lagering

I have my oktoberfest and my helles at 55 degrees. Now i want to lager it. I have seen different ways to drop the temp. Some one suggested a little at a time, but i was just going to drop it down to 34 in one day??? which way is better???

 

either won't hurt it. drop it the best you can.

 

If you really want to lager it then lower the temp slowly (1 to 2 degrees a day). This will ensure the yeast don't shut down & continue to clean up the beer as it cools down.

If you drop the temp all at once (i.e. cold crashing) then the yeast will shut down.

I usually don't bother to lager. I ferment at 50 for a month and then cold crash. if you pitch enough healthy yeast & oxygenate adequately it won't be an issue. Lots of modern lager brewers do this as well.

 

If you've done a diacetyl rest, you don't need to lager it slowly. If you have not, then you should, because you need to keep the yeast active during cold storage.

 

I fermented, diacetyl rested then put in freezer and turned it way down. I don't think I have an accurate enough controller to do gradual drops so I figured cold crash was the way to go. We'll find out how that worked out for me in a couple of weeks.

 

my oktoberfest im going to lager till end of sept but my helles about a month. Im going to just turn it down all at once.

 

If the yeast are done just crash it. The reason it traditionally was lowered slowly was because they would start to lager before it was at FG and they did not want to drop the yeast. The last few points would carbonate the beer.

 

transfering to a secondary will take a fg reading

 

what would be the best yeast to use before bottling.

 

Fermantis recommends T-58 and S-33 for bottling. I've used both with good results. Nottingham is also a very good choice. All of them stick to the bottom of the bottle well. All you need is a few grams.

 

what about 34/70????

 

Anything will work. 34/70 is just too powdery.

 

i want a good lager yeast because i waited all that time. I would hate to ruin it bottling it.

 

The bottling yeast has no real effect on flavor. It only ferments a few points. It's best to use an ale strain at room temperature. Don't add any and leave it warm longer if you want.

 

When I used to bottle prime my lagers I never had to add back yeast at bottling time. However, I never lagered more than 2 months and I always gradually dropped temps. That might work for your Helles.

 

ok thanks i might do it gradually dont know will tell you tomorrow.