first lager

[Lcast21]

I am going to attempt to brew my first lager.. I was looking for any guidance or tips to help out.

Is the brew schedule pretty much the same except for when the yeast is pitched? I've seen a lot of talk about ideal temp for fermentation being about 50 degrees. Is this correct? I have the NA lager wyeast. Also is there a rest period after the primary ferm is complete when the temp needs to be warmer?

 

[venquessa]

Google "How to Brew", it's a free online book, has a chapter about lagering and how it differs to normal ales.

In short... newbie to newbie... everything is the same until you come to ferment it.

Lager ferments cold, 50F sounds about right. The rest period you are talking about is done at room temp as soon as the primary fermentation ends, krausen drops, bubbling stops.

After the 48 hour room temp rest it is put back into the fridge and cooled to 34F (ish) and left for 4-6 weeks.

Finally and just like an ale, it is primed, bottled and left to carb at room temp 70F, for 3 weeks, before finally putting it back into the fridge for a week more.

Total time varies, but
2 weeks ferment,
2 days rest,
6 weeks lagering,
3 weeks carbing,
1 week cold storage.
== 12.5 weeks.

 

[zacster]

Here are a few pointers:

You want to make a yeast starter for a lager as you need a lot more yeast to get fermentation going in the colder temps.

You want to pitch the yeast at approximately the same temp as the wort. Either get both down into the 50s as some do, or at 68 and then lower the temp.

You want to do the diacetyl rest when the fermentation is 80% or so complete. Bring it to warmer temps but not too warm. This step is optional depending on whether you can detect diacetyl. Look this point up as there is a lot said about it.

Lager at 34-38, it depends on how much control you have. A temp controlled fridge or freezer is ideal, but we don't all have one. I built a giant cooler out of garbage cans, fiberglass insulation and styrofoam and use ice bottles to keep it cold. It works great so far but the temps outside are still somewhat cold. 6 weeks is long, I only do 4.

Carb as normal, except that sometimes the lagering drops out all the yeast and you need to add some back. I try to get some of the yeast cake into my bottling bucket.

 

[helibrewer]

Venquessa and zacster covered it well. I would emphasize the yeast starter and the ability to maintain very cold temps for an extended period.

For the starter, initial cell count is important. If possible use at least 2 liquid yeast vials/smackpacks each one in it's own 2 liter flask. The reason for that is you start out with a 50 million/ml count and your growth rate is higher (by a factor of almost 2) then if you put both packets in one 2 liter flask.

 

[Ultrazord]

I didn't make a starter with my lager. If you don't have the means to make one, pitch the yeast and leave the wort at room temp until you see signs of fermentation (air lock activity, krausen, etc). Once you see this though move it to your 55degree or so location.

 

[Lcast21]

A lot of good info here. I def would like to make a starter but to bring the wort down to 50 degrees sounds tough.

Durring the lagering temps should the fg already been reached?

 

[zacster]

You should wait until fermentation is complete before transferring to a secondary and lagering. I usually give lagers at least 2 weeks in the primary.

I can get my temps down to around 54 using tap water in my immersion chiller, but only in the winter. Since I only do lager in the winter it works great.

Making a starter doesn't take any special equipment. I used a cranberry juice bottle the first time, covered with aluminum foil. I would shake it every time I walked by it in my house. There is no need for a flask as some use, nor a stir plate. I usually would use some LME from my kit, or now that I do all grain I just bought a pound of DME and use that. It doesn't require anything more than that. Just make sure that everything is sanitized.