Underpitched lager

[UpTheToon]

Hi all,

I made my first Lager yesterday, a Vienna. 25L, SG 1.050 I used one vial of WLP833 using a 2 pint starter with 1 cup of DME.

I've just realised I've massively underpitched the yeast. Theres barely any activety at the moment as its only been pitched about 30 hours. Its in my fridge at 8.8C.

It's going to take 3 or 4 days to get another vial and make a starter, is it worth dropping the temp right down to stop the activity and re-pitching?

[Rick_UK]

You could increase the temp to 15ish until it shows signs of active fermentation and then drop it back down to desired temps. I did this with a dried yeast and it worked fine. I believe there are differences of opinion about the merits of pitching warm vs cool with a lager - which suggests there isn't a missive difference in end product....

Rick

[UpTheToon]

You could increase the temp to 15ish until it shows signs of active fermentation and then drop it back down to desired temps. I did this with a dried yeast and it worked fine. I believe there are differences of opinion about the merits of pitching warm vs cool with a lager - which suggests there isn't a missive difference in end product....

Rick

Hi Rick,

I'm not so concerned with the speed of fermentation. more the chance of off flavours. Will raising the temp mean it grows faster and reduces the chance of off flavours?

I had a look this morning and there was a bit of bubbling from the airlock and a small head, it is starting to become active.

Cheers,
John.