Vienna Lager Revvy's Vienna Lager

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Is there any reason this beer cannot be in a secondary for 3 months? I will be out of commission for about 3 months and need to brew this so it will be ready when I'm ready.
 
I am trying to iron out some process issues before I brew this. I have been having issues with the grind of my grain but I think i can get that figured out before i brew this.

Typically I end with about 2.25 gallons in my bottle bucket and i assume it would be the same for a secondary. Since i will be using the same container, 3 gallon better bottle, there will be about .75 gallon of air space above the beer.

Is is common practice to just leave it as air, or to purge it with CO2?
 
I'm now 'lagering' which means I covered my fermenter with a big plastic bag, then put it in a cooler thingy, and put the whole thing outside. I'm getting air temp highs and lows of around 40F and 28F, so I'm assuming with some insulation to smooth things out, it won't turn out too bad.

My primary was 10 days I think, the gravity was getting low (1.016), so I did a 40 hour rest at room temp, then put it outside. I read that the rest should be done before it's too attenuated, so that's why my primary was shorter than others. When I did the rest, I didn't detect any diacetyl, only large amounts of deliciousness. I'm curious what this will taste like in time, perhaps it will give me an idea of what diacetyl tastes like, or perhaps I just didn't have any.

I'm wondering how you calculate when to start the D-rest if trying to hit a certain FG. I'm brewing a Marzen soon but using a yeast with higher attenuation WLP830 rather than the 820 and planned to rest & rack to lagering before falls below 1.017 or so.
 
Well I finally kegged this beer, and it turned out fantastic! I think the White Labs Belgian lager was a great yeast choice. Very well received by friends that have tired it. Bravo to a fantastic recipe Revvy!
 
Dos Equis Dark is one of my favorite beers when it's on tap, not so much when it's bottled. I think Revvy's recipe will be the first lager I try once I get set up to brew that way. I won't change anything until I've brewed my first batch and sampled it.
 
I made this recipe 2 days ago and it is just starting to ferment now. The bubbles are about 4 seconds apart. I hope it gets going faster. I changed the yeast to Bohemian Lager, 2124. I am fermenting at 50F. I probably needed to use a starter but this is what I get for listening to the LHBS. My plan is to let it d-rest for 48 hours then rack to a secondary and let it store at 40 for about 3 months.
 
raymadigan said:
I made this recipe 2 days ago and it is just starting to ferment now. The bubbles are about 4 seconds apart. I hope it gets going faster. I changed the yeast to Bohemian Lager, 2124. I am fermenting at 50F. I probably needed to use a starter but this is what I get for listening to the LHBS. My plan is to let it d-rest for 48 hours then rack to a secondary and let it store at 40 for about 3 months.

Sounds good. Make sure to do a yeast starter next time. Let us know how it turns out.
 
Pissed made this last night, OG way OFF! 1.04ish only second all grain batch. Using 70 QT cooler, bazooka screen. Thought I followed Rezzy's instructions ( well I did add Saaz for aroma at 5 minutes). Another thing that surely changed reading if only slightly I pulled 1.5 Qt of first running's for the yeast starter. Oh well pitched the yeast starter it will still be beer, and hopefully still taste wonderful.

Martin
 
I made this recipe on 8/5. my very first lager. I am about to start lagering it for 2.5 to 3 months. It tastes great, thanks for this recipe. Next time I have to do a better job of hitting the OG.

I used Bohemian Lager wYeast 2124

Here are some numbers for this batch.

OG was 1.044 compared to goal for the recipe of 1.051
FG is 1.016 compared to 1.010 for the recipe.

with an ABV 3.6%

Lagering at 1C or 33.8F :)
 
Everything I have read on this style suggests to not use too much caramel malt. This recipe looks like it has twice the amount suggested in the OP BYO article (.75#).

I subbed the c60 for c40 but still worry it will be too sweet. This is important as I will enter it in a comp in which 300$ will be on the line.
Does anyone have any professional reviews/scores on this?
 
Everything I have read on this style suggests to not use too much caramel malt. This recipe looks like it has twice the amount suggested in the OP BYO article (.75#).

I subbed the c60 for c40 but still worry it will be too sweet. This is important as I will enter it in a comp in which 300$ will be on the line.
Does anyone have any professional reviews/scores on this?

Since the grain is already mixed, I will probably bump it up to 9lbs vienna and up the batch to 5.5g to be on the safer end of things.
 
Has anybody tried an extended mash on this to dry it out more? I absolutely inhaled my keg of it, and am definitely going to make it again but think I would like it just a bit drier.
 
I did a 2.5 gallon BIAB batch last year and "ghetto" lagered at 50 degrees. Turned out great and didn't last very long. Friends ask me all the time when I'm going to make another batch.

At 7 months of age it scored 43 & 44 in one comp and didn't medal (dang marzens :smack: ).

At 11 months it took 3rd at a different comp. Judges did note that it tasted a little aged.

I hope to brew this again within the next month.

Awesome beer!!! Thanks Revvy.
 
