How many are brewing Lagers in 2019?

[catdaddy66]

I am going with the warm lager fermentation until my birthday when I get the inkbird (shh... No one knows yet!) for my mini fridge. I can get the primary pretty darn cool in my swamp cooler so the temps stay at the upper end of the range for my yeast to thrive. Did this once before with a German pilsner using wlp800. My friend who runs the lhbs that I use cautioned me against going too warm with that yeast but the results were awesome!

 

[njviking]

I'm a gonna brew beer this year! Not gonna fuss too much about it. Not gonna play the latest trends. Gonna put wort in a fermenter. Gonna control temps. Gonna drink results. It has happily worked for 30+ years . . . It will keep working i am sure. If i stay alive long enough and my liver don't give out, i may even get to see poopy come back around to brewing beer flavored beer! Like they did when i joined this forum!!! (not TOOOOOO MUCH offense intended - but WHY is everyone so hell bent on making beer taste like everything but beer? I mean If I want a glass of Orange juice, I will just have . . . .Well a glass of orange juice!!! I spent a decade learning how to make a clear beer now everyone wants it to come out like a glass of sludge! Strange days . . . But EVERYTHING comes full circle. I'll be here when you kids catch up!)

It does indeed come full circle. I started brewing English and German beer in 1991. Followed the trends through, until the last couple where I find myself brewing English and German ales/lagers again; and my newfound passion over the last couple years.... American adjunct Lagers. The most challenging style to perfect on a homebrew scale.
Right now I have a Mexican Lager, Marzen, Berlinner, Bmc and Helles in the lagering cooler. I try to cycle them out so there are at least 5 on deck at all times.
I also have a cream ale, Mexicanish ale,Black Ipa and an Esb on tap now. Stout, pale ale, and kolsch on deck waiting the'yre turn at the tap.

Today throuh sunday I plan to get at least 5 batches done. Brut, Gose, Mex lager, Vienna , Bmc

 

[madscientist451]

I'll brew 4-5 lager batches between now and the end of April, and let them sit (kegged) in my cold basement until I put them in the cooler. I don't brew much in the summer but I'll have beer to drink.
On my list:
-Bavarian light lager
-American lager with corn or rice
-Kolsch
-A darker lager, probably a German style
-Maybe an experimental lager with rye/oats/wheat

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

It does indeed come full circle. I started brewing English and German beer in 1991. Followed the trends through, until the last couple where I find myself brewing English and German ales/lagers again; and my newfound passion over the last couple years.... American adjunct Lagers. The most challenging style to perfect on a homebrew scale.
Right now I have a Mexican Lager, Marzen, Berlinner, Bmc and Helles in the lagering cooler. I try to cycle them out so there are at least 5 on deck at all times.
I also have a cream ale, Mexicanish ale,Black Ipa and an Esb on tap now. Stout, pale ale, and kolsch on deck waiting the'yre turn at the tap.

Today throuh sunday I plan to get at least 5 batches done. Brut, Gose, Mex lager, Vienna , Bmc

What tips do you have on brewing mexi lagers? I started doing lagers this year and have 2 planned in the coming months. A basic lager that i hope is somewhere near cerveza imperial and a dark vienna style that i hope is near negro modelo. Both recipes im using omega yeast and including flaked maize. Other than that is it really the same as a german beer?

 

[njviking]

I call them mexi lagers, but in reality they are an american adjunct or vienna lager. I just hop them with a lime/lemon type hop and use 940 yeast.
The 940 yeast is a real gem. I don't even wash it anymore. I ferment my mexicans in a conical. I collect 1 or 2 bulbs of trub then just pour wort right back on top of the yeast. I've been doin this for 2 years now and have added 2 extra packs of yeast to keep it fresh. It seems happy and there is usually enough by eyesight to just keep fermenting on it. Probably going on 30 or so batches this way.

 

[njviking]

I guess what also seperates "some" vienna vs mexican lagers is the addition of corn. A couple micro breweries around Playa Del Carmen use maze in their vienna mash bill. A little sweeter than a traditional vienna but very tastynonetheless.

