Hey folks, been brewing a few years now and decided to take a crack at my first Lager with an Oktoberfest. I haven't been going long enough to tackle all grain yet, so I'm still working with extract kits. Anyway, I just got the kit today from the company I've been using since day 1 but the directions are far more vague than normal and I could use some clarification on a few things. The yeast I'm working with is Wyeast 2633(Octoberfest Lager blend) in a smack pack and it appears to have a optimum temp at 48-55F. First, all my liquid yeast has been the small vials before, never the pack style, and I'm not sure if I need to work with it any differently than the vials. Do I need to adjust liquid or ingredient levels for a basic yeast starter with this style? Second, the recipe has basic guidance to ferment 1-2 weeks on primary then transfer to secondary and lager 2 months at 35-40F. I'm not seeing anything about a temp for the primary or any type of diacetyl rest that I've seen mentioned in many of the other Lager recipes on forum. I'm assuming the primary should be done in the yeast optimum temp range(but you know what they say about assuming) however I'm not really sure how to deal with the transition from primary to secondary to lager and if I need to give it a diacetyl rest or not. So I would really love some insight there.
P.S. It may be overly adventurous but I was also debating adding some oak chips to the secondary for that barrel aged feel. I've done it with success on a high gravity IPA, but I'm not sure what effect it would have on a Lager. Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Adam
P.S. It may be overly adventurous but I was also debating adding some oak chips to the secondary for that barrel aged feel. I've done it with success on a high gravity IPA, but I'm not sure what effect it would have on a Lager. Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Adam