I think I screwed up my first lager

[JayWeezie]

I brewed an all grain German kolsch with wlp036. Pitched the yeast at 60° but when I opened the vial it exploded and I lost quite a bit of yeast.

Also my ferm chamber is an old fridge that only gets to 60° in the summer. But the past few days it has been cooler and now the fridge is down to 52°

Is that too low for wlp036?

What's the process for re-pitching?

Is it possible to reactivate the yeast that's in there?

I did get some fermentation after about 12 hours but it wasn't very vigorous.

Questions comments concerns

thanks

 

[stubbornman]

Even 60 is too low for that yeast.

n Focus: Dusseldorf Alt Yeast
WLP036 Dusseldorf Alt Yeast
Traditional Alt yeast from Dusseldorf, Germany. Produces clean, slightly sweet alt beers. Does not accentuate hop flavor as WLP029 does.
Attenuation: 65-72%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 65-69°F
Alcohol Tolerance: Medium

One could argue that the fermentation will increase your temp and put you in the right range but 52 is way too low. Warm it up a bit if you can.

When you ask about repitching, do you mean add more yeast to this beer or use this yeast in another brew later?

 

[JayWeezie]

Adding more yeast to this beer.

 

[bknifefight]

First of all, you weren't making a lager at all. WLP036 is an ale yeast, appropriate for a Kolsch.

I dont think you should add anymore yeast until you warm up the beer into the yeasts' temperature range and see what they do then.

For any beer, and especially for light beers where there isn't a lot of "complexity" to hide behind, it is VERY important to treat your yeast right and make sure they are happy. This way you will end up with a light, crispt and CLEAN beer. To do this, follow the directions on the temperature range of the yeast. I usually aim for the low end. And secondly, make sure you pitch enough yeast. Use an online calculator like Mr. Malty.

It sounds like you didn't do either of these things. Sure, you will end up with beer but a few simple changes in your process can make a world of difference.