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

I call them mexi lagers, but in reality they are an american adjunct or vienna lager. I just hop them with a lime/lemon type hop and use 940 yeast.
The 940 yeast is a real gem. I don't even wash it anymore. I ferment my mexicans in a conical. I collect 1 or 2 bulbs of trub then just pour wort right back on top of the yeast. I've been doin this for 2 years now and have added 2 extra packs of yeast to keep it fresh. It seems happy and there is usually enough by eyesight to just keep fermenting on it. Probably going on 30 or so batches this way.

Interesting. Have you figured out what brewery the 940 is from? So this lime hop, is it a nobel hop varietal or are you using like citra hops?

 

[njviking]

940 is Modello.

any clean bittering hop like ctz or magnum to about 15, then its up to you. I like sorrachi ace, mouteka, equinot, loral, and recently I have been very taken with cashmere.
you can also zest a lime or 2 .Either at the near end of the boil or after fermentation is complete and kinda dry hop it for 4 or 5 dys before packaging.

it doesn't take much to bitter or flavor these, I think anywhere between .25 and .5 oz hop at flameout will get you a subtle lime flavor.

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

940 is Modello.

any clean bittering hop like ctz or magnum to about 15, then its up to you. I like sorrachi ace, mouteka, equinot, loral, and recently I have been very taken with cashmere.
you can also zest a lime or 2 .Either at the near end of the boil or after fermentation is complete and kinda dry hop it for 4 or 5 dys before packaging.

it doesn't take much to bitter or flavor these, I think anywhere between .25 and .5 oz hop at flameout will get you a subtle lime flavor.

Why is it that I have literally never heard of these hop varietals before? Thank you for the detailed info[emoji482]

 

[deadwolfbones]

My first true lager is on tap right now and she's a beaut:

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

My first true lager is on tap right now and she's a beaut:

Truely, an inspirational image for an i can't wait for spring friday.

 

[schematix]

Been on a roll lately. All this from 2 packs of Wy2206. Repitching to get my moneys worth, and cell counts way up there. Some outstanding beer has been made.

Jan 25: 10G pils
Feb 6: 10G pils
Feb 16: 10G marzen
Mar 1: 10G pils

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

Been on a roll lately. All this from 2 packs of Wy2206. Repitching to get my moneys worth, and cell counts way up there. Some outstanding beer has been made.

Jan 25: 10G pils
Feb 6: 10G pils
Feb 16: 10G marzen
Mar 1: 10G pils

Sounds like your ferm is going well since you are turning them around in 2 weeks. How long do you lager them post ferm? Im close to tapping my first real lager. A czech pils.

 

[MildAvers]

On my 5th batch with Wyeast 2007 (Budweiser). I just love this yeast and its characteristics, soft malt w/ enough hop presence to be pleasing.

Most of my lagers are well attenuated in the 1.035-1.050 range, using a base of pilsner with rice syrup solids 66%/33% and bittered to a BU:GU 33%. I've tried 5 min. flavor/aroma hops in the last few (Saaz, Tettnang, Mittlefrau). What a delight those hops are! Grain/adjunct/hops in a golden ratio also makes an excellent light beer.

I do enjoy the bigger and maltier lagers, marzen, octoberfest, bock, doppelbock, etc... but my preference still lies in the light lagers. Helles is "big" for me.

Would love to try 940 on a Vienna/Corn golden ratio w/ Saaz... wow my mouth is watering!

 

[schematix]

Sounds like your ferm is going well since you are turning them around in 2 weeks. How long do you lager them post ferm? Im close to tapping my first real lager. A czech pils.

I have gone to extensive lengths in my brewery to speed up lager fermentation. Even at 45F, moderate (1.048) lagers are done with primary in 6-8 days. Slightly stronger lagers (1.058) take more like 7-10 days. With proper oxygenation, yeast health and high pitching rates, i see lag times around 12 hours and steady fermentation.

