I have thrown my hands up....I can't do a lager!

Every attempt has turned out.....well not ideal. They taste fine, but compared to my ales, they are inferior. Every lager I brew turns out to taste not like a lager.

My process is this....

Primary, 2 weeks, secondary in my fridge for 2 weeks in the low 40s. I have only used morebeer.com extract kits but I have since moved to all grain kits from Austin homebrew. I have an all grain lager fermenting, haven't tried it yet. I used white labs lager yeast.

What can I do to improve?

Some of the keys to a good lager are:

BIG starter. Big. Like 4L. Pitching the correct amount of yeast at proper fermentation areas will do a lot to make a "clean" lager. Make sure you're at the optimum fermentation temperature- low 40s sounds too low. Most lager yeast like 47-55 degrees (fermentation temperature, not ambient temperature). Primary can be 2 weeks or so before getting 75% of the way to the FG. If you're doing a diacetyl rest (sometimes not needed, but always ok to do), that's the time.

If you have any diacetyl in the taste, make sure you do a diacetyl rest before racking to secondary and lagering.

In my opinion, lagering is best done at about 34 degrees. I've learned to make the lagering at least one week for every ten OG points. So, for an 1.070 lager, that means at least 7 weeks at 34 degrees. That makes a nice, smooth lager.

My only lager attempt, a bohemian pilsner using wyeast urquell, came out tasting completely clean and not any more lager-like than my ales fermented at cool temperatures. It was totally lacking any distinct lager yeast character. I haven't tried another and don't have any plans to, but I'm interested to hear what others have to say about this.

You didn't mention your temperature in primary. I did 7 days at 50 and 3 days at 66 in primary, then one month at 38 in the keg.

I have yet to lager... so I probably shouldn't post...

but I usually see secondary times of 4 weeks.

What temp for primary ferment? And diactly rest temp and time?


and all the smart people posted while I was typing... see I should have waited!

I don't think two weeks lagering is enough. Four weeks would be better. You can still lager it after it's carbonated. Colder than 40 is better too. Colder seems too work faster for me.

If it tastes like an ale I think you should look more into the first week. Did you pitch enough yeast at the correct temp? How consistent was the fermentation temps?

So yoop... pitch a big starter, ferment for about 2 weeks at 49 or 50 degrees, check gravity and taste for diactly, rest if needed. If 75% fermented it is ready to lager at 34 degrees for said number of weeks based on OG.

Is that the short summary?

I am intending on Lagering some in the next year.

Well I keep it in my basement during the primary, which is probably around the high 50s this time of year. I am still confused about temps and fermentation in regards to lagers.

What is the easiest way to lager for a homebrewer? I have a fridge to lager in so what temps should I have the beer at during what times?

chefmike said:

So yoop... pitch a big starter, ferment for about 2 weeks at 49 or 50 degrees, check gravity and taste for diactly, rest if needed. If 75% fermented it is ready to lager at 34 degrees for said number of weeks based on OG.

Is that the short summary?

I am intending on Lagering some in the next year.

Click to expand...

Basically, yes. Some tweaks:

1. Cool the starter in the fridge. On brew day, pour off the spent wort (since it's a LOT!) and pitch the starter. I like to pitch when the wort is at 50 degrees, and the starter yeast is at 48 degrees. That ever so slightly warmer wort seems to "wake up" the yeast and get it going. Pitching at fermentation temps isn't always done, but I believe it gives the best results.

2. If you're not sure if you're using a yeast that produces a ton of diacetyl, and don't know how to test for it for sure, go ahead and do the diacetyl rest. No harm will come if you do one, whether it's needed or not.

3. Don't rack to secondary until the fermentation is finished. If it's 75% finished, that's the time for the diacetyl rest. After you hit FG, THEN it's time to rack to secondary. I drop the temp 5 degrees per day, until I'm at the proper lagering temperature. Then, I lager for the number of weeks needed.

4. The number of weeks is a general guideline. If your lager has more complexity, or you've had some problems with fermentation (long lag time), you may want to go longer to ensure the lager will smooth out.