First time doing a Lager

[tommysauder]

Ok so I am VERY new at this but started with all-grain to get experience in making AWESOME beer. My first batch was good with lots of mistakes, and ended up being REALLY bitter.

Second batch has been in primary for a week, going to leave it for another week than cold crash it for a week then bottle.

Now because I'm getting anxious on opening, smelling, tasting all the time I'm going to try and do a Lager! (Keeps me busy). I got a hydrometer this time, going to pickup some LME and another ferment bucket.

After lots of research, I've decided holding off brewing this weekend to get some starters going for my liquid yeast. I'm using WLP800, and am going to make a 2L starter. Once that's done I'm going to split it into another 2L jug and introduce more LME to both. I figure this will take a week or so, therefore the actual brewing process will be next weekend!

I'll be taking lots of pictures, including the making of starters and would like all the input I can get, as I have read that Lagers need to be babied.

Here is the grain bill:

9lbs Bohemian Pilsner Malt
1lb Carafoam
.5lbs Caramunich Malt
WLP800

Going to mash for 60 minutes at 150F with 3.5 gallons, and then sparge with 3 gallons for 10 minutes at 155F. (If that makes sense?).

Once boiling hops will go in:

1/2 oz Perle @ 60 mins
1/2 oz Perle @ 30 mins
1 oz Hallertauer @ 15 mins

I have a wort chiller I made (small but will work). Will attempt to get the wort down to 55F but may be a little hard and take a while...

Then transfer to fermenter, put the starters in and let it ferment at approx 48-52F. I'll post the making of my starters once I pickup some LME and STARSAN.

All criticism good or not is welcomed!

 

[BridgeBrew]

Sounds like you have a good grasp of what you need to do as far as getting the proper amount of yeast and keeping the fermentation temp in the right range. I would strongly suggest taking your time and getting your wort down to 52 degrees before pitching your yeast. It just eliminates the possibilities of creating a bunch of off flavors and by-products if you pitch at a warmer temp.

The other thing is to drop that Carafoam down to around .25 pounds or you will have a MONSTER head that doesnt allow you to get to the beer!! I used a half a pound one time and the head was insane. I would also suggest boiling for 90 minutes with the Pils malt to boil off the DMS. You dont want to risk that aroma and flavor. Other than those little things i think you will have a very good drinking lager for this spring/summer.

 

[StoneHands]

For that grain bill, read the water primer. I think you'll want to use at least some distilled water, some acid malt, and some calcium chloride to get the best beer you can out of that (I'm assuming you don't live in Pilsen). You'll get OK beer with tap water, or bottled water. You'll get great beer with acid malt, calcium chloride, and distilled.

Cold crash and decant your starter(s) before pitching. If you're doing a stepped starter, I would suggest making the 2L starter now, letting it go for a few days, chilling the entire starter for a few days, decanting, and then adding more wort for your second step (I hope this is clear). Crash and decant the second step too.
Your 60 minute mash at 150 is fine, I'm unclear on "sparge with 3 gallons for 10 minutes at 155F". Batch sparge? Volumes look OK, it's the 10 minutes that is unclear. 155 is too low for a true mashout (unnecessary for batch sparging anyway) and probably too short of a time for another rest. If you're batch sparging, drain your first runnings, then dump in your sparge water, stir like mad, vorlauf and drain again.

Aerate it like mad, oxygenate it would be better.

Good luck.

 

[StoneHands]

Agree with BridgeBrew above. Chill to fermentation temps (or even below) before pitching, don't get anxious and pitch while it's still cooling.

Also, that is a lot of carafoam. The last 2 helles' I made, I didn't use any cara malts and get fantastic foam, I think the European pils malts are like this. Were it me, I'd ditch the entire carafoam amount and replace it with more pils if you need the gravity points.

 

[tommysauder]

Ok so I'll use 1/4 lb of carafoam as I do like head on my beer, and have this milled already so I don't feel like tossing the entire amount . Ok so take the time to actually chill down to 52F, I'll start boil at 90 and leave the hops additions at the same times.

