I think I'm going to try this one this weekend (my fermenter is empty! The horror!). Any tips on the yeast starter? I think I have enough time to get the proper cell count. Do you propagate in the 48-50F range as well?
German Pils Tiber's Premium Pils (1st Place German style Pilsner)
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Prop the yeast at room temp, even for lager strains. The sole goal of a starter is to multiply cells, not to control fermentation flavors. It does help to pitch the yeast as close to wort temperature as possible to avoid shock, so I'd recommend chilling the starter prior to pitching in your cooled wort.
DassaGozza
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I just brewed two back to back German Pilsners, one with Fermentis 34/70 and one with White Labs 833 German Bock. With the first one I decided to use Jamil's hopping rates and timings, but I wanted to give it an extra kick of hop flavour with this second batch, so I stumbled upon your recipe.
I already had my hopping schedule written down, but this looked so tempting I decided to throw my brew sheet away
I'm really glad you shared this one and really enjoyed the rest of the thread. It's great to see a fellow homebrewer being so passionate
and informative about German lagers.
I'll report the results in a couple of weeks.
Prost!
I already had my hopping schedule written down, but this looked so tempting I decided to throw my brew sheet away
I'm really glad you shared this one and really enjoyed the rest of the thread. It's great to see a fellow homebrewer being so passionate
and informative about German lagers.
I'll report the results in a couple of weeks.
Prost!
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OP
OP
Glad to help! Looking forward to your results.
I am working on getting the images back up from the recipe via a different host.
I am working on getting the images back up from the recipe via a different host.
Hey I brewed this up yesterday and hit all the gravity points and pitched at 59 degrees because I was short on time. Anyway I got to 54 degrees within the next few hours. I worked up 2wlp833 starters over the course of last week. Ultimately I pitched yeast cake from 16 liter combined starter at 59 degrees for 25 gallon batch. This is my second lager ever in 7 years of brewing. So this morning checked fermenter and there was oh so faint signs of fermentation maybe after 15 hours and temperatures was at 55. I don’t have my brew setup where I live so I can’t check on it until sometime tomorrow. Basically I’m asking for back up strategies if there still is not signs of fermentation since I’m not experienced with lagers. I’m ready to get dry yeast and pitch but am going to hold out atleast 2/3 days. Th last few years I have limited brew times so I brew as big of batches as possible. Any recommendations. I’m not overly concerned but am looking forward to drinking a tasty pils.
OP
OP
Sorry for my late reply. Looks like things worked out for you. I give lagers 3-4 days to show signs of active fermentation before thinking about backup. I pitch at around 50F, so it can take a while.
I don't brew a lot of lagers, maybe once a year, so I don't remember how they typically ferment. I have a German Pils (similar recipe, not exactly the same) in the primary at 50F now using Wyeast 2124. It took a couple of days to show airlock activity and has been a slow and steady fermentation, maybe a bubble every 2-3 seconds, even after 6-7 days after pitching. Does this sounds about right?
At what gravity should I up the temp to 54 and 60, or do you just go by days?
Thanks,
John
OP
OP
That's completely normal.
I just let it go about 2 weeks from first sign of yeast activity. If you give it another week or more at 60F, you'll clean that lager up nicely. I wouldn't concern yourself with gravity too much; just don't increase the temperature too early. My rule of thumb that has yet to fail me is 2 weeks at 48-49F, then 2 weeks at 60-62F, crash to 40F for 3 days, keg, carb, serve.
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I'm going to brew this Saturday.
Could you please explain this?
"2 weeks @ 66F (includes diacetyl rest + warm conditioning + carbonation time)"
Do I just rest it at 66 or is there anything else I need to do? I think this means you have simplified the D rest but just wanted to make sure.
Also I'm doing a six gallon batch and Beersmith says I need 421 bil cells. If I do a 1.25 litre stir plate starter I get 220 bil. When I do a step up of the same amount does that double the cell count or are there other factors?
Could you please explain this?
"2 weeks @ 66F (includes diacetyl rest + warm conditioning + carbonation time)"
Do I just rest it at 66 or is there anything else I need to do? I think this means you have simplified the D rest but just wanted to make sure.
Also I'm doing a six gallon batch and Beersmith says I need 421 bil cells. If I do a 1.25 litre stir plate starter I get 220 bil. When I do a step up of the same amount does that double the cell count or are there other factors?
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OP
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That was my original method when I first posted this recipe. It works great, but I've since moved on to Low Oxygen brewing methods for lagers like these. If you're sticking with the original recipe, then the 2 weeks at @ 62-66F includes putting the keg on CO2 for carbonating. I used to pull the PRV ring on the keg a couple times per week to vent the beer as it was carbonating and "cleaning itself up."
I would check this site, where you can find yeast growth calculators - including stepping up starters.
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Looks good!
aussie brewer
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HI, im thinking of brewing this next week but i only have a year old wlp830, would this work with a giant starter? any alterations i should make using this yeast? cheers
Just a quick question on your fermentation schedule. I brewed my Pils on Thursday. If I start counting on Friday, today is day 4, and it's already down to 1.014. If I stay at 50F for another 2 days, it's definitely going to reach FG. Would 5 days at 55F at that point be enough to keep the yeast in suspension? I've read everywhere to start a D Rest when 2-5 gravity point from FG.
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OP
From my experience, the last 8% of fermentation occurs at a much slower rate than the first 92%. The original fermentation/rest schedule from my original post could still work for your batch, but it never hurts to listen to your wort for proper guidance.
So maybe ramp up to 55 later today for a few days? Then to 66 for 2 weeks? Is that enough for a D rest?
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I would think that'd do it. Are you able to draw samples from your FV for taste/gravity tests?
Technically yes, but I don't. I don't use the racking arm in the FV anymore. I have a Tilt refractometer that I use to track fermentation.
Last question. After 66 for 2 weeks, do you gradually decrease the temp to cold crash or do it all at once? I'll be 2 weeks at 66 on Sunday.
