Wyeast munich

[Antonello Lioi]

Hello guys,
This is my first time i do beer.
I am trying to do a dunkel black beer.
used for 5 gallons:
Carafa 170g
Pisner 2kg
Munich 3kg
Melanoidin 340g
I mishandle the yeast ....
Did not smack the yeast so yeast went in the mash and i put the solution just after.
Put the yeast in into mash temperature at 26.6 ( 2nd mistake, should have waited for cooler temperatures) so did i compromise the yeast?
It is into a room at 14 degrees Celsius.
Did it Thursday night and dont see any bubbling. There is a reaction because the water of the air lock is sucked in the carboy. OG 1.070

 

[KB12]

Ok, so few things here:

Not hitting the smack pack: not a big deal. Adding the smack pack nutrient was probably a good decision. The overall age of the yeast is probably your biggest factor here, hopefully it's fresh and young.

Adding yeast to the mash: I think you're using the wrong term here and mean you added the yeast to the hopped wort in the fermenter. The mash is before the boil when you're mixing your grains and hot water. If you did add the yeast to the mash, this is definitely a problem, but I bet this is just learning some lingo thing.

Pitching yeast at 26.6c: I work english units, this is about 80f. I don't think this is a problem. Some people argue that you need the yeast to be within 10deg F of the hopped wort you're pitching into but I've also seen a yeast manufacturer saying pitch cold yeast (https://www.imperialyeast.com/faq/). So no worries.

Fermenting at 14c: seems like a good temperature for both wyeast munich lager strains.

Water of the airlock in the carboy: This doesn't have to do with a yeast reaction, this has to do with thermo dynamics. When you sealed the carboy at 26.6c and then lowered to 14c, this temperature drop caused the air pressure to lower (if you're super interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideal_gas_law). The lower air pressure cause the water to flow backwards into the carboy.

No bubbling: Lager yeast are notorious slow starters but I would have expected activity by now too. This could be because of the water being sucked into the carboy. There may no longer be enough water in the airlock for it to operate properly, I recommend topping the airlock off. It's definitely possible you are fermenting but can't see the airlock working.

Are you using a glass carboy or a plastic bucket? A glass carboy should give you a clue if things are actually going ok.

 

[Antonello Lioi]

Hello,
Thank you for your help.
Yes sorry, i did put the yeast into the fermenter. My carboy its a glass one. I knew that this type of yeast is slow to start but i started to get stressed since it was almost 72 hours so i cheated and put a little of Lalvin EC-1118 and now there is a little activity. Hopefully i did not compromise too much the final flavor.....
Will let you know how it ended up

 

[KB12]

If you're going for lagers, yeast starters can really help you. You'll need to anticipate your brew day a bit more but you'll be positive the yeast are good and that upped cell count can help the fermentation be clean. Wyeast has directions:

http://www.wyeastlab.com/making-starter

 

[Antonello Lioi]

Thank you so much for your help.
Will definitely try it next time.

 

[Antonello Lioi]

Just wanted to give an update on my first lager.... yesterday night the airlock was not bubbling anymore so today I did the racking.
OG was 1.070
Today the gravity was 1.030
I should have a alcohol % arround 7.25 the recipe i am following say to let ferment at 18 degrees Celsius for 3 days and then few weeks at 4 degrees Celsius. The taste was quite nice.... cant wait to taste it!! Lol

 

[Antonello Lioi]

Hello guys,
FG somehow stayed at 1.030. I guess my yeast was tired and was not able to finish the job. Next time I will definitely use a yeast starter.
Finally primed and bottled the beer, waited 14 days and finally tried my first lager. It was a success, got a Dunkel beer from the store and compared... I find mine even better!!
I am reading a 3rd book of brewing beer. I start to really understand the brewing process....
Thank you to the members of this forum who are really helpful
Merry Christmas and happy new year

 

[Antonello Lioi]

Hello guys,
I brew a black dunkel beer.
I used this recipe.
Reeder Method: All Grain Style: Munich Dunkel Boil Time: 60 min Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermentor volume) Boil Size: 6.5 gallons Boil Gravity: 1.044 (recipe based estimate) Efficiency: 72% (brew house) Source: A.Reed

Its a question about the quantity of the water.... boil size is 6.5 gallons.
Do you take out 1/2 gallon of water becose of the final sparge with the malt to collect the sugars?
I anded up having a OG of 1.082!!!!
Can i add water. I dont even have 15 L. Of wort in the fermenter. I brew it yesterday. Sucks to loose a 5 L of beer!!!!