Doing my first lager tomorrow, any last minute tips?

This is my first time doing a lager, so there are a few new items for me to deal with. I'm doing a schwarzbier, with a 90 minute boil because it's got a couple pounds of German pilsen malt in the recipe, to avoid DMS issues.

For fermentation, I'm targeting 12C, as that's the recommended temp for S23. My intention is to hold it at that temp for two weeks, and then step it up 1C every 12 hours until I hit 17C. I'll hold it at 17C for a week, and then drop it to 2C for a month.

I have to have the lagering stage started by Dec 16, because that's when I leave for Florida, and I don't trust my housesitter enough to have her making adjustments to my ferm chamber.

Any recommendations from seasoned lager vets out there? I'm sure there are some that will suggest that I test for diacetyl before doing a rest, but I don't trust my palate enough on green beer to detect it. So, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

From what I know, it can never hurt to do a diacetyl rest. I've done 4-5 lagers to this point, and they've all come out good (if I do say so myself).

While it's very late in the game for you, a big starter is always a good idea (I started my starter on Tuesday for next Saturday's batch. I'm stepping up until then. Will probably have about 5L of starter that I will cold crash and decant before brewing.

When starting your lager phase, it's best to lower your temperature to lagering temps over a few days. I will lower it 4 degrees or so each day before I get down to 37F.

use liquid yeast and make a huge starter. s-23 is the worst yeast I have ever tasted, it produces a fruity flavor not wanted in a lager. The only acceptable dry lager yeast I have ever tried is 34/70 and s-189. If you must use dry yeast in a lager pitch two 11.5 gram packs. I don't know what 12c converts to but I always ferment at 50f for lagers.

I prefer dry yeast to liquid yeast for ales, and the recipe I'm doing is one that a friend does that uses S23. I've tried his beer, and it was fine, no fruity esters noted. Yes, using two packs of yeast. Appreciate the feedback.

My experience with S23 is completely different than sonex... I have used S23 to brew everything from doppelbocks to Bohemian Pilsners and had wonderful results. Granted, I was using it in a 15bbl unitank, using a spundig within 48 hours of pitching, not a home sized system and yeasts may behave differently depending on volume and geometry of the fermenter as well as at pressure. I would typically start it at 65F and step down 5 degrees per day. It will work quite well at temperatures much lower than Fermentis suggests. I have run it as low as 35F... granted, it will take a lot longer to work at that temp, but the resulting beer is delicious. YMMV

S-23 performs well at higher temperatures. I've used it around 55-58 degrees with really nice results. I've also used it around 45 degrees; that beer is currently lagering but it didn't seem unduly fruity when I racked it. Using two packs is a good idea; be sure to rehydrate to give it a good start.

The only flaw I see in your plan is with respect to your timeline. As I've told a number of other lager brewers...your hydrometer, not your calendar, governs when you do your d-rest. There is ZERO point to doing a d-rest after active fermentation is complete, which could easily be the case after two weeks. Start your d-rest when your SG is about 8 points over expected FG. If you don't know what that is, do a forced ferment test to figure it out.

I've never use S-23, but S-34/70 makes very good schwarzbier. It's malt forward.

osagedr said:

The only flaw I see in your plan is with respect to your timeline. As I've told a number of other lager brewers...your hydrometer, not your calendar, governs when you do your d-rest. There is ZERO point to doing a d-rest after active fermentation is complete, which could easily be the case after two weeks. Start your d-rest when your SG is about 8 points over expected FG. If you don't know what that is, do a forced ferment test to figure it out.

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Good advice. I'm a set it and forget it guy when it comes to my ales, usually leaving them sit for a month or more before doing anything with them. However, that won't work with a diacetyl rest, and I'll need to do as you suggest.

Malticulous said:

I've never use S-23, but S-34/70 makes very good schwarzbier. It's malt forward.

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You're the second one to suggest the Weihenstephan yeast, maybe I'll make a second batch when I get back from the holidays for comparison purposes.

I would pitch at around 7C then work your way up to your target fermentation.
I would not plan on raising temp on a specific day, rather, start when gravity is about 3/4 of expected final gravity. When fermentation is 75% complete

In the ferm chamber, just dropped the yeast and aerated. On advice given here, and in a couple books, I dropped the wort temp to 7-8C before pitching, and have set my thermostat to 10C for a 50C ferment.

Malticulous said:

I've never use S-23, but S-34/70 makes very good schwarzbier. It's malt forward.

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You better beleive it. I'm drinking left overs from kegging a Schwarzbier that went into lager a week ago. It's fantastic.
I did another one today which used the cake from the first one...... oh crap, I just realized that I didn't use W34/70, but went with WY2042 for my last 2 lagers.
Well anyway, I use quite a bit of W34/70 yeast in lagers I do and it is a great dry yeast.

usfmikeb said:

In the ferm chamber, just dropped the yeast and aerated. On advice given here, and in a couple books, I dropped the wort temp to 7-8C before pitching, and have set my thermostat to 10C for a 50C ferment.

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I like it.