Lager fermentation activity

I have not brewed in almost 10 years and jumped right into an Oktoberfest. Everything went well, I think. Pitched 01/11 Sunday night and still have not seen any movement from the airlock. Krausen looks nice and some activity is happening for sure. Thinking of taking a SG reading. Started at 1.050. Am I being to anxious ???

If it is a lager yeast and you have lots of krausen, then your beer is fermenting away quite well.

It sounds to me like you have a leak in your fermenter someplace (is it a pail with a lid that perhaps isn't tightly sealed?). Common problem -- just one (of many) reasons to never rely on your airlock to give you information about your fermentation.

+1, be patient. Wait till friday and then take a hydrometer reading. I've had a couple batches that didn't move the airlock. They make lousy fermentation indicators

Good, Friday when home from work I will have a brew and take a SG reading. That will be the indicator. Thanks

Gravity measured 1.018 and still dropping while lagering at 45-48 degrees. Crack around airlock opening. Next, when to bottle ?

I personally would wait four to six weeks. The I would bring the beer up to room temperature, just pull it out of the fridge (don't heat it, just let it warm slowly). Once it reaches room temp, let it sit for three or four days, this is called a diacetyl rest. It allows the yeast to clean up any weird flavors. Then Bottle

Is there a trick to getting lager yeast to start the munchin sooner

Well, everything went fine with the fermentation. FG dropped to 1.018. It has been almost three weeks since bottling and the carbonation is almost nil. I re-racked this batch twice in 12 weeks of lagering to help clear and reduce sediment, did I also reduce the amount of spent yeast needed later for carbonation ?

Glad it fermented well. 12 Weeks is a long lagering period for a 1.050 lager. You could have done half that with the same result only there would still be some yeast for carbonation. A good rule of thumb is anything over 6 weeks of lagering to get more yeast at bottling time. You can use a dry lager yeast and only pitch 1/4 to 1/2 the pack for 5 gallons.

There might be a few yeast cells in there, but it will take a long time for carbonation... probably too long. You might consider adding a few individual particles of dry lager yeast per bottle (and recapping).

I may try that, good thing for the Grolsch bottles.

Now looking back at my notes, the OG was at 1.060. But I am still in the same flat spot regardless.

On June 2nd, I popped the first bottle that had pop. Maybe it was the bottle conditioning at too low of a temp or that small pinch of dry lager yeast I added to the bottles. But I am stoked either way to have even a little head.