Munich Helles 2011 1st Place HBT- Light lager- Augustiner Lagerbier Hell

[Joe Dragon]

Do I let the it go a full 21 days before a diacetyl rest, or do a do a diacetyl rest after 7 days? How many days should the rest be? If the later, do I finish up the 21 days primary schedule after the rest? Do the D-rest days go towards the 21 day total?

confused...

The D-rest should be performed as fermentation slows. For this lager it's probably best at around day 5 to 7. If there is diacetyl you'd like to have somewhat active yeast finish that off.

Leave the beer at a warmer temperature for a week. From there you can bring it back to lagering temperatures for another week or two. Rack to secondary and lager as long as you'd like. 6 weeks seems to work.

I hope that's not too confusing:

Pitch, ferment for a week at 49 to 51 degrees
Warm beer to 59 degrees for one week
Chill to 51 for a week or longer
Rack and lager at 40 or less for as long as you want

 

[Kennanwt5]

Crystal clear! Thanks so much. Looking forward to drinking this beer after cutting the yard in spring/summer.

 

[KatoBaggins]

Looks like a wonderfully good first lager to try. I'll be making this once I get my fermentation chamber built. I'll be making this for a good friend who will be visiting in June. Glad this one comes around quickly.

 

[lewdag]

I wanted to say thank you to Joe for helping me out. I PMed him with a couple questions and he literally got back to me within a couple hours, which blew me away.

Thanks to this thread, tons of research, and a little help from Joe, I decided to take the leap and attempt my first lager. I followed the recipe exactly and did a starter for my first time ever. The beer has been in the fridge at 51 degrees for 6 days now and I just took a gravity reading which came out to 1.030 (original gravity was 1.054).

Do you guys think I should start a D-rest now or wait another day or two?

I attached a picture because everyone like pictures.

 

[Joe Dragon]

I wanted to say thank you to Joe for helping me out. I PMed him with a couple questions and he literally got back to me within a couple hours, which blew me away.

Thanks to this thread, tons of research, and a little help from Joe, I decided to take the leap and attempt my first lager. I followed the recipe exactly and did a starter for my first time ever. The beer has been in the fridge at 51 degrees for 6 days now and I just took a gravity reading which came out to 1.030 (original gravity was 1.054).

Do you guys think I should start a D-rest now or wait another day or two?

I attached a picture because everyone like pictures.

You are very welcome. Thank you for the picture and kind words.

I'd wait another day or two for a D-rest. We have to keep it cool during most of the "active" (lagers aint that active) to avoid most fruit esters from being developed.

It looks like a D-rest can be much warmer than what I've been performing.

This from Chris White from 1999 BYO:

The process is simply to raise the fermentation temperature from lager temperatures (50° to 55° F) to 65° to 68° F for a two-day period near the close of the fermentation. Usually the diacetyl rest is begun when the beer is two to five specific gravity points away from the target terminal gravity. The temperature is then lowered to conditioning temperature following diacetyl reduction.

 

[lewdag]

Thanks for the advice! I will wait until tomorrow morning to start raising it up to temp.

I can't wait till I am able to post pictures of the final product!

 

[wyowolf]

I brewed this on Sat. everything went well, I couldnt get WLP so used 2308 w 2 liter starter. 1.052 and fermented at 52 degrees after bringing starter to same temp.

checked it today and its at 1.030, I was thinking it would be farther along? I gently stirred to rouse the yeast and put back in the fridge.

Is this a typical reading for 5 days? should I do a D rest now? or wait?

is there a commercial example that is similar to this I can check the taste against?

 

[Joe Dragon]

I brewed this on Sat. everything went well, I couldnt get WLP so used 2308 w 2 liter starter. 1.052 and fermented at 52 degrees after bringing starter to same temp.

checked it today and its at 1.030, I was thinking it would be farther along? I gently stirred to rouse the yeast and put back in the fridge.

Is this a typical reading for 5 days? should I do a D rest now? or wait?

is there a commercial example that is similar to this I can check the taste against?

Lagers are boring. Really boring. Expect a slow fermentation. Be patient.

A diacetyl rest should be preformed at about 5 points from terminal gravity. So somewhere around 1.017.

As far as a commercial example- I have no clue in Atlanta. In the Chicago area we have a large liquor store chain called Binny's. They have 12 German Helles type beers in stock.

Google tells me they might carry Weihenstephaner Original Premium Lager Bier at The Juice Box.

 

[wyowolf]

Ok great thank you. I have brewed lagers but am more serious with this one.

 

[lewdag]

Wyowulf,

My fermentation schedule looked exactly like yours. By 7 days I was within 10 points. I didn't taste diacetyl at all (I am not a good taster but I didn't detect anything) but I did the the D-rest anyway for two days. I may have started a little early, but this is my first lager and its part of the learning experience for me. I finished around 1.010.

It's been two and half weeks since I brewed and I will be kegging tomorrow. Then it is going to sit for a month or so.

Let us know how yours turns out!

-Lewis

 

[wyowolf]

After the D rest can i rack to keg to do the lagering phase? or should it stay in the fermenter for some more time?

Lagers are boring. Really boring. Expect a slow fermentation. Be patient.

A diacetyl rest should be preformed at about 5 points from terminal gravity. So somewhere around 1.017.

As far as a commercial example- I have no clue in Atlanta. In the Chicago area we have a large liquor store chain called Binny's. They have 12 German Helles type beers in stock.

