Newbie doing lager, need advice!

[Yjie91]

Hi guys, really hope you all could help me out and advise me as its my first time doing a lager.

I'm brewing a Morgan's Australian Blonde extract with 2 packs of 11.5g SAFLAGER-23 and 2 packs of 500g (2.2lbs I think) of Extra Light Spray Malt.

OG was measured to be 1.065.

21 JAN 18:
I pitched warm at about 20-24 deg.C, but its really a guess, as the strip thermometer on the outside of my fermenting vat was damaged. Temperature of the fridge was them set at 11 to 15 deg.C, with a 4 deg.C differential. The temperature probe was taped to the outside wall of my fermenting vat, so it kind of measures both the temperature of the vat on the inside of the probe and the ambient air on the outside of the vat.

22 JAN 18:
No krausen formed, but I reduced the temperature to 10 to 12 deg.C, with a differential of 2 deg.C. I did this as I was worried that it will create esters, which is not desired in lagers.
A taste test revealed that it was very sweet and malty.
Hydrometer checks revealed that the SG is now 1.045.


23 JAN 18:
The top of the wort now has a thin floating of cream coloured foam. However, I still reduced the temperature to 9 to 11 deg.C, with a differential of 2 deg.C. I did this as I was wanted to push for a clear lager characteristics; clean and crisp with very few esters and other aromas, if you will.
A taste test revealed that it was more bready now. It was also mildly fizzy.
Hydrometer checks revealed that the SG is now 1.035.

24 JAN 18:
The top of the wort now still has a thin floating of cream coloured foam. Temperature is held at 9 to 11 deg.C, with a differential of 2 deg.C.
Nothing much has changed, if any, in flavour, appearance, etc. It is however, quite fizzy now.
Hydrometer checks revealed that the SG is now higher (?!) at 1.037.

Some questions for your advice here:

1) Is everything okay? I am rather anxious about it. Also, given the high OG of 1.065, what do you think the estimated FG would be?

2) Am I currently fermenting too low? The saf-23 package said to ferment at 12-15 deg.C but I am worried about the estery and fruity notes when fermenting at higher temperatures.

3) So you think I have a stuck fermentation now that my SG as not changed (or rather increased)?

4) I was advised to do a diacetyl rest at 21 deg. C. I will probably do it at a temperature range of 20-22 deg.C with a 2 deg.C differential. Is this okay? If it's not, what is your advised temperature?

5) Should I literally set the temperature as such and allow it to jump to the temperature, or should I slowly ramp it up every 12 hours by 2 deg.C till I hit the diacetyl rest temperature?

6) I intend to carbonate the beer in 750ml bottles with 2 carbonation drops in each bottle, then lager it. Will there be any problems if I do that?

7) What should my carbonating temperature be? Should it be at my fermenting temperature at 9-11 deg.C or unchanged at diacetyl temperature at 20-22 deg.C? How long should I carbonate them for?

8) Lastly, what is the recommended temperature for lagering? Is 3-5 deg.C okay for a minimum of 14 days?

I'm so sorry for the ton of information and questions. As you can probably tell, I am rather anxious about it. It would really help with your input here, although I know it might be a pain to answer every one of them.

Thank you so much and once again, so sorry for the long post and for an inconveniences caused.

I look forward to your replies and advice!

Cheers!
Yjie91

 

[JimRausch]

1) Is everything okay? I am rather anxious about it. Also, given the high OG of 1.065, what do you think the estimated FG would be?

You're OK. Stop obsessing (Hah- we all obsess). Lager yeast doesn't form the big layers of krausen that ale yeast does, so it sounds normal to me. And the gradual decrease in SG is also normal. BUT- don't take the SG every day- you're running the risk of contamination and oxidation. And loss of sleep. Leave it alone for a week or so. Your temp is good. With an extract batch and S-23, your FG will probably be somewhere around 1.018-1.020. For me, I do a D-rest when the activity starts to slow down-usually after 1 week. I immediately raise the temp by 8-10 degrees(Fahrenheit) and leave it there for 2-3 days before gradually starting to cool down. I bulk lager, so can't help you much with your bottle lagering plan, but my guess would be do the carbonation at 70ish (F) for 2-3 weeks then chill the bottles at as close to freezing as you can (without actually freezing them) for 3 weeks-3 months. Good luck!

 

[Yjie91]

You're OK. Stop obsessing (Hah- we all obsess). Lager yeast doesn't form the big layers of krausen that ale yeast does, so it sounds normal to me. And the gradual decrease in SG is also normal. BUT- don't take the SG every day- you're running the risk of contamination and oxidation. And loss of sleep. Leave it alone for a week or so. Your temp is good. With an extract batch and S-23, your FG will probably be somewhere around 1.018-1.020. For me, I do a D-rest when the activity starts to slow down-usually after 1 week. I immediately raise the temp by 8-10 degrees(Fahrenheit) and leave it there for 2-3 days before gradually starting to cool down. I bulk lager, so can't help you much with your bottle lagering plan, but my guess would be do the carbonation at 70ish (F) for 2-3 weeks then chill the bottles at as close to freezing as you can (without actually freezing them) for 3 weeks-3 months. Good luck!

Hi Jim! Thanks for the reply! Yeah I do realise my concern for my brews border on obsession once the wort goes into the fermenting vat and fridge. Hahaha. But I will definitely heed your advice to leave it alone till the next week or so. Last thing I would want is an infection. In any case, so sorry for giving the parameters in metric and not in US metrics, I live in Singapore hahaha.

Also, I will be sure to update here as my brew progresses to hopefully a somewhat decent lager.

Thank you so much Jim, and cheers from sunny Singapore!

 

[Yjie91]

Alright so as of the time of this post, it would be the seventh day of my wort fermenting. The SG is now 1.020, and I'm thinking of pushing it down to 1.018 before doing a diacetyl rest.

Thing is, when I taste tested the wort after the gravity readings, it was mostly of 'nothing much in flavour' and the a small slight 'acrid rubber' at the back of the roof of the palate. I'm so worried it might be infected.

Please do let me know your thoughts on this.

Edit: I have decided to do the Narziss method and start the temp up for diacetyl rest as of writing this post.