First Time Lager...er

[Milkdud76]

I brewed my first lager 2 1/2 weeks ago and fermented for about 4 days at about 58 degrees F. After the fermenting slowed down I put brew into a glass carboy and put into a refridgerator @ 38 degrees F for about 1 1/2 weeks now.
My question is, how much should the wort be working? I can barely see movement on the bottom of carboy where the settlement is.

Second question is, how long should I lager the brew for? I read you can lager it anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 months.

Thanks for your help

 

[helibrewer]

The lagering process is a slow conditioning. Yeast don't do much of anything below 40F so the lagering process allows other chemical reactions to take place after all the yeast activity is over. Since you fermented around 58F you probably don't need a diacetyl rest, taste the beer to make sure there are no butter or butterscotch flavors.

The beer should be settling and clearing during the lager phase.

Lager for as long as you can stand it A month is my minimum

 

[SwampassJ]

I brewed my first lager 2 1/2 weeks ago and fermented for about 4 days at about 58 degrees F. After the fermenting slowed down I put brew into a glass carboy and put into a refridgerator @ 38 degrees F for about 1 1/2 weeks now.

I hope you where at terminal gravity. Most of my ales at 63-67 don't finish in 4 days after pitching.

 

[Milkdud76]

I hope you where at terminal gravity. Most of my ales at 63-67 don't finish in 4 days after pitching.

My OG was 1.060 and when I transfered to carboy it was 1.020.

 

[Milkdud76]

Since you fermented around 58F you probably don't need a diacetyl rest, taste the beer to make sure there are no butter or butterscotch flavors.

Will taste beer ASAP and give you an update.

 

[Milkdud76]

Will taste beer ASAP and give you an update.

Beer tasted, no butter or butterscotch flavor. Kind of has a Heinekenish taste, but needs time!!!!! Sg is 1.019 @ 38F.

 

[JLem]

Sounds like you may have moved the beer too soon, though your primary fermentation temp also seems too high for a lager. I don't brew lagers, but don't most of them ferment in the high 40s - low 50s? At 58, I imagine your actual fermentation temp was up in the low 60s.

Given how quick you moved it to the fridge though, I might consider taking it out and letting it warm up and see if you can get the yeast active again.

 

[MaynardX]

At 58 degs, you might have fermented to high. I ferment my lagers at 45-50 and try not to get above 55. Before lagering, esp since it is your first lager, I would have done a diacetyl rest (basically bringing your beer temp above 60 degs) for about a week, but since you fermented so high, it prolly wasn't needed. Did you notice a significant estery (fruity) flavor when you first tasted?

Anyway, I would do what the above poster said and warm up your beer and try to hit your FG. Lager AFTER you have done this.

 

[Nico]

The temperature is definitely too high. I brew a lot of lagers and I never go above 52°F for primary fermentation and then lager around 35-36°F for several weeks, depending on the beer style. What kind of lager did you brew?

Beer tasted, no butter or butterscotch flavor.

Heat a small sample of your beer to 140°F[60°C] for about 30min, cool it down and taste it again. You might not taste the diacetyl at fermentation temperature because it might be present in form of a precursor (alpha-acetolactate = tasteless) which is then converted to diacetyl when you store your beer at room temperature once you're done lagering. By bringing your beer to 140°F for 30min you can simulate this process and force the precursor to diacetyl. It's the best way to be completely sure that you don't have any diacetyl or precursor left in your brew.

 

[Milkdud76]

Did you notice a significant estery (fruity) flavor when you first tasted?.

The beer had a sweet flavor before adding to carboy but I don't know if I would say a fruity taste.

 

[Milkdud76]

What kind of lager did you brew?

It an American Honey Lager.
I am going to use your advise and heat a small batch to see if any of them diacetyl boogers are hiding out.

 

[Milkdud76]

Heat a small sample of your beer to 140°F[60°C] for about 30min, cool it down and taste it again. You might not taste the diacetyl at fermentation temperature because it might be present in form of a precursor (alpha-acetolactate = tasteless) which is then converted to diacetyl when you store your beer at room temperature once you're done lagering. By bringing your beer to 140°F for 30min you can simulate this process and force the precursor to diacetyl. It's the best way to be completely sure that you don't have any diacetyl or precursor left in your brew.

Heated beer to a 140F for 30 min. Let cool and tasted. No butter or butterscotch flavor, but beer tastes like crap. Is this normal after heating?

 

[Milkdud76]

Tasted beer and its not that bad but still needs time I think. The weird thing was that it kind of left a "dry" feeling in my mouth afterwards. Is this something I should be woried about?
FG is holding @ 1.018, OG was 1.060

 

[beerman0001]

What was the fg suppose to be at with this recipe? 1.018 seems high for a lager. 4 dayswas no where near enough time for the fermentation to finish It should have been closer to the 7 to 10 day mark.

 

[Milkdud76]

What was the fg suppose to be at with this recipe? 1.018 seems high for a lager. 4 dayswas no where near enough time for the fermentation to finish It should have been closer to the 7 to 10 day mark.

The FG was supposed to be anywhere from 1.012 - 1.020 according to the local home brew shop. Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking when I transferred it to the carboy that early. So far so good though, no buttery or butterscotch flavors. The beer taste pretty good so far, just leaves a dry feeling in mouth after swallowed.