Yet another &^%&^%! Lager ?

[GIusedtoBe]

I brewed a Maibock on 3-16-08 that had a SG of 1.070 and I pitched a healthy 1 Quart starter at fermentation temps.

Should'nt this thing be done fermenting by now? I raised the temp to 58 for a diacetyl rest a few days ago and I brought it in tonight to transfer to secondary and darn if the thing does'nt look like its still fermenting. It has'nt cleared that much and you can still see bubbles and yeasties floating up and down.

I think I'm going to use my racking cane to take a hydrometer sample to see where its at fermentation wise. (Don't have a thief)

Anybody else had these issues w/ lagers? This is my second and maybe my last if it does not turn out. What a royal PITA.

Thanks
Al

 

[2nd Street Brewery]

Only way to know for sure is to take a hydrometer reading. After a month it should be done. What temp were you fermenting at? Take a reading and see where you stand.

 

[GIusedtoBe]

Okay, I just checked the SG and it is 1.022 This is an extract recipe that was supposed to ferment out to 1.016-1.020 . Not too far outside the range but how long can I leave this thing as is.

I fermented at 50 F give or take a degree and that was in the proper range for the yeast. (Wyeast Bavarian Lager 2206)

Is it possible that it just needs to stay in there a few more weeks before secondary and lagering.

BTW there was still a lot of yeast in suspension in the hydrometer sample.

Thanks,
Al

 

[Poppy360]

Doesn't sound like it's done. Give it more time.

 

[ChrisS68]

I'm still a newbie, but that sounds like a relatively large lager. Is 4 weeks an overly long time for something like this to ferment, particularly at that temp? Also, isn't it optimal to shoot for a D-rest just a few ticks above FG so the yeast are still somewhat active?

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I typically ferment my lagers for 4 to 6 weeks. 1 week d rest. And then keg secondary to truly lager the beer for another 4 to 12 weeks.

Lagering really tests a brewers patience but has such clean rewards.

 

[ChrisS68]

12 weeks? That is patient! After that kind of time, is there often a need to add yeast for bottling? Guess if you force-carb that isn't an issue.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

12 weeks? That is patient! After that kind of time, is there often a need to add yeast for bottling? Guess if you force-carb that isn't an issue.

Yep. No need for re-yeasting, or bottles for that matter, when kegging.

Of course, when you are lagering for such a long time it helps to have a few kegs.

 

[Beerrific]

My lagers usually take about 7-10 days to reach FG. I think that is about normal.

I think a 1 quart starter for a 1.070 beer is not enough for an ale let alone a lager. I would probably do around a 1 gallon starter for that beer.

 

[BREW N QUE]

According to Jamil's pitching rate calculator at mrmalty.com you would need a 20 quart starter (simple starter without a stir plate) with one vial of yeast to get the optimal number of cells for a lager that big, although I know you can get away with less.

 

[jesse]

I typically ferment my lagers for 4 to 6 weeks. 1 week d rest. And then keg secondary to truly lager the beer for another 4 to 12 weeks.

Lagering really tests a brewers patience but has such clean rewards.

do you ferment in just the primary and then go to keg or do you rack into secondary and then go to keg????

 

[GIusedtoBe]

Wow, patience is not a problem but I thought that 1 month was enough for primary. I'll give it a few more weeks. 20 Qt starters???? Hell is'nt that 5 gallons? I'll just drink the starter.

According to wyeast, the smack pack is enough for a 5 gallon batch. A quart starter is much better than that but i'll defer to you experts. I always do 1 Qt starters and have never had any fermentation problems with any of my ales or my one other lager.

The high OG is due to the fact that this is a Maibock which according to some style guides, I missed the OG by being .004 too low.

Thanks for the responses,
Al

 

[Yooper]

While I think that the pitching calculator is optimum, for my lagers, I do about a quart starter, step that up two days later by adding another quart, then stick that in the fridge and decant the spent wort before pitching. I wouldn't add unhopped oxygenated beer to my wort, especially at that quantity!

Lagers take longer but most wouldn't take a month. Still, if it's fermenting, it'll be fine. My last maibock (just kicked the keg yesterday) was so good- it's definitely worth the trouble!

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

do you ferment in just the primary and then go to keg or do you rack into secondary and then go to keg????

Honestly. I can't remember the last time I racked to a secondary. I don't even secondary my ales. I'll let them rest in primary up to 4 weeks and then they'll goto keg for carbonation. It's a waste of a pair of good 5 gallon carboy's I know.

Although, one day I do plan to do some 3 or 4 gallon batches of meade. Maybe even this famed Apfelwein but, I cannot stand cider so I dunno about that one.

 

[WBC]

Wow, patience is not a problem but I thought that 1 month was enough for primary. I'll give it a few more weeks. 20 Qt starters???? Hell is'nt that 5 gallons? I'll just drink the starter.l

You can drink the starter (I hope you put hops in it). When an experienced brewer talks about 20 quart starters they are saying that if you make 20 quarts of wort and inoculate it and let it ferment out you can then decant the liquid and pitch the remaining yeast.

 

[GIusedtoBe]

WBC I'll freely admit my ignorance in this area but it seems awfully wasteful and costly to ferment 5 gallons worth of wort to produce enough yeast to properly pitch a 5 gallon batch. How in the world would the commercial brewers do it on such a large scale?

Regards,
Al

 

[Beerrific]

WBC I'll freely admit my ignorance in this area but it seems awfully wasteful and costly to ferment 5 gallons worth of wort to produce enough yeast to properly pitch a 5 gallon batch. How in the world would the commercial brewers do it on such a large scale?

Regards,
Al

They probably either have propagators, buy more yeast, or pitch from previous batches. I would suggest in the future start with a pack or vial, make a starter (like Yooper said, that is what I did too), pitch that in to a low gravity lager. After that is done harvest, wash, and repitch from that yeast. You can easily do 3-4 batches from 1 vial and use about a pound of DME for the starters.

 

[WBC]

The answer was stated above. Commercial brewers use propagators and they have a motorized stir bars and oxygen. What I do is make a starter on the stir plate with oxygen in a 1000 ml flask and pitch into a 5 gallon batch and then use that for 10 -12 gallon batches. From that point on you have plenty of yeast to use as long as you brew on a regular basis. I inoculate slants from the origional vial and start new master yeast stocks from that 1 vial. It lasts a long time.