Question pitching lager yeast. Need answer today if possible.

[msa8967]

Attempting to brew my first lager and I have read that the yeast should ferment in the 45-50 F range. Problem is that I will need to use my refrigerator to get the wort this cold. Should I:

1. Pitch the yeast once I have cold the wort to the 65-70 F range via my wort chiller and then place this in my refrigerator to get it to the 45-50 range. This could take 12-24 hours.

2. Place the wort in the refrigerator and wait for it to get to the 45-50 F and then pitch the yeast.

Thanks.

 

[JonM]

#2 for sure. There are differing opinions on this, but the prevailing opinion is that lager yeast should be pitched cool.

Can you put the fermenter in an ice bath for a while? That would probably cool it down a lot faster than 12-24 hours.

 

[SpeedYellow]

Prevailing wisdom and commercial practices say #2, although everyone will have to agree that #1 does indeed make beer too.

You're using a fridge, not a freezer right? Because if it's a freezer then crank it to max cool and it'll cool your wort in 4-6 hrs.

 

[msa8967]

I am using a refrigerator for the lager stage. I will make a swamp cooler with a bunch of ice to get the temps down to pitching.

Thanks to both of you for the advice.

 

[budbo]

#1 will work fine, the thing to remember is keep the starter at as close to wort temp to avoid stressing the yeast, Pitching a lager at 65-70 and then cooling it isn't going to have a large impact, you will just need to do a Diacetyl rest which isn't necessary if you cold pitch

 

[shtoive87]

I do #2. With good sanitation practices you can wait 24 hrs before pitching with great results. Just make sure the yeast has enough cells and is healthy.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew