I finally have temp control and a ferm chamber with heat, there is room in the beer fridge to lager, and the basement floor is consistently around 50F. Its finally time to try my hand at lagering. After I named my amber ale after my son, my daughter wanted a brew with her name. It took a while to find a style that worked with Eloise but I finally came up with Elle's Helles.
For a few reasons I'm only going to brew a 2.5 gal batch instead of 5 gal. I plan on doing no-sparge. It'll be like BIAB but in my regular mash tun. I'll mash on the low end of the range, around 150. I have Safale lager yeast for fermentation.
Now a few questions:
What are folks' feelings about a 90-minute boil? My understanding about the extended boil is that it helps drive off some of the compounds that can lead to off-flavors. Its still new enough to me that I don't remember the details.
Should I treat my yeast starter differently than an ale yeast? Do I need to do it at a lower temp? Should I do a stepped starter to ensure enough yeast to finish the job?
I think I have a decent idea on the fermentation schedule.
Any other advice would be appreciated as how brewing a helles is different than ales.
For a few reasons I'm only going to brew a 2.5 gal batch instead of 5 gal. I plan on doing no-sparge. It'll be like BIAB but in my regular mash tun. I'll mash on the low end of the range, around 150. I have Safale lager yeast for fermentation.
Now a few questions:
What are folks' feelings about a 90-minute boil? My understanding about the extended boil is that it helps drive off some of the compounds that can lead to off-flavors. Its still new enough to me that I don't remember the details.
Should I treat my yeast starter differently than an ale yeast? Do I need to do it at a lower temp? Should I do a stepped starter to ensure enough yeast to finish the job?
I think I have a decent idea on the fermentation schedule.
Any other advice would be appreciated as how brewing a helles is different than ales.