Lager Fermentation Schedule

[rdavidw]

Looking for some feedback on my lager fermentation schedule.

I made this Sam Adams Clone kit with wyeast bohemian lager yeast. Made a 2L starter on a stir plate for a week, first three days at 45F and then two at 65F. Crashed the starter overnight and decanted. Hit the 5.5 gallons of wort with an oxywand before pitching the yeast. I pitched the yeast with the wort at 68F and left it at that temp for about 8 hours. After I saw the air-lock starting to get active I dropped the temp to 48F. Here is my proposed schedule from here:

Three Days @ 48F
Three Days @ 49F
Three Days @ 50F
Eleven Days @ 52F
Three Days @ 67F
One Day @ 62F
One Day @ 57F
One Day @ 52F
One Day @ 47F
One Day @ 42F
Three Days @ 38F
Keg and hold @ 38F for a few months

Does that schedule look about right?

Here is the temp control setup I am using: Glycol Temp Control Set Up

 

[mredge73]

You don't want the pitch a lager warm like you did. All the bad stuff happens during the growth phase so pitching and holding at 48 or below is recommended.
Other than that is looks fine, you are giving it 20 days to ferment low then raising it for a rest stage then bringing it back down to lager.
The rest doesn't need to be 5 days as shown, 1-2 days to clean up then back down to lagering temp for a few weeks should be fine.

 

[Morrey]

Lots of these temperature variations you feel the need to follow (ups and downs) came from the days when beers were made in caves and seasons impacted the temps. Past are these days with the advent of refrigeration and ATC devices.

I have gone to great pains to follow up and down schedules, then I have used Brulosophy's thought to stick to 50F w/o all the temp tinkering, then a brief D rest. This is what I do now and looking up Brulosophy's Pilsen/Lager method is a good read and may be something you want to consider.

 

[Mackster]

Mine would look more like...
4 weeks @ 45F
allow to raise on its own in 1 or 2 days
1 week @ 65F to give a diacetyl rest
cold crash back down
4 weeks @ 35F for lagering

 

[rdavidw]

You don't want the pitch a lager warm like you did. All the bad stuff happens during the growth phase so pitching and holding at 48 or below is recommended.
Other than that is looks fine, you are giving it 20 days to ferment low then raising it for a rest stage then bringing it back down to lager.
The rest doesn't need to be 5 days as shown, 1-2 days to clean up then back down to lagering temp for a few weeks should be fine.

I was on the fence on this. I took the How to Lager Pro Tip from Adventures In Homebrewing. They suggested a full 24 hours but I cut it down to only 8 hours. I pitched my starter cold and to took off just fine. I will not pitch my next lager warm. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Morrey]

I was on the fence on this. I took the How to Lager Pro Tip from Adventures In Homebrewing. They suggested a full 24 hours but I cut it down to only 8 hours. I pitched my starter cold and to took off just fine. I will not pitch my next lager warm. Thanks for the heads up.

I have read that you have at least 12 hours that are "safe" after pitching before the yeast may start throwing off flavors due to higher than suggested ferm temps. Provided you have a way to bring the wort down to pitching temps before adding the yeast in, it makes better sense to me.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

The yeast companies will tell you it's fine to start in the 60's and then drop to 50-ish within 24 hours. Starting high sort of kick starts the fermentation without creating off flavors as long as you get the temp down soon. I personally cool my wort down to the 50's and pitch then. Either way is fine. Also, no need to keep it in primary for weeks. Once you're at about 80% of the way to FG (7-10 days) you can raise to 65 for a 3 day d-rest. That should get you to FG and then you can ramp down to layering temp.

 

[SanPancho]

I was on the fence on this. I took the How to Lager Pro Tip from Adventures In Homebrewing. They suggested a full 24 hours but I cut it down to only 8 hours. I pitched my starter cold and to took off just fine. I will not pitch my next lager warm. Thanks for the heads up.

dont be so quick to believe. pitching warm is common, alot of pros do it. but 68 is too high in my opinion, 60ish is better. 8-12 hours then cool to 50 is fine, or 48 if you prefer. id say you only need 3-5 days at primary temp then start rising towards drest.

one thing to note is that some strains handle temp swings well and some dont. some start warm no problem, others get pissy tasting. experiment with the strain you plan on using the most, but 60 is much more reasonable place to start if you have no prior experience with warm starts.

 

[wobdee]

I like pitching a lot of yeast, about 100 billion cells per gallon and due to my cold well water I can chill down to lower 50°. I like to ferment cold about 47° for around 8 days then I slowly drop about 2° per day down to lagering temp which is done in a keg on day 13 at 32°. Never have any Diacetyl with this method and my lagers have never tasted better.

 

[casualbrewer]

Looks like too many days to me. I loosely have followed my own rule of 5's with my lagers. 5 days at 48-52 degrees, 5 days at 60-65 degrees, 5 days cold crash at 30 degrees, and 5 days carbonating in keg with gelatin.. I pitch a ton of yeast that I harvest in quart Mason jars so my lagers will nearly be at FG in 5 days. The next 5 days at the higher temps drop the last few points and serve as my D-rest. My 5 day cold crash drops yeast out enough to harvest and keg with gelatin. In 5 days the carbonation will be sufficient to start drinking and give gelatin enough time to clear the beer. However this is just drinkable beer. Of course lagers tend to need a couple more weeks at lager temps to become crisper.

 

[rdavidw]

Here is where I am so far with this one:

I just upped the temp to 50F and suspect I will hit my target FG after the D-rest.

 

[Bulls Beers]

IMO, 68 is a little high for my taste. After my boil, I try and get the wort temp down to under 70, rack to a fermenter, throw it in my chest freezer for a day at 48 Degrees. Next day I'll pitch my starter and let ferment for about 7-10 days. When I'm about 75% to my final gravity, I take out of the CF, bring to room temp for a few days or until I'm ready to keg. Lager for 6-8 weeks. Always comes out great.