Vienna Lager Fermentation wont start

[BMURDA]

Hello all,

This is my first brew and I have a couple of questions:

First, I added the yeast (Brewers Best Vienna Lager kit) on Sunday at 4:00pm and I still do not have any action in the fermenter, how much longer should I wait. Note, the best before date on the yeast was the same day I used it (1/9/11)

Second, it is a 5 gallon kit, but you only boil 2.5 gal then add water to get to approximately 5 gal, to get OG of 1.045-1.049. I added 2.5 gallons, then measured my OG which was 1.045, and did not add anymore water even though I was only at about 4.5 gallons. Will this greatly affect my brew? Is there anything I need to do to correct this.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Yooper]

Hello all,

This is my first brew and I have a couple of questions:

First, I added the yeast (Brewers Best Vienna Lager kit) on Sunday at 4:00pm and I still do not have any action in the fermenter, how much longer should I wait. Note, the best before date on the yeast was the same day I used it (1/9/11)

Second, it is a 5 gallon kit, but you only boil 2.5 gal then add water to get to approximately 5 gal, to get OG of 1.045-1.049. I added 2.5 gallons, then measured my OG which was 1.045, and did not add anymore water even though I was only at about 4.5 gallons. Will this greatly affect my brew? Is there anything I need to do to correct this.

Thanks for the help.

Lagers are tough- which yeast strain are you using, and how many packages?

If you're at 4.5 gallons at the OG is 1.045, you should be fine.

 

[BMURDA]

The yeast is what came with the kit, not sure the exact strain, but it says it is a lager yeast that will also ferment at ale temperatures. I currently have it in a room with the temp between 58 F - 62 F.

 

[Yooper]

The yeast is what came with the kit, not sure the exact strain, but it says it is a lager yeast that will also ferment at ale temperatures. I currently have it in a room with the temp between 58 F - 62 F.

Generally, you go with the yeast strain's recommended temperature range so without knowing the strain I don't really know what would be a good temperature for the fermentation.

Was it a liquid or dry yeast?

 

[BMURDA]

It was a dry yeast, the instructions say to ferment at 53-59 F, which it has been primarily in the upper end of the scale but it does not exceed 62 F.

 

[Yooper]

It was a dry yeast, the instructions say to ferment at 53-59 F, which it has been primarily in the upper end of the scale but it does not exceed 62 F.

It'll probably get going soon, then. If the yeast was old (and if it was at his expiration date, it's really old because they usually have an expiration date of several years away!), and the yeast wasn't refridgerated, you may have just a small amount of viable yeast.

 

[tjpfeister]

I suggest keeping the fermenter at room temperature until you see some action in the air lock before dropping the temperature.

 

[BMURDA]

Can anyone show me what to expect lager yeast to look like while fermenting; is it different than ale yeast?

 

[smizak]

Can anyone show me what to expect lager yeast to look like while fermenting; is it different than ale yeast?

Not much difference, other than it being slower if you're fermenting at the proper temperature. I don't get a crazy, towering krausen with lager yeast either, just an inch or so.

 

[BMURDA]

I followed Feister's advice and moved it to a warmer portion of the house for 24 hours. After which there was about an inch of krauzen(spelling?) then moved it to the cooler location. Seems to be fermenting pretty well now, thanks for all your help.

 

[tjpfeister]

Glad it worked. I had a sassy lager that refused to cooperate back in November, and I was on a very tight deadline. (I wound up finishing it with ale yeast! LoL, Don't tell my client ;-) )

 

[BMURDA]

After it has been in the primary fermenter for 2 weeks I'm going to move it to a secondary and lower the temperature. My qestion is should I strain it when I tranfer it to the secondary?

 

[Yooper]

After it has been in the primary fermenter for 2 weeks I'm going to move it to a secondary and lower the temperature. My qestion is should I strain it when I tranfer it to the secondary?

No absolutely not! You don't want to risk any oxygenation/oxidation at this point. You'll "quietly" siphon, with the tubing at the very bottom of the receiving carboy as to not splash at all. When you siphon, you can start the siphon from the middle of the beer, and lower the racking cane down until you're just above the trub. You won't pick up any particles that way.

 

[SilentAutumn]

This is just about the same question I had. Stalled lager - will move to slightly warmer temp to get it going, then take it back down. I'll ad my thanks along with the OP.