First Lager - Starter/Ferm. Help

[g-star]

Going to try for my first lager, and I was hoping for some tips, or just a general check on my process. I am doing a simple German Pils with an OG of about 1.053 and WLP830.

1. Mr. Malty tells me I need 1.42 gallons for a starter. Should I just make 1.5 gallons of a 1.040 starter of WLP830/DME, let it ferment out for a week or so, cold crash, then pour off the liquid and pitch my 5.5 gallons of wort onto the cake? Can I ferment the starter at 65F?

2. My grist will be 95% German 2-row pilsner malt. Boil for 90min to minimize DMS? Diacetyl rest at about 7 days (75% of ferm.) in the mid 60's?

3. Get the wort down to about 50F, then pitch at that temp? Or can I pitch in the 60's and try to get it down to 50-55F?

Thanks in advance to any more experienced folks who take the time to help me out.

Cheers!

 

[BrothersBrewing]

1=YES, but you dont really need to make a starter. ive made lagers w/o them they come out just fine. its a lager whats a few more days to ferment.
2=looks good
3= pitch at 60 and maintain 50-55

 

[zgoda]

I usually do 1qt starters, for my marzen i did 2qt (Wyeast Munich Lager). The fermentation was lagging for over 24h. So i'd recommend to make starter anyway, even small. At least this will proof the yeast is healthy.

7 days of diacetyl rest seems way too long. None of my fellow brewers here does it longer than 24h and always after the fermentation is complete.

 

[Yooper]

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. No. If you're pitching the correct amount of yeast, lower the wort temperature to 50 degrees (or under) before pitching.

If you pitch the proper amount of yeast, you may not even need a diacetyl rest but it doesn't hurt to do one. When the beer is 75% of the way to FG, that's a good time for a diacetyl rest. One day, two at most, is fine for the diacetyl rest. You would want to go about 10 degrees more than fermentation temperature.

After the diacetyl rest, and the beer at FG, it can be racked and the lagering phase started.

 

[g-star]

Thanks for the tips, it seems clear to me now. I will follow said advice and hopefully end up with a nice German pils in a few months.

Cheers!

 

[DrawTap88]

It's always a good idea to pitch too cold and warm the beer up. If you pitch warm and then drop the temp, the yeast may flocculate to soon due to the colder temps.

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

Going to try for my first lager, and I was hoping for some tips, or just a general check on my process. I am doing a simple German Pils with an OG of about 1.053 and WLP830.

1. Mr. Malty tells me I need 1.42 gallons for a starter. Should I just make 1.5 gallons of a 1.040 starter of WLP830/DME, let it ferment out for a week or so, cold crash, then pour off the liquid and pitch my 5.5 gallons of wort onto the cake? Can I ferment the starter at 65F?

2. My grist will be 95% German 2-row pilsner malt. Boil for 90min to minimize DMS? Diacetyl rest at about 7 days (75% of ferm.) in the mid 60's?

3. Get the wort down to about 50F, then pitch at that temp? Or can I pitch in the 60's and try to get it down to 50-55F?

Thanks in advance to any more experienced folks who take the time to help me out.

Cheers!

g-star I just started drinking the five lagers I brewed a few months back and I didn't make a starter, just pitched plenty of yeast....the pitching rate is double what you'd normally use for an ale.

I pitched at 60F, quickly cooled it down and fermented at 50F for 25 days, then let the temperature rise to 60F over days 26 through 28, I bottled it with cane sugar and carbonated for 21 days at 70F before putting the carbed bottles in the fridge at 32-34F for a few weeks....they all taste great.

 

[markg388]

recommending not making starters and pitching warm is like telling a new driver its just fine to go 10-15 over the speed limit. there's a good enough chance you'll get away with it without any trouble, but one day it's gunna bite you in the ass.

 

[hal2814]

I use Weyermann pilsner all the time with 60 minute boils. Just get it rolling well and you won't have to worry about DMS.

 

[zgoda]

I use Weyermann pilsner all the time with 60 minute boils. Just get it rolling well and you won't have to worry about DMS.

This applies to any well modified european malt from 2-row spring barley, German, Belgian, Czech, French or Danish. I rarely boil longer than 70 minutes and never had any DMS in my beer, though my fellow brewmaster from some brewpub recomments 90 minutes (they use Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner malt).

 

[hal2814]

This applies to any well modified european malt from 2-row spring barley, German, Belgian, Czech, French or Danish. I rarely boil longer than 70 minutes and never had any DMS in my beer, though my fellow brewmaster from some brewpub recomments 90 minutes (they use Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner malt).

IIRC, Weyermann's Bohemian Pilsner is the one that's intentionally under-modified (to today's standards).