I am also spunding so i'll transfer them to a serving keg with a few gravity points left and then take them down to 30F over the course of a week or so. By the time they reach 30F they are already fully carbonated.

I have a well established pipeline - 13 kegs, 3 of them always on tap, and enough cold storage for the other 10. I rarely drink them sooner than a month, but from experience i can say they are really good at 4 weeks from brew day. Process process process. Also with spunding they have tremendous flavor stability. A few weeks ago i put a keg on tap that I made in July '18 and it's phenomenally fresh still. Exactly the same as the first keg i drank in Aug-Sept '18.

 

[Home_alone1]

Not fully carbonated yet but it is in bottles , I have kegs but prefer to bottle a lot of my beer.

 

[Sailingeric]

I usually have a lager tap all the time. I usually use WLP Mexican yeast but I do have a lager on now that is made from WLP 830 German yeast. Very yummy. I might have to up it to two lagers on tap at a time.

 

[wobdee]

I've brewed nothing but Lagers for the last 3 years. Usually two 2.5gl batches per month, mostly light Lagers and ambers but an occasional dark thrown in there.

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

I have gone to extensive lengths in my brewery to speed up lager fermentation. Even at 45F, moderate (1.048) lagers are done with primary in 6-8 days. Slightly stronger lagers (1.058) take more like 7-10 days. With proper oxygenation, yeast health and high pitching rates, i see lag times around 12 hours and steady fermentation.

I am also spunding so i'll transfer them to a serving keg with a few gravity points left and then take them down to 30F over the course of a week or so. By the time they reach 30F they are already fully carbonated.

I have a well established pipeline - 13 kegs, 3 of them always on tap, and enough cold storage for the other 10. I rarely drink them sooner than a month, but from experience i can say they are really good at 4 weeks from brew day. Process process process. Also with spunding they have tremendous flavor stability. A few weeks ago i put a keg on tap that I made in July '18 and it's phenomenally fresh still. Exactly the same as the first keg i drank in Aug-Sept '18.

Sounds like you are where i hope to be in about a year with my beer except i probably dont have the space to do 13. I will porbably stay topped out at 8. So what kind of kegs are you fermenting in? Also what is your yeast process. Are harvesting from the bottom or splitting your starters?

 

[WestMichBrewer]

View attachment 615304
... I have kegs but prefer to bottle a lot of my beer.

I keg stuff that I wouldn't mind drinking every day, but bottle stuff that either needs more aging, or styles that I wouldn't like to drink every day.
I like an occasional Dubbel or Stout, but wouldn't drink them every day for instance, so I bottle those.

Should also note that I can currently only tap one keg at a time, so am limited.

 

[schematix]

Sounds like you are where i hope to be in about a year with my beer except i probably dont have the space to do 13. I will porbably stay topped out at 8. So what kind of kegs are you fermenting in? Also what is your yeast process. Are harvesting from the bottom or splitting your starters?

I've changed my process recently to do brewing in sprints. I'll brew every 10-12 days for about 6 weeks until every keg is full, then take ~3 months off.

I have a conical now. I used to do cornies. Same idea just different volume.

My yeast process is to buy 2 fresh packs, do 2x1.8L starters and let those go on the stir plate. Then i take the slurry and pitch to 4x1.8L. THat yeast i'll then pitch to the smallest gravity lager in my run. After that i just take the slurry and repitch it a few days later. Slurry older than a couple days sucks.... it HAS to be fresh (like 5 days max). Also if you spund you can extend that a little because the yeast is still active for a few days after you rack.

I save a TON of DME this way and a TON of TIME making new starters for each one.

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

I've changed my process recently to do brewing in sprints. I'll brew every 10-12 days for about 6 weeks until every keg is full, then take ~3 months off.

I have a conical now. I used to do cornies. Same idea just different volume.

My yeast process is to buy 2 fresh packs, do 2x1.8L starters and let those go on the stir plate. Then i take the slurry and pitch to 4x1.8L. THat yeast i'll then pitch to the smallest gravity lager in my run. After that i just take the slurry and repitch it a few days later. Slurry older than a couple days sucks.... it HAS to be fresh (like 5 days max). Also if you spund you can extend that a little because the yeast is still active for a few days after you rack.