So for the starter I just need the 2L jug, so instead of splitting to another 2L jug just decant and add more boiled LME mixture? (Then cooled obviously )

 

[BridgeBrew]

Yep step it up like you posted and you should be golden. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[tommysauder]

Here are some pics of the starter. Pitched at 1:40pm and well see when there is activity. Put a bowl under just incase

 

[tommysauder]

see next

 

[tommysauder]

It starts! Should i swish it around before bed and in the am to keep all the yeast in suspension?

 

[StoneHands]

Definitely agitate it as often as you can.

 

[MikeInMKE]

Yes, agitate it as frequently as you can.

However, I will warn you that when the yeast really get going, there will be so much CO2 dissolved in your starter wort that it'll be just like agitating a beer; you will get far more foam than you expect, so begin your agitations gently. Ask me how I know!

 

[tommysauder]

Went to bed with a decent krausen... woke up to this! Should I just leave it or clean it up. Its going nuts. Good thing I Starsan the foil.

 

[tommysauder]

Lost quite a bit of yeast... as the bowl was sitting out I tossed what was in the bowl and the tin. I had a pre sanitized bottle as shown in the picture just in case. Sanitized the lid, funnel and split it. Is this ok? Hopefully I end up with more yeasties than not. Atleast when I boil the rest of the DME and decant both of these I can split the sugars.

 

[tommysauder]

put both 2L in the fridge to slow down the lager yeast starter so they stop at their multiplying cycle... gonna be harder than I thought. Happily bubbling away in the fridge lol. Ah well, time to pitch more sugar tomorrow and get more little yeasties for my lager brew!

edit: LME not SUGAR

 

[tommysauder]

12 hours in the fridge and the yeast is still going (very slowly mind you). Seems like this lager yeast doesnt mind >40F temperatures :/. Should I just take them out of the fridge and let them FULLY ferment what's in the 2L?

 

[BridgeBrew]

Ya you want to make sure they reproduce and multiply. No need to worry about keeping them cool as you wont be putting that spent beer into your fermentor anyway. So once they are dont in a few day decant off that spent beer and whip up a new starter and begin the process again. Once you've stepped that starter up the second time you should have a nice quantity of healthy yeast ready to get busy!

 

[tommysauder]

Ok. I just read that you don't want them to fully ferment th wort just to go through the multiplying phase. Wlp800 seems to work In extremely cold temperatures. Less than 40F! Took back out of the fridge and will wait it out a couple more days. These guys are still.bubbling after 48 hours. I think I'll be just slightly over my original pitch due to lots of them being thrown out due to the overflow

 

[tommysauder]

Ok so apparently 2L bottles with this yeast, with only 1L in the bottle doesn't do so well... or too well. BOTH bottles are starting to foam out like crazy after stepping up.... hmmm, setting alarm for every hour tonight to give it a stir lol... Then to brewing

 

[tommysauder]

Ok lesson learned. I had to move my starters to the wine cellar to slow them down so I can sleep. Next time get 4 2L bottles ready and put .5L in each. This yeast WLP800 foams like CRAZY when fermenting.

 

[tommysauder]

Heating water to 165.



Home made mash tun

 

[tommysauder]

Boiling this lager smells so good!!

 

[tommysauder]

90 minute boil begins

 

[tommysauder]

Cooling lager. Starter pitched. 2weeks at under 60s. Then high 60s for 3 days then 1 week high 50s. Then cold crash and 2 weed in bottle

 

[tommysauder]

hydro broke checking og @ 1.052. most of glass got stuck on my finger/ outside of primary. I will collect to bottling bottle through a mesh and then again through another mesh to the bottle.

 

[tommysauder]

Ok so now we wait and input is needed. Fermenter is in cold room sitting at 57F (stick on thermometer). And less than 12 hours later a krausen with a lager yeast! I guess starters are under rated!

Should I let it sit in primary for 2 weeks, then bring it up to high 60s for a couple days then back to mid 50s for a week?

 

[tommysauder]

Going to give an update: 8 Days in primary, temperature still between 50-54F, and still has a krausen. I'm not going to bother to check for FG until after I ramp up temp to mid 60s for a couple days (15 days into fermenting). I can say though the smell is fantastic.

 

[tommysauder]

Final update. Lager had an amazing smooth velvet texture and tasted phenomenal ! Until next winter!