I'm about to do a lager, today I hope, but maybe tomorrow if the answers lean towards that.
First off, I made a starter yesterday from my WLP840 yeast. I used 1 pint of water and 1/2 cup LME and put it on a shelf at cool room temp about 67F. The yeast has been bubbling away. I've swirled it every now and then.
I was planning on doing a cold pitch this time. My last, and only, lager I pitched warm and the results were mixed, too much banana ester, but still drinkable. It didn't have the crisp taste of a lager however.
So how should I proceed? What should I do with the starter? Should I bring it down to 50F or so? I was planning on pitching the whole thing, or should I decant? Do I have enough yeast?
Can I bring my wort down to 50 slowly by placing in my cold room, after cooling down to around 70 using the usual methods of ice bath and very cold top-off water? Or does that risk infection by leaving it without yeast? Should I try to get it down to 50 in the ice bath? The tap water I'm using is already pretty cold, and I use the water straight from the tap.
I left the carboy filled with sanitizer in the cold room overnight and the temp in the carboy is 48 near the bottom. I figure with the yeast working the temp will be a bit warmer, so that should be good, right?
This will be my last chance on a lager until next winter, so I just want to get this one right. I depend on the cold outside temps, and while I want spring as much as the next person, I need it to stay cold for another 10 days!
First off, I made a starter yesterday from my WLP840 yeast. I used 1 pint of water and 1/2 cup LME and put it on a shelf at cool room temp about 67F. The yeast has been bubbling away. I've swirled it every now and then.
I was planning on doing a cold pitch this time. My last, and only, lager I pitched warm and the results were mixed, too much banana ester, but still drinkable. It didn't have the crisp taste of a lager however.
So how should I proceed? What should I do with the starter? Should I bring it down to 50F or so? I was planning on pitching the whole thing, or should I decant? Do I have enough yeast?
Can I bring my wort down to 50 slowly by placing in my cold room, after cooling down to around 70 using the usual methods of ice bath and very cold top-off water? Or does that risk infection by leaving it without yeast? Should I try to get it down to 50 in the ice bath? The tap water I'm using is already pretty cold, and I use the water straight from the tap.
I left the carboy filled with sanitizer in the cold room overnight and the temp in the carboy is 48 near the bottom. I figure with the yeast working the temp will be a bit warmer, so that should be good, right?
This will be my last chance on a lager until next winter, so I just want to get this one right. I depend on the cold outside temps, and while I want spring as much as the next person, I need it to stay cold for another 10 days!