I save a TON of DME this way and a TON of TIME making new starters for each one.

I see. With your process it makes sense to brew to stock up that way. So what would be the issue with storing yeast under a little beer for say 4 months? I'm new to yeast harvesting and was recently able to harvest some san diego super yeast from my blowoff tube. But because I'm rotating through styles to feed my 4 keg setup, im not really brewing repitiously. Maybe a double batch once every 4-6 weeks. Cheers.

 

[schematix]

I see. With your process it makes sense to brew to stock up that way. So what would be the issue with storing yeast under a little beer for say 4 months? I'm new to yeast harvesting and was recently able to harvest some san diego super yeast from my blowoff tube. But because I'm rotating through styles to feed my 4 keg setup, im not really brewing repitiously. Maybe a double batch once every 4-6 weeks. Cheers.

Viability. After a week I toss it or make a starter.

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

Viability. After a week I toss it or make a starter.

Right. But could i ramp up a starter after 4 months at 33° or do i need to feed them a little wort every month or 2 to keep them alive?

 

[schematix]

Right. But could i ramp up a starter after 4 months at 33° or do i need to feed them a little wort every month or 2 to keep them alive?

No they’ll be mostly dead. You’ll need a full sized starter or more to make it usable..... unless you want to be the guy on here saying it’s been 48 hours since you pitched and there’s no activity.

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

No they’ll be mostly dead. You’ll need a full sized starter or more to make it usable..... unless you want to be the guy on here saying it’s been 48 hours since you pitched and there’s no activity.

I am already doing a 2 step starter for my lagers. For 10 gallons i do two 2 quart starters at room temp and then second step is at ferm temp. So maybe i will need to add a 3rd step after the prolonged rest period in addition to feeding them a little wort at 2 months. Sooo.. what do you think?

 

[schematix]

I am already doing a 2 step starter for my lagers. For 10 gallons i do two 2 quart starters at room temp and then second step is at ferm temp. So maybe i will need to add a 3rd step after the prolonged rest period in addition to feeding them a little wort at 2 months. Sooo.. what do you think?

I think you need much more starter volume. What you have is great for an ale pitch, but you need to double it still.

You need a lot more than you think if you want to make really clean lagers and have quick ferments. If you don't care about esters or 3 week ferments followed by months of lagering, then whatever. But if you want grain to glass lagers in 3-4 weeks this is one of the keys.

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

I think you need much more starter volume. What you have is great for an ale pitch, but you need to double it still.

You need a lot more than you think if you want to make really clean lagers and have quick ferments. If you don't care about esters or 3 week ferments followed by months of lagering, then whatever. But if you want grain to glass lagers in 3-4 weeks this is one of the keys.

So like two 1 gallon starters with 2 steps on a couple stirplates? I should be well over a trillion cells. The long ferment doesnt bother me but off flavors, esters, or extended lagering would.

 

[schematix]

So like two 1 gallon starters with 2 steps on a stirplate? I should be well over a trillion cells.

I should probably clarify batch size too. I’m doing 10G batches.

For 5 gallons the equivalent is step 1 - 1 pack into 1.8L, and step 2 is the slurry into 3.5L. Give or take a little. That’s enough to do a sub-1.050 lager. If you can do a little more, then do it.

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

I should probably clarify batch size too. I’m doing 10G batches.

For 5 gallons the equivalent is step 1 - 1 pack into 1.8L, and step 2 is the slurry into 3.5L. Give or take a little. That’s enough to do a sub-1.050 lager. If you can do a little more, then do it.

Im doing 10 gallon batches also. Mr. Malty says we are both around 900 billion cells since i typically pitch 2 yeast packs then do double starters each with 2 steps but no stirplate. So im at the pro brewer 1.75 level on mr malty.

