Pitching Lagers slightly Warm

[rrkss32]

Today I was forced to pitch yeast into a lager before the wort had fully cooled to pitching temperatures due to an unforeseen event that would take me out of town for 4 days. Usually I pitch at 48 degrees and warm up to 52 for fermentation.

Today I pitched at 62 degrees and set it to cool to 50 degrees for WLP 830. Is this going to cause off flavors with my beer. I'm confused since everything I read says to pitch cold and warm up the wort but the vial says to pitch at ale temperatures and cool once I see activity.

The yeast was 170 mL of harvested slurry from my Munich Helles and was pitched into an Octoberfest with an OG of 1.053.

 

[dave5155]

I always pitch my lagers at fermentation temp. so I can't say from experience, but I think it will be fine. There seem to be a lot of lager brewers who pitch slightly warm then cool to fermentation temps. You may get slight esters but I doubt it will be a major issue.

 

[wobdee]

I pitch my lagers as cold as my well water IC can get them, usually 52-60 degrees depending on the time of year. I really can't tell a difference between this or letting the fermenter cool down below 50 in my fermenting fridge before pitching. I think you'll be OK.

 

[thegreatmaibockaddict]

It all depends...was the pitched yeast at the same temperature as the wort? I usually pitch at around 60F, then set the carboy someplace cool (55Fish) to let the yeast get going more quickly before chilling it down to 50ish. Usually the wort chills down before the yeast gets cranked anyway. Never had a problem. In fact I have an awesome pils made with 830 right now done that way.

Also keep in mind that the first few days of vigorous fermentation establish the flavor profile of the beer. If you pitch at 62 but the fermentation doesn't get going at that temperature, and starts at 56 you will be fine. Ale flavors usually come in at 60Fish depending on the yeast strain.

 

[mtyquinn]

I think you should be fine. But plan on a d-rest for sure.

 

[rrkss32]

The yeast was harvested and stored overnight in my kegarator at 38 degrees prior to pitching. Thanks for the responses Will keep you updated on how it turns out.

 

[Hujo]

That's a pretty tolerant strain, and you pitched a good amount of fresh yeast. You'll be fine!

 

[rrkss32]

Well to give you an update. The recipe fermented pretty much like it has the last 4 times I brewed it. The OG was 1.053 and the FG ended at 1.014 which is right in line where it usually ends. I normally get 1.014 - 1.015 when I brew this Octoberfest recipe. It tastes clean and I don't taste any esters. Doing the microwave diacetyl test right now to make sure it that I rested it at 65 degrees long enough and then I'm going to start the lagering process.

EDIT: Just completed the microwave test where I heated one sample to 140 and let it cool back to room temperature and left the other sample at room temperature for one hour. Tasted the two samples and they taste identical so no detectable diacetyl. Now time to lager the brew.