This is only my second brew. I’m a week into fermentation of an extract lager kit. The fermentation, so far, has been at a steady 52°-54°. I’ve notice there is very little off gassing, if any at this point, and my krausen seems to have fallen flat on top. I also notice what seems to be a yeast cake on the bottom of my carboy. My question is, is this normal with a lager and having a fermentation at such a low temp? My plan is to go another week, then move to about 62° for 2-3 days on a diacytl rest, then rack to a secondary to crash to as cold as I can get it.
Fermenting a Lager
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If you pitched a good amount and using those temps it can move along. I notice Krausen and action stopping in a week with my lagers. There are MANY ways to do it. At the stage you are at I let it warm up for a week instead of waiting. Fro. What I gather the yeast won’t clean diacetyl if they are no longer active. So you want a few points left. Now people do this differently and sometimes depends on the style and recipe by people smarter than me do it differently. I ferment low 50s for 5-7 days observing the fermenter and then go low to mid 60s for another 5-7 days. My “secondary after that is a keg or a bottle carbing up. So it still gets another few weeks before I drink it.
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The kreuzen on top and the layer of trub on the bottom look fine to me. How cold do you plan to lager? I ask because you say you plan to lager as cold as you can get it, which make me wonder if you have a way to control temperature.
I did pitch a good amount, used a starter that had been on a stir plate for about 36hrs. So you think a week is long enough for the initial fermentation? It certainly doesn’t seem like it’s doing much right now. I know primary can slow down to almost a stand still for a few days before it picks back up again, but it’s really seeming pretty dead.
No, I don’t have any temp control. Nature has been my temp control. I’m in the Pacific NW and able to slightly crack a bedroom window to maintain the 52°-54° I have now. I will move to the garage to lager, which I’m estimating will be between 35°-40°... there could be a few days reaching as high as 47°, but it’s as good as I can get right now. Without the ability to really control the temp, I may be investing in a small fridge and temp control unit.
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Nature appears to be your friend, especially if temps stay in the mid 30's. When the temps get past 40 F (4 C) you could do a swamp cooler. I'm not sure how much evaporation you get when temps are that low so you would likely need to supplement it with frozen water bottles.
Hmmm... good idea!
Looks like it ripped through that wort to me mate. Your second pic had a nice remananent krausen ring and your last had a nice yeast and trub sediment layer on the bottom.
I'd do as above moving to warmer location to warm it up and let any yeast left attenuate and clean up wherever compounds are left in the beer.
Then cool it back down for awhile package n lager or carb it up and drink.
Not sure of your packaging method keg or bottle .
Everything looks Great to me don't stress don't everything it. It's beer
I'd do as above moving to warmer location to warm it up and let any yeast left attenuate and clean up wherever compounds are left in the beer.
Then cool it back down for awhile package n lager or carb it up and drink.
Not sure of your packaging method keg or bottle .
Everything looks Great to me don't stress don't everything it. It's beer
Looks like a nice dark lager! What was your starting gravity and what yeast strain was it? (Just curious)
If the ambient was 54 you may have hit 60 during fermentation - that probably helped speed up fermentation. Looks like it is ready to move to an ambient temperature in the 60s.
Be sire to post a pic of the finished product! I love lagers!
Looks like a nice dark lager! What was your starting gravity and what yeast strain was it? (Just curious)
If the ambient was 54 you may have hit 60 during fermentation - that probably helped speed up fermentation. Looks like it is ready to move to an ambient temperature in the 60s.
Be sire to post a pic of the finished product! I love lagers!
I really need to get a refractometer instead of the hydrometer I have. I just don’t like wasting so much deliciousness every time I take a reading. I ended up with a 1.042 after I had already pitched my yeast :/
Do you know anything about the TILT product (digital hydrometer/temp reader)?
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That's on the upper end of most lager yeasts. I ferment mine at 46-48F and the beer hits final attenuation in about 7-8 days with gravities as high as 1.055. At 54F, I would expect it to hit final attenuation at 5-6 days. On top of that it's starting gravity is lower than most, I think it's done. If you want you can just let it set at 54F for a while. If the pitch was decent, most time a rise in temperature above 54-56F isn't really needed. Check the gravity, I'll bet it's @ 1.005-6 or so.
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I have a lager in fermentation for 9 days at 49F and it is still bubbling. Should I raise the temp on it or just let it go? This is my first lager and I'm trying not to screw this up.
A tilt is a great way to monitor fermentation progress, but I find that as an absolute measurement of specific gravity it isn't terribly accurate. The device is very accurate, but any physical impairments (like krausen goo on it) will make it read inaccurately.
I find it fun to watch the fermentation progress with a tilt, a $20 refractometer is great for un-yeasted wort, but my OG and FG readings are always with a hydrometer. (A refractometer does not read accurately in fermented wort, not at all)
Different ways for everyone. For ME I’d raise it before yeast get done to clean up diacetyl. After a week I always raise temp
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Do you then move it off the yeast to lager once you have raised the temp?
I don’t. I never rack beer off until I keg or bottle. Others will do different. It can’t clean up if the yeast isn’t there, is what I’ve read and do
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Lagers will continue to de-gas even after hitting final gravity if they were fermented cold, 46-54F. Raising the temperature doesn’t hurt at all, so if you have doubts raise the temperature. I’ve done so many that I will wait 7-8 days and raise the temperature from 48 to 54 or so and begin spunding, after 2 weeks from pitching I cold crash it. It’s really not that precise, as long as the beer seems to being slowing down in the airlock. That a reasonable indication that the fermentation is coming to the end in most lagers. I like to leave it at fermentation temperatures (diacytel rest included) for 2 weeks before crashing, I could crash at 9-10 days, but to be on the safe side I wait.
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Refractometer is a great brew day tool. I personally use a hydrometer post fermentation, but I am just confirming what I already know having given the yeast all the time it needs, so I only take one sample. I add this sample to a 600ml soda bottle, put a carb cap on it and hit it 30PSI. With a bit of agitation it becomes a fully carbed QC sample a few hours later.
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When I start the lagering process, so I don't get suck back into the brew, I was planning on using one of those beaker sponges that I use when I make starters to stuff in the hole of the big mouth bubbler top (soaked in Star San). Is this a bad idea?
It's sanitary but your getting o2 ingress there from suck back. some use that balloon that captures co2 from fermentation and when cold crashing it's drawn back into fermentor.
