When fermenting, should i follow the yeast bags instructions or the receipies?

[Capslock118]

Hi,

I'm brewing my first lager, it's an oktoberfest (this one).

The recipe said to ferment at 50 degrees but the wyeast package said ferment at around 65. Since I'm only familiar with brewing ales at this point, i decided to let the fermentation start at 65 and then after three days start bringing the temp down to 50 about 2 degrees per day.

what are your general thoughts on this? should i have started fermentation at 50 degrees? Will an off flavor be produced by fermenting a lager at 65 for 3 days then slowly dropped to 50?

 

[kombat]

I'm brewing my first lager, it's an oktoberfest (this one).

The recipe said to ferment at 50 degrees but the wyeast package said ferment at around 65.

Hmm. According to their website, that kit comes with Wyeast 2206 Bavarian Lager yeast. On the Wyeast website, it specifies the ideal temperature range for that yeast as 46-58° F (8-14° C). I'm not sure where you got 65° F, but that's much too warm for a lager. I'd drop that temperature down to 50° F immediately.

To answer your question, I trust the instructions on the yeast package more than in the kit recipe, but ultimately I defer to the manufacturer's website for the best information regarding fermentation temperature ranges, rehydration procedures, and so on.

 

[blizz81]

Better yet, search on here / the intarwebs and do some research on the yeast strain(s) you're using to get a feel for their behavior.

 

[Capslock118]

Hmm. According to their website, that kit comes with Wyeast 2206 Bavarian Lager yeast. On the Wyeast website, it specifies the ideal temperature range for that yeast as 46-58° F (8-14° C). I'm not sure where you got 65° F, but that's much too warm for a lager. I'd drop that temperature down to 50° F immediately.

To answer your question, I trust the instructions on the yeast package more than in the kit recipe, but ultimately I defer to the manufacturer's website for the best information regarding fermentation temperature ranges, rehydration procedures, and so on.

Hmm, i guess there was a chance i looked at the wrong yeast package. I do have a yeast for an IPA i'll be making in some short time.

Ok that's fine, thanks for the quick response. Thanks to using BrewPi i'm able to adjust the temp from work . I'm not terribly concerned but I am curious what the effect of this would be? what kind of off-taste is expected when fermenting a lager at too high of a temp?

 

[kh54s10]

For the couple of lagers I have done I start at 50 degrees for about 10-14 days. Do a rest at 60 degrees for 2 days then ramp the temperature down over 2-3 weeks from 50 to 32 degrees.

I think what your are doing is pretty much backward.

I have done a couple of California Common type where you use a lager yeast but ferment at ale temperatures. They came out nice. I followed recipes designed for that process. I am not sure how much the recipe makes in the process though.

 

[Capslock118]

Better yet, search on here / the intarwebs and do some research on the yeast strain(s) you're using to get a feel for their behavior.

and you know what, that's exactly why i asked. I've been blindly following recipes for the past few batches / taking notes until i started getting comfortable with the process to start asking questions .

 

[blizz81]

and you know what, that's exactly why i asked. I've been blindly following recipes for the past few batches / taking notes until i started getting comfortable with the process to start asking questions .

Surely! Just advising. For pretty much all yeast strains, there should be some info on here if you just punch the actual strain number in to the search engine. There's some things that can only be gleaned by action / experience. Like S-04 turning into Little Boy if it happens to get a whiff of any temperature above 68*F. Or perhaps some English highly-floccing strains that may need a calm swirling after they quickly finish and floc out to make sure they get all the sugars, etc.

 

[Capslock118]

Surely! Just advising. For pretty much all yeast strains, there should be some info on here if you just punch the actual strain number in to the search engine. There's some things that can only be gleaned by action / experience. Like S-04 turning into Little Boy if it happens to get a whiff of any temperature above 68*F. Or perhaps some English highly-floccing strains that may need a calm swirling after they quickly finish and floc out to make sure they get all the sugars, etc.

i'll keep this in mind for my next batch; thanks