Lager (Baltic) Porter Fermentation?

[jojacques]

Oh, hello you!

So, I'm not sure if I made a mistake or not, but my Baltic has been in fermentation for 11 days now. I Used SafLager S-23 yeast and I followed a recipe on HomeBrewersAssoction, which states:

"Ferment at 61°F (16°C) in primary one week, lager in secondary for six weeks at 35°F (1.7°C)."

It's kinda what I did but didn't think about the different yeast the recipe was using....

So I did 1 week at 61F, then I dropped at 4 days at 55F... I was planning on doing another week at 55F, then rack to secondary and drop to 35F...... Is my plan OK or I already made a booboo by starting fermentation at a higher temp?

Thanks!

 

[jojacques]

Anyone?

 

[JonM]

I bet it's fine. 61 is a teeny tiny bit warm for lagers but not by much - like 1°C. I don't think anything's wrong at all.

 

[Omahawk]

I agree with Jon, I bet it'll be fine. Maybe just a hint of fruitiness. Lager fermentation can take longer than 11 days - i never secondary a lager that soon (if I secondary at all). With lagers, patience is a virtue.

With most lager strains, I typically ferment 45-52 F, and keep the temp steady and potentially raise it a little as fermentation is starting to wrap up (often called a diacytl rest). I typically ferment 2-3 weeks, and then often just cold lager the beer in the primary for a month before racking to keg.

 

[jojacques]

Thanks for the comments fellas.

So I will leave the beer in Primary for the whole time instead of transferring to secondary.

My fermentation chamber can only get the temp down to 40F, is this too hot? I really need to bypass the mini-fridge thermostat.

 

[Omahawk]

My fermentation chamber can only get the temp down to 40F, is this too hot? I really need to bypass the mini-fridge thermostat.

I'm ususally 32F-36F degrees for 1 month. At that temp and time, yeast autolysis hasn't been an issue for me - so I'm good leaving it on primary. So I can only speak to my process.

You'd want to talk/do some research if you need to: 1) lager a little longer at 40F, and if so, 2) should you consider going to a secondary? Something to consider at a minimum.

If you can't get a straight answer, after you are sure the yeast are done with fermentation and cleaning up by products, I'd be tempted to lager on secondary for a little longer (5-6 weeks?) at the 40 F temp your fridge can manage. Just a thought, no real experience to back it up.