Google tells me they might carry Weihenstephaner Original Premium Lager Bier at The Juice Box.

 

[Iseneye]

After the D rest can i rack to keg to do the lagering phase? or should it stay in the fermenter for some more time?

If fermentation is complete then racking is fine.

 

[Joe Dragon]

After the D rest can i rack to keg to do the lagering phase? or should it stay in the fermenter for some more time?

You may rack as long as fermentation is complete (as stated above). Although I'm the last guy on earth that uses a secondary. And I will continue to do so.

If, IMO, you have room in a fridge and can lager in a glass carboy this beer will benefit from a long, cool bulk aging. As it bulk ages more yeast will drop out leaving you with an amazingly smooth, clean beer.

 

[wyowolf]

I have spare kegs and can let it sit however long necessary. Was just wondering if I could save a step.

I used gelatin in my last beer...super clear in the keg. I was impressed.

Checked yesterday and was at 1.019 so took out and sat in basement, 65ish or a bit less. So will let it sit for week?

seems to be bubbling away today.

You may rack as long as fermentation is complete (as stated above). Although I'm the last guy on earth that uses a secondary. And I will continue to do so.

If, IMO, you have room in a fridge and can lager in a glass carboy this beer will benefit from a long, cool bulk aging. As it bulk ages more yeast will drop out leaving you with an amazingly smooth, clean beer.

 

[lewdag]

Well I told you guys I would let you know how my lager turned out. It could still condition a little longer, but it is AMAZING! I have made about 15 batches of beer so far and this one is by far the best. I am still working on carbonation but other than that I am ecstatic!

 

[Joe Dragon]

Well I told you guys I would let you know how my lager turned out. It could still condition a little longer, but it is AMAZING! I have made about 15 batches of beer so far and this one is by far the best. I am still working on carbonation but other than that I am ecstatic!

Outstanding job Lewdag. That is a fine looking lager!

 

[rrkss32]

Kegged this beer recently. Substituted Cara-munich I for melanoiden malt since I did not have any on hand. After 5 days in the Keg, the beer is delicious. Has not fully cleared up yet. Taste resembles Heineken right now. I'm sure after a few weeks of cold conditioning it will be super clear and taste even better!

The only difference is my OG was 1.048 and FG was 1.013.

 

[KatoBaggins]

OK, I finally got a chance to brew this today. Everything per the recipe, but I was a couple degrees low on the mash temp and ended up with a OG of 1.057. I'm sure it will still be fine. It's cooling down to 51°F before I pitch my 2L starter. I'll take photos in a couple of months when I bottle it. Thanks for a great recipe and an easy venture into the world of lagers.

 

[Joe Dragon]

OK, I finally got a chance to brew this today. Everything per the recipe, but I was a couple degrees low on the mash temp and ended up with a OG of 1.057. I'm sure it will still be fine. It's cooling down to 51°F before I pitch my 2L starter. I'll take photos in a couple of months when I bottle it. Thanks for a great recipe and an easy venture into the world of lagers.

Mr.Baggins,

You are very welcome and congratulations on doing a great job brewing a difficult style.

Joe

 

[rrkss32]

Pulled a pint after a week of cold conditioning. Beer is crystal clear and has a nice rich creamy head. You can smell the malt up front and it just tastes smooth and delicious. I give this brew 5 Stars and definitely will brew again!

 

[pattatat]

Just leave it alone! It's what the Great Spaghetti Beer Gods wanted.

Brew on and post pictures if you are able.

Don't have any pictures, but even at about 7% this beer was phenomenal and the first keg to float at a party.

 

[Joe Dragon]

Pulled a pint after a week of cold conditioning. Beer is crystal clear and has a nice rich creamy head. You can smell the malt up front and it just tastes smooth and delicious. I give this brew 5 Stars and definitely will brew again!

Angelic picture! I hear Angels singing..... ahhhhhhhhhh!

 

[KatoBaggins]

SG was 1.040 today (started at 1.057). I'll warm it up for diacetyl rest when I get around 1.020. I can smell a light sulfur smell in my fermentation chamber, but mostly it smells of delicious malty goodness. I gave it a small taste test, and it seems pretty promising even at this early stage of the game.

 

[KatoBaggins]

SG was 1.031 today. The sample tasted good already! I hope it keeps the nice malty finish when it's actually ready.

 

[KatoBaggins]

SG was 1.017 yesterday. I'm ramping up for the D Rest. This is going to be a great beer. I'm already planning on making the next batch, because most of this is going to be given away.View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1432140259.508698.jpg

 

[BigPicture]

This beer only gets better with time. It even changes in major tasting characteristics. When we 1st kegged it, it was good.

After a few weeks in the keg, it was GREAT!

Now this was my 2nd attempt at a lager since I just scored a chest freezer on Craigslist for free. I was previously doing only Ales, Stouts, & Porters. My overall impression is: this beer would benefit from a colder and longer secondary.

The original recipe is a winner. I've been brewing for over 3 years, 100+ batches and it comfortably sits in my top 5 of all time.

I love lagers and this beer is a fantastic example of a lager. Maybe I just needed a change, but oh, what a change this is!

 

[Aonghus]

subscribed

 

[KatoBaggins]

SG was 1.009. It's sitting at 34F right now and will till it gets bottled. Tasty already. [emoji1][emoji106]

 

[jensek]

Awesome

 

[moreb33rplz]

Thinking this will be lager #3. Pitch on my cake of 34/70, and use American hops instead of German. C'mon weekend....