Advice Needed - Lager started fermenting only after 5 days

[Angelito]

So I am brewing my second larger (more experienced with ales) and was my first time using liquid yeast (normally using dry yeast). I am not sure exactly why (maybe due to reach at some point in time 7 degrees - right now is at 11 degrees), but my lager has only starting fermenting after 5 days. Should I add more yeast or let it be? Any advice? Thanks

 

[Wagon_6]

What strain did you use? 44F is pretty chilly for most strains I use so that could have created an delay. Did you make a starter? If so, what size? The yeast calculator I use nearly doubles the Ale pitch rate for Lagers. Did you oxygenate the wort in any way prior to pitching?

Depending on if you used a starter, I would push the temp to it’s upper range, like 55F and then free rise to mid 60s for a diacetyl rest after 75% of fermentation and let it finish fermenting out.

 

[Angelito]

What strain did you use? 44F is pretty chilly for most strains I use so that could have created an delay. Did you make a starter? If so, what size? The yeast calculator I use nearly doubles the Ale pitch rate for Lagers. Did you oxygenate the wort in any way prior to pitching?

Depending on if you used a starter, I would push the temp to it’s upper range, like 55F and then free rise to mid 60s for a diacetyl rest after 75% of fermentation and let it finish fermenting out.

Fermentum Mobile FM30 Bohemian melody​

Yeast Saccharomyces pastorianus (60±5%)
Nutrient (40±5%)

Fermentation temperature: 8-12°C

40 ml for to 20l wort

I didn’t make a starter. I normally drop it directly in the fermenter and then mix the fermenter with a big spoon.

I always used dry yeast and never happened this, but this time with the liquid it did.

However, today after 5 days started to bubbling, but I am wondering if adding more yeast by preparing a starter or let it be as it is.

I was advised in another forum to let it be as it is not that uncommon in lagers

 

[jdauria]

You definitely need more yeast or make a starter in the future...dry yeast can have more cells than liquid sometimes, but even just 1 pack of dry yeast in a lager may not be really enough. Looking into that yeast, it's a vial, like the old White Labs packaging, so guessing 100 billion cells if fresh, but that number goes down the older the yeast is. Lagers need a lot more than that. 20L of say a 1.050 OG beer, would need at minimum around 352 billion cells. Fermenting it cold like you did, would need even more., thus the reason it took so long to get going. Next time make a 2L starter or pitch 3-4 vials.

You can leave this beer alone and let it go, you just may not get full attenuation because it's so severely underpitched.

 

[Angelito]

You definitely need more yeast or make a starter in the future...dry yeast can have more cells than liquid sometimes, but even just 1 pack of dry yeast in a lager may not be really enough. Looking into that yeast, it's a vial, like the old White Labs packaging, so guessing 100 billion cells if fresh, but that number goes down the older the yeast is. Lagers need a lot more than that. 20L of say a 1.050 OG beer, would need at minimum around 352 billion cells. Fermenting it cold like you did, would need even more., thus the reason it took so long to get going. Next time make a 2L starter or pitch 3-4 vials.

You can leave this beer alone and let it go, you just may not get full attenuation because it's so severely underpitched.

Do you think is still possible to save it by adding another yeast starter or is too late and better to let it be as it is and make another?

 

[Bassman2003]

If you have the yeast around, I would pitch some more as you are really trying to save the back end of fermentation (final attenuation and cleanup). I would grow up the yeast in a large starter first as it will be a zero oxygen environment they will be going into, so no growth once they get pitched.

Lagers just need some extra attention paid compared to ales. Mainly a lot more healthy yeast going into the batch. Keep us updated!