Palmer said:Lager yeast produce less fruity esters than ale yeasts but can produce more sulfur compounds during primary fermentation. Many first time lager brewers are astonished by the rotten egg smell coming from their fermentors, sometimes letting it convince them that the batch is infected and causing them to dump it. Don't do it! Fortunately, these compounds continue to vent during the conditioning (lagering) phase and the chemical precursors of other odious compounds are gradually eaten up by the yeast. A previously rank smelling beer that is properly lagered will be sulfur-free and delicious at bottling time. Speaking of Time...
...Lager comes from the German word "lagern" which means to store. A lager beer is in cold storage while it ages in the conditioning phase. Temperature influences lagers in two ways. During primary fermentation, the cooler temperature (45-55 °F) prevents the formation of fruity esters by the yeast. In addition to producing fewer byproducts during the primary phase, the yeast uses the long conditioning phase to finish off residual sugars and metabolize other compounds that may give rise to off-flavors and aromas.
I would think the yeast wouldn't be doing anything at 34F. But hey, I'm new.
I would think the yeast wouldn't be doing anything at 34F. But hey, I'm new.
I would think the yeast wouldn't be doing anything at 34F. But hey, I'm new.
Ok.. got me thinking and wondering.. I read somewhere that your lager temp should be 10 to 15 degF below your fermentation temp. A lot of folks 'round here seem to express the idea that the closer you get to freezing without freezing the better.
I'm bringing this up because it seems that maybe the 10 to 15 deg rule is really right and maybe going close to freezing just clears things better and faster but doesn't let the yeast clean as well? I'm planning my first lager later this year (been only doing ales so far) and am still trying to decide what temps I am going to use etc.
In the traditional practice they do. Most of the good lager homebrewers I know let the beer fully attenuate and mature at the primary temperature or an elevated temperature. If you do that, the beer is clean going into lagering and then the lagering phase is just to remove protein-polyphenol complexes and yeast. If you did not do a decoction (which creates excess tannins) this won't take all that long.
I've read that the colder the better in precipitating out the protien-polyphenol complexes you mention.
I've asked this question point blank before since reading Chris White's book where he says the yeast just aren't going to do much/anything below 40F. Why chill the yeast and make them work slower? Never made a lot of sense to me. I've read that the colder the better in precipitating out the protien-polyphenol complexes you mention.
So to be clear then, lagering is not about having the yeast do anything, other than drop out? .
Ok.. got me thinking and wondering.. I read somewhere that your lager temp should be 10 to 15 degF below your fermentation temp. A lot of folks 'round here seem to express the idea that the closer you get to freezing without freezing the better.
I'm bringing this up because it seems that maybe the 10 to 15 deg rule is really right and maybe going close to freezing just clears things better and faster but doesn't let the yeast clean as well? I'm planning my first lager later this year (been only doing ales so far) and am still trying to decide what temps I am going to use etc.
.....and if that holds true, what the heck takes lagers longer to do this than ales?
I'm a believer that the lagering has less to do with yeast activity and more to do with small chemical reactions, flavors melding, slight bits of positive oxidation, clarification, and other things that are very difficult to quantify and yet you can really taste a difference as a beer continues to lager.
I put a bock on tap after a couple weeks fermentation and about 6 weeks of lagering. I knew it wasn't totally ready when I put it on tap, but I was impatient and thirsty. Lo and behold, a few weeks later I was amazed at how much better it continued to get. It's almost inexplicable - you hate to say things like, "it had more flavor" but that's really what it was like. Complexity.
I would be interested to do an experiment comparing a batch split into two lagering conditions. One near freezing and one at 60-70deg. Any guesses on how they might taste relative to one another? I would think one would want to get the beer off the bulk of the yeast before the batch was split.
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