I brewed this up 3 weeks ago. Brew day went well. Fermented at 50F for 20 days then diacetyl rest for 3 days at 65F. Today I transferred to secondary, took a gravity reading and it came out to 1.018. Ouch! Beersmith estimates a FG of 1.012 so I'm out 6 points. My bad as I didn't take a gravity reading after 20 days of primary. I figured the fermentation was near complete as the burping had slowed down to nearly nothing. Guess I was wrong. I used German Lager WLP830 with a 2 step starter to get me in the 400 billion cell count range.

Anyhow, my question is. Should I keep my secondary bucket at 65F for a few more days to see if the suspended yeast will clean up? Or would you just go ahead and lager at 35F right now?
 
I brewed this recipe on 8/5 and and on 8/25 moved it to a secondary fermentor after I put a layer of co2 in the secondary to help prevent oxidation. I am finally able to bottle it this weekend. I wish I could keg it but I'm just not there yet. I do have a couple of questions, this is my very first lager.

Do I need to add a little yeast when I add the sugar for carbonation?

I should just add enough sugar for a regular carbonated brew?
 
Can anyone chime in on the question above? This is my first lager as well. Also what is the best procedure for preventing the airlock fluid from being vacuumed into the carboy when I bring the temp down?
 
Can anyone chime in on the question above? This is my first lager as well. Also what is the best procedure for preventing the airlock fluid from being vacuumed into the carboy when I bring the temp down?

Use an S type air lock. They just bubble the opposite direction when pressure changes.
 
Excited to brew this as my first lager next week but is one pkg of dry s-23 enough? I've read that lagers would need two pkg's of dry yeast???

I only ordered the one pkg of this yeast as the recipie stated so I hope I don't underpitch. I am rehydrating it so that should help some.

Jamie.
 
I'm using this recipe with White Labs WLP940 Mexican Lager yeast, to make a nice cerveza. Thanks for the recipe! Cheers!:mug:
 
Forgive me if this is a stupid newbie question but I thought a diacetyl rest should be done with about 75% attenuation completed so the yeast will still have some activity left to clean up the diacetyl? I just checked my gravity after 8 days and its at 1.016 already so I am doing my diacetyl rest now. If i followed the recipie and did the diacety rest at 30 days I would already be 100% attenuated and the rest would be less effective. Am I wrong in doing my diacetyl rest now after 8 days with a sg of 1.016.The O.G was 1.051.

I definatley got a buttery taste from my gravity sample.

thanks.

Jamie.
 
Jamie, I'm new to lagers, but from everything I've read, you are correct in doing the diacetyl rest now. Let us know how it turns out. :)
 
I brew mostly Lagers and you are correct to start you diacetyl rest now. With my Lagers I usually notice fermentation slowing down around day 5 and start ramping up around that time. Primary fermentation usually averages 9 days for me.
 
Made this beer and tapped the keg last night. Its a very good Vienna Lager. TY for the recipe.
 
I just bottled mine today. I brewed it back in May, racked to secondary after 2 weeks primary and a 3-day diacetyl rest, then lagered over 3 months at 37F. OG was 1.058 (better efficiency than I had predicted!), and FG 1.009. The beer is crystal-clear, with a nice reddish-brown color. The hydro sample tasted great, with no discernible off-flavors. The Vienna malt really shines through. Can't wait for it to condition!
 
I just scored a new-to-me small fridge. I've been brewing 18 years and have never done a lager. It's time to start! I love a good Vienna lager and this will be my first one I do. I'm checking the temp range of the fridge now to see if I can pull it off without a controller. :mug:
 
I just scored a new-to-me small fridge. I've been brewing 18 years and have never done a lager. It's time to start! I love a good Vienna lager and this will be my first one I do. I'm checking the temp range of the fridge now to see if I can pull it off without a controller. :mug:

Mine turned out great, and it's only the second lager I have brewed. If you like Vienna lagers, you'll like this one.

Lagering temps don't have to be precise, under 40 or so will do. Normal fridge temps should be fine if you don't have a controller.
 
Mine turned out great, and it's only the second lager I have brewed. If you like Vienna lagers, you'll like this one.

Lagering temps don't have to be precise, under 40 or so will do. Normal fridge temps should be fine if you don't have a controller.

I'm more concerned with the ferment temps. I have to see how warm this fridge goes. I have a closet in the garage I keep in the mid-hi 60's for most ales. I ferment Belgians and sour stuff in the house, mid-hi 70's. Keeping something in the 50's is concern. Outside temps here in the winter are too unpredictable to go ghetto style ferment.
 
Picked up ingredients today. I made a minor change to the hops just because I love to use 1oz additions. 1oz at 60min and 1oz at 15min. WLP830 German Lager yeast.
Calculator says I'll need to step up my starter once. I figure I'll brew this maybe monday or tuesday. I've got a starter going for a stout now, then I can start up the lager yeast, cold crash/decant and repeat. :ban:
 
Well I missed my SG big time! 1.090!! It is fermenting and will check it in 28 days! Not sure what the classification for this would be now?

Can't wait to try.
Martin
 
We now have the first maltser in Michigan since prohibition, and they have a deal with my homebrewhop as a supplier of their malts. They JUST released their first Vienna malt this week. Been waiting patiently for it so I can be one of the first to brew with it, and to try it with this recipe.

