Brewhouse Munich Dark Lager hints

[jscovill]

Hey everyone,

I'm a newbie to all home brewing (well, ANY brewing) and I've decided to get my feet wet with the Brew House kit, Munich Dark Lager and Red Ale specifically. The Red Ale is a backup

I've had some people ask me why I'm trying a lager as my first beer given it takes a lot more effort and attention to detail compared to ales, etc. There's a brewer near me that produces a fantastic Dunkel and I love it. It's only made in small quantities and sold in very few locations so I thought, "Why not make it myself?!?"

So I decided after a lot of research to invest in the gear I need to do this. At this point I have the basic tools but need to find a smallish chest freezer and pick up a temp controller.

If anyone out there can throw any other hints, tips, etc my direction about how I can increase my chances of having at least a drinkable beer come out of this I'd really appreciate it. I'm going to pick up a Wyeast 2308 cause I've read the included yeast is really an ale yeast. Should I follow the rest of the directions out of the box? Ignore them entirely?

What else can I do to make this happen? Am I biting off more than I can chew?

Thanks!

 

[johnnybrew]

jscovill, I admire your gumption. Tackling a Lager FIRST, is a bit of an upward climb since you don't have experience with starters, fermentation, diacetyl, lagering, etc. It can be done, but you will have to read as much as you can get your hands on. I would recommend you pick up Palmer's "How to brew" and read the basics PLUS the chapter on LAGERS.

My $0.02:

• make an appropriately sized starter
• control the temp during fermentation - be sure it is in the range for the yeast (likely at about 50F)
• a diacetyl rest may be needed - depends on the grist bill and length of boil
• lager at about 40F or lower for at least 30 days; you can use 1 week per 8 pts as a general reference (i.e., 1.056 OG would be 56/8 = 7 wks of lagering)

Good luck!

 

[scinerd3000]

always always always use a d-rest. Even if you don't need it you won't hurt the beer and I almost guarantee that you will.

The starter is going to seem deceivingly big but for lagers it is needed. I try to pitch at the temperature I will be fermenting at, pull out for the D rest when it is almost done and then when it is done, rack it into a clean container and drop it to lager temps and wait....

Overall it is doable. Don't rush, make the starter and step it up. I usually use close to a gallon starter. And of course, don't miss the d-rest

 

[johnnybrew]

Yep - big starters for lagers - so, crash it, decant and pitch the slurry to minimize off flavors from the starter.

 

[OvaTersley]

Here is a great website for figuring how much starter you will need.

http://www.yeastcalc.com/

 

[nbolmer]

Yep - big starters for lagers - so, crash it, decant and pitch the slurry to minimize off flavors from the starter.

Pitching the entire starter at high krausen will have no impact on the flavor of the beer.

 

[OvaTersley]

I think Johnny was referring to the decanting of the starter in order to minimize off flavors.

 

[nbolmer]

I think Johnny was referring to the decanting of the starter in order to minimize off flavors.

And I was suggesting that there's no reason to decant, if you pitch at High Krausen instead of waiting for the yeast to floc out

 

[OvaTersley]

Got it.

 

[jscovill]

Thanks for all the tips!

I'm a little nervous now! The last thing I want is my first time to be a complete failure but I think I'll start piecing things together and give it a shot.

Just trying to decipher all the info in the yeast calculator to actually give me a number for the starter.

Jay

 

[johnnybrew]

And I was suggesting that there's no reason to decant, if you pitch at High Krausen instead of waiting for the yeast to floc out

I respectfully disagree. The idea behind a starter is to make yeast, not beer. When I ferment a lager starter I do it at 68 to 70F, which will generate a lot of great healthy yeast, but will also produce all sorts of esters, potentially fusils and other nasties that I don't want in my beer - - - especially a lager. Also, remember, lagers need two to three times the amount of yeast than ales do. The starter for my last lager (a munich dunkel, by the way!) was 5 liters - which is 1.3 gals. A starter that size can have an effect on the flavor profile. And, since lagers are supposed to have a clean profile, I go the route of crashing, decanting and pitching a slurry to reduce the chance of any off-flavor in my lager.