees for about 10-12 days, or until 75% of the way to FG. Then, I taste for diacetyl and do a rest if needed. (Some just routinely do a D-rest, which is fine). The diacetyl rest is done at about 10 degrees higher than fermentation temperature, for 24-48 hours.

After the d-rest (and ensure fermentation is finished by checking the FG), I rack to secondary. Then, I lower the temperature 5 degrees per day until I"m lagering at 34 degrees. Typically, I lager for 6-12 weeks, depending on the OG of the beer. Higher OGs stay in longer than lower OG beer.

I think that's just about it!

YooperBrew said:

I pitch a 46-48 degree yeast slurry (made from a 3L or so starter) into 50 degree wort. I ferment at 50 degrees for about 10-12 days, or until 75% of the way to FG. Then, I taste for diacetyl and do a rest if needed. (Some just routinely do a D-rest, which is fine). The diacetyl rest is done at about 10 degrees higher than fermentation temperature, for 24-48 hours.

After the d-rest (and ensure fermentation is finished by checking the FG), I rack to secondary. Then, I lower the temperature 5 degrees per day until I"m lagering at 34 degrees. Typically, I lager for 6-12 weeks, depending on the OG of the beer. Higher OGs stay in longer than lower OG beer.

I think that's just about it!

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This is my process as well. This is essentially the method advocated by Palmer: How to Brew - By John Palmer - When to Lager.

1) Big *** starter.
2) Cool wort to 50*F and aerate the snot out of it.
3) Ferment 14 days @50*F.
4) Rest 3 days @64*F.
5) Drop back to 50*F and lower temp 3*F per day to 42*F
6) Condition 4 weeks @42*F (still in primary).
7) Transfer to keg and condition for 8 weeks at serving temp before tapping.

I'm even more ghetto...I noticed that the garage under our loft building is cold, and we all have these wooden storage lockers in them...Depending on how cold it is outside (and it's been nasty cold in Michigan lately) the temp range has been between 45-55 degrees.

I chill the wort down to the 50's Pitch saflager yeast and stick the fermenter in the locker.

At 14 days I bring it up to my loft and give it a d-rest between 72 hours and a week (depending on my schedule) then rack to secondary and take it back down into the closet to lager it a month or so.

I'm drinking one of them now, my centennial blond pitched with lager yeast....

Right now I have 2 lagers in the closet in primary (a Schwartzbier and a vienna lager.) My brew buddy who's Schwartzbier recipe I brewed wants me to leave that one in Primary for a month, then d-reast it and lager it for a month. The vienna I might bring up and d-rest this week.

I also have my version of Yooper's deadguy clone pitched with saflager yeast down there lagering right now...It's been 2 weeks in secondary....I'm not sure how long I'm gonna leave that one.

Right now I can only chill to about 58 or so, I am working on a new chilling method so lagers are easier, but here is my current method.

1. Chill as cold as I can get it with my plate chiller then stick it in the fridge till it drops to the 48-50F range.

2. Rack off of cold break.

3. Oxygenate for 1-2 min depending on the gravity.

4. Pitch a ton of yeast.

5. Keep at 50F till fermentation is done

6. Rack into a keg and lager according to the style.

7. Carbonate and drink.

Chill wort to 50F
Pitch slurry of 1 Gallon starter
Ferment 28 days at 50F
See if need D rest if so raise up to 60'sF for a day or two depending on need
Rack to secondary over course of a few days slowly decrease temp to 40F.
Lager at 40F for two months.
Rack to keg and serve.

Rudeboy

Chill wort to near freezing in bottling bucket....once chilled down and stable (usually 12-24 hours later), the break will be amazing.....rack off of the break/trub to carboy....aerate....pitch yeast....bring beer up to fermentation temperature and hold for remainder of fermentation. Rack to secondary, taste to see if there's a need for a diacetyl rest...most yeasts I have used with this method have VERY little or no diacetyl, so it's straight to the lagering phase at near freezing. Leave it for a month or so, depending on OG and keg it. I usually let it be in the keg for a few weeks before tapping, the extra time can only help.

I've been very successful with this method

Put the lid on the fermenter with the airlock installed (fill airlock 1/3 with water). After 12-36 hours the mixture will begin to churn and produce CO2. Once you see signs of fermentation, slowly cool temperature of the wort to 50 – 55 F (about 1 degree per hour) After 10 days since the wort started fermenting, the mixture will calm down and the excess proteins will settle at the bottom of the primary fermenter. At this time, raise the temperature to 60 – 70 for 2 days to improve flavor. Carefully siphon the beer into the sanitized secondary fermenter. Move the airlock from the primary fermenter to the secondary fermenter. Make sure the airlock has enough water. Slowly cool the beer (over 2 days) to about 40 F for 3-4 weeks. If the beer has not cleared, you can add a finis agent for the beer.

good stuff on lagers here. thank you everyone

Would it hurt anything to go straight from primary into a keg for lagering? I can fit a corny in my refrigerator, not sure about a secondary carboy....

shotputman said:

Would it hurt anything to go straight from primary into a keg for lagering? I can fit a corny in my refrigerator, not sure about a secondary carboy....

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You will want to rack the beer out of a secondary once it is done lagering. You would be amazed at how much falls out of it during this phase. I don't know of any rule that it has to be in a 6 1/2 carboy to be a secondary. So I don't see why you couldn't use the keg with an airlock then just rack it off into another keg when lagering is done. Can you put an airlock on a keg?

Cimerian said:

Can you put an airlock on a keg?

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Sure you can, put a gas connector on, connect tubing to an airlock and fix the airlock to be vertical. I recommend using the S bubble type as they won't suck the liquid out of the lock as it cools.

Cimerian said:

You will want to rack the beer out of a secondary once it is done lagering.

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I don't see a need to rack after lagering unless you're going to move the keg. The dust sticks pretty well to the bottom of the keg for me.

Saving racking steps is, IMO, very helpful for minimizing oxygen exposure after fermentation. Lagering under CO2 pressure will disallow air entry that an airlock would, too.

I guess that was my thought......less steps...and nothing would get into a keg.....if venting was an issue, I could just pull the pin a couple times a day......would I need an airlock on the keg???

shotputman said:

I guess that was my thought......less steps...and nothing would get into a keg.....if venting was an issue, I could just pull the pin a couple times a day......would I need an airlock on the keg???

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No.

Do the diacetyl rest first, and make sure the beer is completely finished with no hint of diacetyl (slick or oily mouthfeel). Then you can rack from the fermenter to the keg, and begin lagering.

Is lagering under pressure an issue?

Great info folks, thanks! I know this may be taboo, but have any of you dryhopped your lagers. If so, at what point would you do this in the process?

I haven't dry-hopped a lager. I don't know how well aromatic oil extraction would do at lager temp. A better alternative might be to kraeusen with a hop tea, which I have done.