Heading out shortly to fill my order, and will brew this probably Monday.

Here's an article on the new company.
 
We now have the first maltser in Michigan since prohibition, and they have a deal with my homebrewhop as a supplier of their malts. They JUST released their first Vienna malt this week. Been waiting patiently for it so I can be one of the first to brew with it, and to try it with this recipe.

Heading out shortly to fill my order, and will brew this probably Monday.

Here's an article on the new company.

Let us know how your efficiency turns out. Also, I'd wonder about costs of that malt. Must be hard to keep the costs low for a sack if you don't have the scale of the giant malsters.

I do see the appeal of making a wholly local beer.

:off: I see there's a watch company (assembler, anyway) in Detroit called Shinola. Pretty nice watches - I met a guy with one a month ago. I thought Detroit was falling apart?
 
Let us know how your efficiency turns out. Also, I'd wonder about costs of that malt. Must be hard to keep the costs low for a sack if you don't have the scale of the giant malsters.

I do see the appeal of making a wholly local beer.

:off: I see there's a watch company (assembler, anyway) in Detroit called Shinola. Pretty nice watches - I met a guy with one a month ago. I thought Detroit was falling apart?

Nah, Detroit is on the upswing, especially with the hipster crowd. The wildest thing is the part of Detroit where Shinola is, used to be the city's "Tenderloin" district, called the Cass Corridor, where up until about 6 years ago or so, the only reason people went there was to score hookers or heroin (except for the city's first restaurant to ever get a microbrewery license back in the '80's, and another great micro that split off from them and opened across the street- but you didn't go a block past those places.)

Now it's rebranded as "Midtown" and you can't even afford to live there- what used to be 600/month one bedroom bedbug infested places, are now twice that minimum (I know I tried to move down there after the fire last summer.) And one of the hottest restaurants in the country is down there.

Right where Shinola is now is sorta the beer/funky boutique disctrict. On one end is Hopcat, which has 100+ beers on tap. Then down the block is Jolly Pumpkin's taproom for sour beers, Traffic Jam & Snug (the first brewpub in Mi) and Motor City Brew Works and at the opposite end of the district is 8 Degrees Plato- which is a beer store with a bar inside. And also is Shinola, and Jack White's "Third Man Records" Detroit branch.

All of this is a short walk from where I work. And this is just one of the areas around Detroit that is blowing up.

As to the malt, I've brewed with the Pilsner before, it's fantastic, had no issues with efficiency... But yeah right now it's pricier than the regular malts...like 2.5 times more. The vienna was 2.30 a pound as opposed to a buck a pound for the mass produced stuff.

I haven't tried their pale/2 row yet, because I can't justify it. But I'm going to play around with the other "specialty" malts as they get released, just at least to get a feel for them initially, especially if I have a gift card or know I'm getting a discount on them. The shop I've been going to since I started brewing has a great "incentive" program for repeat customers- each month you get a "credit" based on what you spent last month, and you can roll it over as long as you want, you don't have to use it the next time you come in, you can let it ride until you want to spend it. I had like 20bucks in credit and a 10 dollar gift card for them from brewing with them on Teach a Friend day in Nov. so between those discounts, it only cost me 10 bucks for everything I bought when I was there besides the grain.
 
We now have the first maltser in Michigan since prohibition, and they have a deal with my homebrewhop as a supplier of their malts. They JUST released their first Vienna malt this week. Been waiting patiently for it so I can be one of the first to brew with it, and to try it with this recipe.

Heading out shortly to fill my order, and will brew this probably Monday.

Here's an article on the new company.

Michigan grown and Michigan malted. Nice.

And glad to hear Detroit is making a comeback. Now if somebody can do something about Flint's water...
 
Michigan grown and Michigan malted. Nice.

And glad to hear Detroit is making a comeback. Now if somebody can do something about Flint's water...

Does Bru'N'water correct for lead? :ban:

Back on topic, I'm going to be brewing a vienna lager next. It's one of the few styles I've never brewed. Probably start with this recipe.
 
Sorry if this is a dumb series of questions but Ive been through the thread and although I might have missed my answer im not sure if I have.

1, Do I leave in the primary for 30 days on the yeast then rack to a secondary?

2, If the above is correct and I want to larger in Bottles will there be enough yests to carbonate?

3, Is cold crashing before racking to bottles ok?


Im away from home but I have a beerbug so Im monitoring the brew on-line and it seems to be going great, maybe a little too great as its been only three days and Im down from 1.066 to 1.022. I hope this is ok?

Cheers,


Andy
 
We now have the first maltser in Michigan since prohibition, and they have a deal with my homebrewhop as a supplier of their malts. They JUST released their first Vienna malt this week. Been waiting patiently for it so I can be one of the first to brew with it, and to try it with this recipe.

Heading out shortly to fill my order, and will brew this probably Monday.

Here's an article on the new company.

Folks, if you weren't aware, there's also Pilot Malt House right here in West Michigan.

http://www.pilotmalthouse.com/
 
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