Northern Brewer Oktoberfest questions

[Ludesbrews]

Guys,

I plan on brewing the 5g extract Oktoberfest from Northern brewer either tomorrow or Monday. I have a few questions before I do.

1) The directions fro NB say for primary fermentation to leave it in a dark, cold area but don’t specify a temperature. Should I leave it in my basement (usually 68-72 degrees) for primary, or should I put it in my temperature controlled fermenting chamber, which is a full-size fridge with a heat wrap controlled by an inkbird. If so, what temp should I keep for primary fermentation? the directions say to keep the temp for secondary at 35-40, which wont be a problem.

2) It says ready in 3 months, with 2 weeks primary, 2 months secondary, 2 weeks bottle conditioning. May be a ridiculous question, but if I keg, that last 2 weeks turns into a realistic 3 days, correct?

Thanks
151

 

[ba-brewer]

Look at the yeast you planning to use to determine the appropriate temp. No matter the temp using a temp controlled fermentation is a good idea.

If you keg then you can do your secondary in the keg and carb at the same time and the 3 day goes to zero.

 

[Ludesbrews]

Look at the yeast you planning to use to determine the appropriate temp. No matter the temp using a temp controlled fermentation is a good idea.

If you keg then you can do your secondary in the keg and carb at the same time and the 3 day goes to zero.

Secondary IN keg?? Just getting into kegging, is having secondary in keg a common practice??

 

[ba-brewer]

I believe it is a common practice. Makes it easy to sample and see how it is progressing.

 

[Lefou]

This style of beer is typically a lager so temperature control would be good approach. 60F or below would be fine.

 

[Ludesbrews]

This style of beer is typically a lager so temperature control would be good approach. 60F or below would be fine.

For primary and secondary? Seems to be the case.

 

[Jag75]

Dont worry about secondary . It's not useful except for storing for long periods or racking onto fresh fruit or other stuff. As ba brewer said look at the yeast . If it's a true Lager yeast then its gonna be colder . I brewed my Oktoberfest at 53f. When it gets about 75% done fermenting you start creeping the temp up about 4 degrees a day until you reach about 66. Leave at 66 for 3 days then reverse the process until you get about 38f. Then you can transfer to your keg and Lager till your ready. Mine has been lagering since April 2nd.

 

[IslandLizard]

This was asked before, and essential: What yeast are you going to use?

Once fermentation has completed, true lagers are being cold stored (32-34F) for several weeks, even several months, to clear. It's called lagering. That would be the "secondary" they are referring to. A keg is surely the best vessel for that.

When using a lager yeast, a brief diacetyl rest at the right moment is also recommended.

 

[Soulshine2]

Guys,

I plan on brewing the 5g extract Oktoberfest from Northern brewer either tomorrow or Monday. I have a few questions before I do.

1) The directions fro NB say for primary fermentation to leave it in a dark, cold area but don’t specify a temperature. Should I leave it in my basement (usually 68-72 degrees) for primary, or should I put it in my temperature controlled fermenting chamber, which is a full-size fridge with a heat wrap controlled by an inkbird. If so, what temp should I keep for primary fermentation? the directions say to keep the temp for secondary at 35-40, which wont be a problem.

2) It says ready in 3 months, with 2 weeks primary, 2 months secondary, 2 weeks bottle conditioning. May be a ridiculous question, but if I keg, that last 2 weeks turns into a realistic 3 days, correct?

Thanks
151

my rule of thumb, read the yeast packet for its optimal temperature. pitch and maintain that for at least 3 days , then let it free rise. I rarely do secondary unless Im adding something. but 2 weeks is plenty for most applications.

 

[snarf7]

or alternately, check out the Lager Warm Fermentation thread

for suggestions on yeast that will work well at room temps. I have a really good Marzen recipe that I'm going to try with this technique next with Mangrove Jack

 

[Lefou]

I peeked at the NB website and the choices for the kit is either dry 34/70 or liquid OYL-107 O-fest.

 

[gwinn758]

If you're using 34/70 you can get it down in 4-5 weeks. Ferment between 55-60 degrees when you get around 2-3 Plato from FG let it free rise to 65 for 2 days. Then bring it down to around 45 for 2 weeks. Crash and transfer.