First lager. Airlock still active 2 weeks later

[BrutalBrew]

Im sure im going to get alot of dont worry replies but Im very curious if this is normal or a sign of something wrong. This is my first lager.
Its a 8.4 est ABV oktoberfest using Saflager s-23. I rehydrated yeast in wort cooled to 55 deg. for about 2 hours prior to pitching. I cooled wort to 58 deg , aerated with pure o2 for 40 secs. pitched the 55 deg yeast and put in 52 deg fridge for fermentation. After about 2 days I noticed airlock activity. Its been very steady at around 12 bpm (1 every 5 secs) . 2 weeks later its at around 8 bpm ( 1 every 8 - 10 secs ) . The only brew ive seen go this long was my barleywine. Im assuming it take longer due to the higher amount of sugars for the yeast to eat.
Is it normal for a lager to still be so active after 2 weeks? Is it due to it being a higher ABV brew? my barleywine was 12.6 , this is 8.4 which is high for a oktoberfest but nothing spectacular. Maybe a combo of 8.4 and slower lager yeast at low temps? Most of what ive read people say there lagers take 7-10 days before airlock activity dies down.

 

[kh54s10]

Well I have to say it - RDWHAHB. Lagers ferment more slowly than ales. Also bubbling doesn't necessarily mean it is still fermenting. Gravity readings are the only way to know for sure.

I think everything you have described is normal.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

What was the OG of this brew? And did you really pitch just 1 pack of S-23 for a lager with the potential to make 8.4 ABV?

If you did don't worry too much, it may very well take a few more weeks to finish. I made the same mistake on my first (and only) lager, albeit it was a 1.047 blonde. I think after a month it finally stalled about 6 points high. Turned out decent enough though, the fiancé loves it (probably cause it's a little sweet). They say around here that lagers need double the yeast of an ale and I'm not sure one dry pack would be enough for an ale of that gravity. Sounds like you under pitched by at least a factor of 4. But like I said, not the end of the world, just let it keep going until it's close to finished then you can think about maybe doing a diacetyl rest if you want. Probably a good idea since you've got some stressed yeast with an all you can eat buffet coupon.

 

[Yooper]

In order to know if it's time for a diacetyl rest, if the beer is done, or if it's slowly fermenting, a SG reading needs to be done.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

In order to know if it's time for a diacetyl rest, if the beer is done, or if it's slowly fermenting, a SG reading needs to be done.

Yeah I guess I took that as obvious, OP: do you have a hydrometer?

 

[BrutalBrew]

I do have a hydrometer but I dont like to keep testing it. The lid comes off to test and then all the protective co2 is gone and risk of infection. Im patient so I usually wait a week after airlock activity stops and test when pitching to secondary. If no secondary is used then I wait 3 weeks after airlock activity stops and check before bottling. So far going by this method My FG has been right on or real close to what it spose to be everytime. I would rather leave it longer than open to soon.

My plan was to wait 2-3 weeks after airlock activity stop. Do a diacetyl rest at room temp (68 deg) for 3 days. Rack to secondary better bottle and begin lagering. The est OG 1.082 Actual 1.081 . est final 1.018

I did only use 1 pack of yeast, Should I pitch more yeast ? is it to late for that? Leave it?

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Sounds like you've got a good handle on it then, in short; yeah it can take a long time and it's almost certainly fine.

As for the yeast, I would leave it this time and use a pitching calculator next time, just for kicks what was your OG and volume?

 

[BrutalBrew]

1.081 5.5 g

 

[Yooper]

I do have a hydrometer but I dont like to keep testing it. The lid comes off to test and then all the protective co2 is gone and risk of infection. Im patient so I usually wait a week after airlock activity stops and test when pitching to secondary. If no secondary is used then I wait 3 weeks after airlock activity stops and check before bottling. So far going by this method My FG has been right on or real close to what it spose to be everytime. I would rather leave it longer than open to soon.

My plan was to wait 2-3 weeks after airlock activity stop. Do a diacetyl rest at room temp (68 deg) for 3 days. Rack to secondary better bottle and begin lagering. The est OG 1.082 Actual 1.081 . est final 1.018

I did only use 1 pack of yeast, Should I pitch more yeast ? is it to late for that? Leave it?

While that is a good plan most of the time, lagers are a bit different. If you're doing a diacetyl rest (and you may, if you pitched warm), then you want to do it when the yeast is active and not three weeks after pitching. You want to do a diacetyl rest when your beer is 75% of the way to Fg, generally in the 1.020-1.027 range depending on OG. Without a hydrometer reading, you'd have no idea when to do the diacetyl rest.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

So using brewers friend and a pitch rate of 2 million cells/ml/deg plato (pro brewer recommended for a big lager like yours) it suggests that you need 739 billion yeast cells. One pack of s-23 contains about 69 billion, so you technically should have pitched like 10.5 packets. That is obviously insane and why most people pitch large multi step starters into big lagers... This is all assuming you're doing a 5 gal us batch.

 

[BrutalBrew]

That makes sense. I need to get a fancy scope so i only need a drop. I will do a reading tonight to see where im at. Some reason I wasnt thinking about the yeast needing to be still active to do a proper rest.

 

[BrutalBrew]

Im going to invest in a stir plate now that im doing lagers.

 

[roadx]

That makes sense. I need to get a fancy scope so i only need a drop. I will do a reading tonight to see where im at. Some reason I wasnt thinking about the yeast needing to be still active to do a proper rest.

The fancy scope won't work with alcohol in it



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[g-star]

Im going to invest in a stir plate now that im doing lagers.

Good idea. 2 weeks is not normal, even for a big cold-fermented lager. As others have mentioned, you underpitched by a great deal.

For reference, I recently brewed a 1.085 doppelbock after growing up the proper pitch (2M cells/ml/*Plato) and it took off within 8hrs and was done in about 7 days.