But 4 month old yeast would have 0% viability. At 2 months viabilty would be 13%. Im gonna need to rethink my yeast harvesting goals. Thanks cheers.[emoji482]

 

[schematix]

Im doing 10 gallon batches also. Mr. Malty says we are both around 900 billion cells since i typically pitch 2 yeast packs then do double starters each with 2 steps but no stirplate. So im at the pro brewer 1.75 level on mr malty.

But 4 month old yeast would have 0% viability. At 2 months viabilty would be 13%. Im gonna need to rethink my yeast harvesting goals. Thanks cheers.[emoji482]

Last word on the subject... pitch at 2.5 E6 cells / mL / P.

It's also worthwhile to buy a cheapo microscope to see where you're at (400x is enough). I bought it, checked it a few times, and it's collecting dust now. Gave me piece of mind though.

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

Last word on the subject... pitch at 2.5 E6 cells / mL / P.

It's also worthwhile to buy a cheapo microscope to see where you're at (400x is enough). I bought it, checked it a few times, and it's collecting dust now. Gave me piece of mind though.

Ok. Got it now. Thanks.

 

[MrHadack]

Dang, I'm really late to this thread. I should try to catch up. I decided to do nothing but lagers the first part of this year: Czech Pilsner, Maibock, California Common, and an IPL. All four of those were completed over the last 4 weeks and are in varying states of fermentation. The Pilsner and IPL will be kegged and the Maibock and Cali-Common I'll be bottling. I have to travel for most of the month of April, so the plan is to have have them cold-condition until I get back in May and ready to drink by June.

As a side note, I overhauled my brewing process / routine for these batches and not only did I get each of them done in about 4.5 hours (from set-up through clean-up) I nailed every number from pH to gravity to volume on the nose. Pretty excited by this set of beers. I re-pitched the last batch (IPL) on top of the yeast cake from the Pilsner and it's gone from 1.053 to 1.013 in less than 48 hours. Lag time on that one was just an hour or two. I have to do that more often!

 

[Home_alone1]

I'll brew 4-5 lager batches between now and the end of April, and let them sit (kegged) in my cold basement until I put them in the cooler. I don't brew much in the summer but I'll have beer to drink.
On my list:
-Bavarian light lager
-American lager with corn or rice
-Kolsch
-A darker lager, probably a German style
-Maybe an experimental lager with rye/oats/wheat

That’s what I’m doing ! I brewed last summer and it was hell . I was only going to brew lagers but fal alans Gose book made me want to do a Gose too. By May I want to be done brewing for the summer .
I’ll have 20 gallons of Pilsner ,
10 gallons of marzen Rauchbier ( ready for October fest ) .
12 gallons of Gose and 10 gallons of yet to be determined something.

 

[MrHadack]

I brewed last summer and it was hell

Ugh, now I'm having flashbacks. Late last summer I had to get a couple batches done for some people; I had promised them before the end of summer I'd make them. I did two 5-gallon batches in parallel in my garage, and the temp in there got up to 97F. Just not a happy brew day. I still plan to brew some beers this summer but they'll be half-batch NEIPAs that my neighbors always ask for.

 

[thehaze]

Brewed 1 Hoppy Pilsner with AUS and NZ hops, 1 Hoppy Schwarzbier with AUS and NZ hops and 1 Vienna Lager with German brown hops. All 3 fermented with W-34/70. Very good. Will brew again.

 

[WestMichBrewer]

Brewed an amber lager today. First 5 gallon AG batch where up to now I've been doing 3 gallons. Tun and boil pot were full and efficiency is lower so needed to add 3oz of DME.
All went well, in the fermentor now waiting for the 34/70 to get working.

 

[GnenieGone]

1st ever attempt. It'll be an Okoberfest. 1st time doing decoction mash also. Still researching lagering techniques.

 

[schematix]

All lagers naturally carbonated and lagering

4 pils
3 marzen
1 doppelbock

+2 more lagering in another fridge.

 

[Ahks]

Dark lager in primary... A BJCP judge would probably call it out of style for 8B but hopefully it's still tasty.