First Lager

[JabbA]

Having picked up another freecycle fridge at the weekend I'l all good to dive head first into this lagering malarkey

How's about this for a recipe for a nice simple lager



With WLP830 German Lager Yeast pitched @ ~20'C, fermented @ 10'C, rising to room temperature for 24 hours before kegging and lagering @ 0-2'C for ~4-6 weeks.

Any pointers gratefully received

Cheers,
Jamie

[196osh]

How big a starter are you pitching? The bigger the better. I would try to get a 3L one started.

Pitching at 20C might help get the yeast started quicker but if you pitch at fermentation temperature you should get a more clean beer.

I would also consider doing a diacetyl rest. Brining the tempertaure up near the end of the initial phase of fermentation, 2/3s of the way through the ferment in your case when the beer is down to about 1022, raise the temperature to 15-16C this will allow the yeast to consume the diacytel produced more effectivly.

[JabbA]

OK, cool. I was going to consult Mr Malty for the starter size; he recommends just over 5l. Using a stir plate makes a huge difference to the quantity needed- I'll have to have a go making one!

Cheers,
Jamie

[196osh]

Over 5L.

[clogwog]

My last lager was a BoPils.
I built up a 5 litre starter of WY2001.
I pitched only the slurry, with the starter and the beer both at 9ºC.
Made the cleanest best tasting lager I've yet brewed, no off flavours or esters etc etc at all.

As I pitched cold, I didn't bother with a diacetyl rest. Fermented for 2 weeks, and racked to the lagering container and lagered at 2ºC for 7 weeks.
Went from 1.053 to 1.006. Bottled without further yeast addition, and it's carbed up just fine.

I firmly believe the secret to a good lager is to pitch plenty of yeast, cold pitch, and giving it sufficient time to do it's thing in primary and lagering.

[nigebeer]

Hi All,

I have just finished my 4th AG Brew, and as I now have a beer fridge I too would like to try some Lager, one thing puzzles me a bit, and that is the amount of yeast required,you are talking about 3and 5 ltrs of yeast, that seems a huge amount, why do you need so much for lager? and how do you go about making this amount?

When you say 3ltrs does all this fluid go in the wort, or is just the slurry at the bottom?

And what is the relevance of a stir plate?

BR nigebeer