Another Lager How-to Question

Hey guys, I'm doing an extract Czech Pils kit from Northern Brewer. I've done successful lagers in the past but I have a question about this one. OG was 1.045, I pitched a starter and left it in my ferm. chamber with the fridge off until I saw Krausen activity. This beer had the longest lag on any I've ever done, took almost 48 hours. Once I saw krausen I turned on the fridge and it has been in primary at 48 degrees for 2 weeks. I took a sample last night, the gravity is 1.014, and there was a noticeable sulphur taste in the beer. Could have been the glassware b/c I just poured the beer out of the hydrometer tube into a tasting glass I had in the cabinet.

My plan is to rack to secondary bring it down to 32 degrees and let it lager until spring when it will get kegged. Sound like a good plan? I don't see a need for a diacetyl rest since I didn't get any hints of butterscotch when I tasted it. Is there anything that can be done about the sulphur taste?

EKennett said:

Hey guys, I'm doing an extract Czech Pils kit from Northern Brewer. I've done successful lagers in the past but I have a question about this one. OG was 1.045, I pitched a starter and left it in my ferm. chamber with the fridge off until I saw Krausen activity. This beer had the longest lag on any I've ever done, took almost 48 hours. Once I saw krausen I turned on the fridge and it has been in primary at 48 degrees for 2 weeks. I took a sample last night, the gravity is 1.014, and there was a noticeable sulphur taste in the beer. Could have been the glassware b/c I just poured the beer out of the hydrometer tube into a tasting glass I had in the cabinet.

My plan is to rack to secondary bring it down to 32 degrees and let it lager until spring when it will get kegged. Sound like a good plan? I don't see a need for a diacetyl rest since I didn't get any hints of butterscotch when I tasted it. Is there anything that can be done about the sulphur taste?

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Some lager yeast strains are sulfury, and that will fade with time if that's the cause. When you tasted, and tasted no butterscotch, that's a sign that there isn't much diacetyl present, but I'd taste again and look for more than that. Diacetyl in huge amounts presents as butterscotch, but in smaller amounts it's more of an "oily" mouthfeel or slickness on the tongue. Taste it again, and pay particular attention to the mouthfeel. If there is ANY hint of oiliness, do the diacteyl rest before racking. If you don't, it will worsen and probably be unfixable.

Anyway, whether you're doing a diacetyl rest or not doesn't really matter, but I thought I'd mention it.

Thanks Yooper, maybe I'll just do the rest anyway since it really can't hurt anything. The beer is sitting in a fermentation chamber in the basement so I'm not worried about skunking.

I would recommend a Diactyl rest.........its not going to hurt anything...........just bring it up to 60 degrees or so for 24-48 and then lager that baby...........

for comment on the sulfur smell/flavors see below........

"What makes lager beer different from ale beer, you ask?
Well, the main difference is temperature. Make that temperature and time. No, there's three: Temperature, Time and Yeast. Let's start with yeast.

"As discussed in Chapter 6 - Yeast, lager yeasts like lower fermentation temperatures. 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."

From How to Brew by John Palmer