Attention: Check out the new BKB Home Brewing Blog
Pages: 1 2
another question for lager brewers
alright, so my munich dark is in the fermentor, in the chest freezer chilling down.
I'm following palmers and jamils recomendations and pitching the yeast while it and the wort are both at fermentation temps (50) I chilled to about 75 degrees with the immersion chiller then sealed it up and stuck it in the cooler. Does anyone have any experience to about how long it will take that bucket to get near fermentation temps?? I don't want to crack the lid and stick a (sanitized, of course) thermometer in there every hour...
Thanks
Get some of those stick on thermometers.....they are pretty accurate and it gives you a chance to monitor temperatures.....I have them on most of my primarys and secondarys.....
yeah, in hind sight those look like a great idea. I'll need to pick some up.
With the ambient temp in the freezer set at 20 it took about 7 hours to get it to 55, for anyone else that may need that info in the future. I couldn't wait to get it all the way to 50, I had to get my butt in bed!
Bill I must advise that you buy a glass carboy for lagering. Since a lager may stay for months in the fridge, checking how it looks is far easier with glass. Plus now you don't have to worry about sanitizing the lid every time you want to peak. Also my buddy and I use the carboy cap and an airlock for lagering.
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products … rodID=4675
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products … rodID=4216
I used a rubber bung and an airlock once and made a bloody mess, literally, removing it. The airlock fits in the larger hole of the carboy cap. The small end is for your run off tube. You can find all this locally @ your LHBS or can order from midwest.
I have a carboy for lagering... in fact, I have several carboys (hate using them) but I will for lagering. It's in the bucket right now for primary.
Just checked the airlock and 22 hours later she's chugging away slow and steady. (now glad I made the big starter)
Now I am sure I will catch a lot of guff over this, but when "lagering" I Pitch yeast at the 70*F mark and let it sit until visible signs of fermentation are present. Then and only then do I allow the wort to chill to the lagering temps. (54*F) This brings the CO2 level up in the fermenter and reduces the chance of contamination. And gets the yeast really active. Thus speading up the primary. I also allways rack to a secondary for lagers after about 2 weeks. (just my time frame). Good luck with yours, I am sure it will be great.
im4fishnak wrote:
Now I am sure I will catch a lot of guff over this, but when "lagering" I Pitch yeast at the 70*F mark and let it sit until visible signs of fermentation are present. Then and only then do I allow the wort to chill to the lagering temps. (54*F) This brings the CO2 level up in the fermenter and reduces the chance of contamination. And gets the yeast really active. Thus speading up the primary. I also allways rack to a secondary for lagers after about 2 weeks. (just my time frame). Good luck with yours, I am sure it will be great.
If you pitch cold, then a diacetyl rest is not necessary. Then beer will be much cleaner pitched cold.
brewchez wrote:
If you pitch cold, then a diacetyl rest is not necessary. Then beer will be much cleaner pitched cold.
I wasn't aware of this... I was under the impression that a diacetyl rest is always necessary for lagers. Since the yeast are fermenting at colder temps for up to 3 weeks they never get a chance to remove diacetyl properly. This is why you raise the temp to 65F or so after fermentation is complete for a couple of days so the yeast can better activate enzymes required for removal of the diacetyl.
Have you had experience with not doing a diacetyl rest, Brewchez?
The d-rest is also part of the "pitch warm" then chill practice with lager brewing.
I just read in Palmers current edition of " How to Brew" that production of diacetyl is greatly reduced when yeast is pitched cold, so there isn't as much to have to reduce. When the yeast get started at warmer temperatures there is more diacetyl produced.
Diacetly production is dependent upon available oxygen (off which there is less in colder wort) and the size of the yeast pitch. It seems to me, that proper yeast pitching rates and cold temperature on its own, greatly limit diacetyl production in the first place. The use of a D-rest then becomes less critical after a cold pitch.
I am currently reading Noonans New Lager Brewing. If its mentioned there, I try and bring it up again.
I also remember hearing a Munich Helles Podcast from Jamil Z. stating that he doesn't need a D-rest when pitching cold. I have read other brewers in other forums not needing D-rests after pitching cold. (you can take what you want from that third hand information)
I am preparing to brew my first lager soon, and that is what my current research has led me to. Of course, I'll know for sure after I start lager brewing myself to try it out.
Here is an interesting link for all you tech-heads outthere.
I am doing more research into the biochemistry of diacetyl, but here is a taste from the immortal George Fix.
http://brewingtechniques.com/library/ba … 2/fix.html
I want to also say that doing a D-rest is a perfectly acceptable means of reducing diacetyl and certainly is the leading method for doing so. I am sure this technique exists because of many more successful brewers before us.
However, diacetly production comes from many sources. Homebrewers are contributing to the knowledge of beer making at an unprecidented rate. We are sort of the application-think-tank of the brewing industry. I mean that in full seriousness.
Does pitching cold really reduced the need for a D-rest? I am not totally sure. What I am sure about is that if a new technique to reduce the formation of diacectyl in the first place (D-rest is an elimination method) is possible.... It will likely come from the homebrewing community.
Pages: 1 2