Baltic Porter Lagering

[Shenanigans]

Hi All,

I'm thinking about doing my first lager and it will be a Baltic porter.
With Fermentis W-34/70 and a malt bill like this:

3.75 kg Munich Malt (20.0 EBC) Grain 1 34.5 %
3.25 kg Vienna Malt (6.9 EBC) Grain 2 29.9 %
2.50 kg Pilsner (Weyermann) (3.3 EBC) Grain 3 23.0 %
0.50 kg Crystal Malt Medium140-160(Bairds) (146.0 EBC) Grain 4 4.6 %
0.25 kg Caraaroma (Weyermann) (350.7 EBC) Grain 5 2.3 %
0.20 kg CHÂTEAU DIASTATIC (3.0 EBC) Grain 6 1.8 %
0.15 kg Carafa Special II (Weyermann) (817.5 EBC) Grain 7 1.4 %
0.12 kg CHÂTEAU CHOCOLAT (900.0 EBC) Grain 8 1.1 %
0.15 kg Soft Candi Sugar, Brun Foncé (Dark) (43.3 EBC) Dry Extract 9 1.4 %

I'll decide on the hops later.

I will ferment it at about 52F for a few weeks then do a diacetyl rest for a few days and then slowly cool it down over a few days to lager temperature.
My question is how long would it be recommended hold it at lager temperature before I could bottle it and what is an acceptable lager temperature range? I have a small fridge that I think could manage 38 to 40F.
Would that be cool enough? Could I even lager it at a few degrees higher?

Thanks for any tips/advice you can give me

 

[gometz]

No need for the sugar on top of the malt. I am assuming this would be for 40L of beer, correct? Otherwise that will be a VERY heavy beer.

Personally I believe in the minimize ingredients/maximize method way of thinking. I would simply split the base grain between Munich Dark and pilsner, use maybe 3% crystal, and then 6% Carafa. Use simple Hallertau or Saaz hops.

You can cut down on your primary time, but the general rule for long term lagering is 1 week for every .01 points of original gravity. So if your beer is 1.070 OG, then lager 7 weeks. You could probably get away with 38*F, but not much warmer. Baltic Porters are supposed to have some "flaws" anyways, so you can actually get away with imperfect lagering.

 

[Shenanigans]

No need for the sugar on top of the malt. I am assuming this would be for 40L of beer, correct? Otherwise that will be a VERY heavy beer.

Personally I believe in the minimize ingredients/maximize method way of thinking. I would simply split the base grain between Munich Dark and pilsner, use maybe 3% crystal, and then 6% Carafa. Use simple Hallertau or Saaz hops.

You can cut down on your primary time, but the general rule for long term lagering is 1 week for every .01 points of original gravity. So if your beer is 1.070 OG, then lager 7 weeks. You could probably get away with 38*F, but not much warmer. Baltic Porters are supposed to have some "flaws" anyways, so you can actually get away with imperfect lagering.

Thanks a lot for your reply.
What I'm planning on brewing is actually a 5 gallon clone of the beer in this thread:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=542028

So by it's by no means a traditional Baltic porter more like an Imperial Stout/Porter hybrid brewed with a bottom fermented yeast.

Maybe with all those hops in there I can get away with minimal lagering?

 

[giraffe]

7-12 days per 2 degrees plato. Since its a dark beer, id go 12 days. That looks to be around a 1.090, or 21.5 plato. 12x21.5/2= 129 days or around 4 months. I usually lager my baltic porters around 4-6 months, and they are usually clear and smooth

You may also be able to lager in the bottles once its carbonated (never bottle conditioned a lager, but i dont see why not). I usually do the lagering in a keg near freezing.

(also, please use a calculator and pitch an appropriate amount of yeast, this will need a ton)

 

[Shenanigans]

7-12 days per 2 degrees plato. Since its a dark beer, id go 12 days. That looks to be around a 1.090, or 21.5 plato. 12x21.5/2= 129 days or around 4 months. I usually lager my baltic porters around 4-6 months, and they are usually clear and smooth

You may also be able to lager in the bottles once its carbonated (never bottle conditioned a lager, but i dont see why not). I usually do the lagering in a keg near freezing.

(also, please use a calculator and pitch an appropriate amount of yeast, this will need a ton)

Sorry about the delay with my reply.
Thanks a lot for your help.

I have 3 packs of W-34/70 according to Mr Malty 2.5 packs should be enough.
I'll just throw them all in.