Lager failure....

[kmballantine]

Hello All,

I decided to try and make an Oktoberfest lager extract kit from Austin Homebrew. It's my first attempt at lagering, but I've got 8 other 5 gallon ale kits under my belt. I brewed this last Saturday, so 10 days ago. Standard liquid extract kit, used a inversion wort chiller. The wort was a little chilly when I pitched (62 degrees). I warmed it up over 12-18 hours to 68 degrees, kept it there 12 hours and then moved down to 55. The beer is in my fermentation chamber, so I know the temp has been steady but 10 days later the beer hasn't moved a point from the OG 1.054.

What should I do? I pitched 1 White Labs yeast vial and in reading some posts I think that was way too little. Is this batch fixable or should i cut my losses and brew again so I can get the Oktoberfest in october!

KB

 

[Hex23]

If it's not infected, it's probably still recoverable. I base this on a Basic Brewing Radio podcast I recently heard about no chill brewers sometimes leaving wort un-innoculated for days or weeks. It seems to me the most likely cause in your case is all the temperature fluctuation and possibly unhealthy yeast to begin with. Lagers are best done with high pitching rates (without a starter prob 4+ vials), and initial temperature as low or slightly lower than the intended fermentation temperature (usually around 50F).

Do you have the kind of temperature control to be able to ferment a lager?

 

[BigEd]

Assuming the yeast was a lager strain 62F was not "chilly". Leaving the temp there and letting it wind down to 55F probably would have been a better choice but pitching a single vial of yeast "as is" with a lager was not a good choice IMO. Making a large, vigorous yeast starter is the way to prepare a yeast for lager. Even with that the visual beginnings of fermentation may take longer than the typical ale which can cause anxiety with novice lager brewers. After 10 days if you are suspicious the OG hasn't moved it is time to find out for certain. Take a sample for hydrometer testing and also for tasting. Use you senses and see if the beer tastes and smells OK.. Sour, phenolic and/or solventy are not good but if the beer is still clean consider re-pitching.

 

[BigFloyd]

I'm afraid that you badly under-pitched this. Lagers generally need 2x the cell count of a comparable ale batch. This time of year, if that vial was shipped to you, there's no way to know what kind of hot temps it might have seen.

At this point, I'd go into something of a rescue mode and pitch 2 packs of rehydrated dry lager yeast on it.

Your wort wasn't chilly at 62*F. It was rather warm for a lager. If you pitch sufficient yeast, you can (and should) chill your lager wort down into the middle 40's, pitch, and let it come up to 48-50*F. Starting a lager out warm and then cooling once it begins active fermentation is an old method used to try and compensate for underpitching. It does carry a risk of more ester production than you want in a lager plus other possible off-flavors.