Brulosophy Lager Method

[BeerCat]

I noticed lots of people talking about Lager on here so thought this might be of interest. Has anyone tried this method?
I am going to give it a go soon as all my Lagers so far have been rank and i really wanna brew something i like.
The instructions seem clear enough to me apart from one thing. When they say you need to raise the temp at 50% attenuation. So if i had a beer at OG 1050 expected to finish at FG 1008 i presume 50% attenuation would be at 1029? or is it 50% of 1050 making that 1025? Could be a lot of difference if you made a strong beer.
Also is there a non animal alternative for fining? Would a filter be easier? Until i get my kegs set up i am still bottling(and i hate it) so has to bottle condition for now.

http://brulosophy.com/methods/lager-method/

 

[Ajhutch]

I read this the other day funnily enough. I don't have a brew fridge but was trying to figure out if could use the cold weather to my advantage to try and follow a lager regime and make a Marzen in January/February. I ultimately concluded I couldn't because the periodic temperature increments, but will hopefully be investing in bigger shed and a fridge this year so bookmarked the page for another time.

I decided instead to make an altbier to serve up around Oktoberfest time.

 

[MyQul]

He only uses gelatine to speed up the clearing process. You've got a brew fridge some some cold crashing/lagering will do the job just as well but a bit slower.

There's something called polyclar I'm not sure if it's the equivalent of gelatine (but made out of plastic) or only for chill haze
http://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=438

 

[Ajhutch]

Agreed, the particular focus of this method seems to be on doing it more quickly so no need to worry about gelatine and just use time instead. I think after a bit of searching that polyclar does perform the same function as gelatin though.

 

[strange-steve]

I noticed lots of people talking about Lager on here so thought this might be of interest. Has anyone tried this method?
I am going to give it a go soon as all my Lagers so far have been rank and i really wanna brew something i like.
The instructions seem clear enough to me apart from one thing. When they say you need to raise the temp at 50% attenuation. So if i had a beer at OG 1050 expected to finish at FG 1008 i presume 50% attenuation would be at 1029? or is it 50% of 1050 making that 1025? Could be a lot of difference if you made a strong beer.
Also is there a non animal alternative for fining? Would a filter be easier? Until i get my kegs set up i am still bottling(and i hate it) so has to bottle condition for now.

http://brulosophy.com/methods/lager-method/

I made a kolsch using this method and it turned out well, nice and clear after only 3 weeks (though I did use gelatin).
I used 50% of apparent attenuation rather 50% of the expected attenuation for the ramp up period, ie. 1.025 in your example.

 

[Pheqit]

Just read through the comments and found your question had been asked (see below). Not the answer I was expecting though.

Glenn November 29, 2016 at 1:36 am
Just to verify that I have not misunderstood. 50% refers to the apparent attenuation, so I will start to ramp up when my 1.062 wort reaches 1.031?

Reply

Marshall Schott
November 29, 2016 at 5:31 am
That is what I meant when I wrote this, indeed.

Reply

 

[BeerCat]

Down from 1048 to 1020 in 5days. Ramped up to 18c and realised my heat mat is faulty so had to bring indoors. Wort tasted really nice so i am hopeful for this. I dont mind trying gelatin next.

 

[cheapbrew]

I don't think 50% attenuation is set in stone, as long as the primary fermentation has passed then you can increase the temp for the diacetyl rest for a few days, before cold crashin to clear.
I started doing my diacetyl rest on saturday after 2 weeks fermenting, its been between 7 and 12 degrees in my conservatory.....perfect!. SG's on both brews were below 1020 (from 1050 OG's) so they were both well past 50% attenuation

If folks want to try brewing a lagar and haven't got fermentation temp control then best get one on soon before we lose the advantage of the colder weather, I'll probably get another couple of batches on at the weekend to reuse the yeast from these ones.

 

[BeerCat]

Just finished the diacetyl rest with my black Lager and its tasting good. Quite roasty with a subtle chocolate aftertaste. Cant wait to try this. Going to crash tonight and add gelatin as soon as it arrives. Would like to reuse the yeast for a lighter beer but wondering if its going to affect the taste very much?

 

[BeerCat]

I ditched the yeast as had hops mixed in and was dark brown. Sample tasted really good, no diacetyl and slight roastiness with a chocolate finish. Its in the fridge crashing now. Doing a Pilsner tomorrow same method but using the crossmyloof yeast. They have not tested it below 17c so throwing 2 packs in there and see what happens.

 

[BeerCat]

By accident i forgot to reset my STC and checked my Lager this morning as was at 16.5c! Set it back to 12c but wondering if i have screwed this up? So annoyed with myself, imagine if i had a brewery. Wort tasted fantastic as well.

 

[Dutto]

............ was dark brown. Sample tasted really good, no diacetyl and slight roastiness with a chocolate finish. ......

That sounds exactly like what my generation call "Mild Ale"! :thumb:

http://www.camra.org.uk/mild


The article itself left me cold after ...

I simply wondered, “if they can do it, why can’t we?”​

... because I've spent a good deal of my life trying NOT to make beers (especially lagers) that taste like those sold in pubs.

Another great quote from the article is ...

"The point I’m trying to make here is that the long-term
fermentation and aging appears to be mostly a function
of the inability to control environmental temperature."​

The key words (for me) are "appears" and "mostly". What if neither of them are the real reasons? :whistle:

Why someone who brews for non-commercial purposes is so hell-bent on rushing things I will never understand. Sorry!

 

[chuffer]

Do people rack to a secondary FV (leaving the trub) before they do a diacetyl rest? The advice in the brulosophy link doesn't say to but I'm sure ive read somewhere (maybe on here?) that you should?

Edit, actually scratch that, looks like you should do it after you've raised temp and before you start decreasing temp again, must have read it here
http://www.homebrewing.org/Lagering--Chapter-2-How-to-Lager_ep_57-1.html

 

[Thorbz]

I've made a few lagers using this method, and it works great. It tends to get misrepresented as a 'hack', when in reality it's just sensible use of temperature control and a good understanding of how yeast works (neither of which the brewers who lagered in caves would have had). The lagers I've made could have easily passed for the unfiltered, unpasteurised lagers that you get served in Prague, which are a million miles away from standard British pub rubbish.

 

[Dutto]

.......... and a good understanding of how yeast works (neither of which the brewers who lagered in caves would have had). ..............

Oh the arrogance of youth!

Why would you think that a person who spent a lifetime brewing beer all year round wouldn't "understand" how yeast works?

They may not have had the scientific knowledge that we have today, but they knew what did and didn't work!

My best example is my own Gran who probably didn't understand how yeast worked but managed to make some tremendous Elderberry Wine year after year!

Check this out if you are in a hurry! :thumb:

http://byo.com/issues/item/1397-speed-brewing

PS

My Gran's method isn't something I would try myself but for anyone who fancies a punt ...

Gather and squeeze the juice out of sufficient ripe elderberries to fill a large pancheon. (About a gallon.)

Spread a thin layer of bread yeast on a slice of toast. (The yeast used to be tup

​

pence an ounce from the local shop but might cost a bit more now that we are metric.) :whistle:

Float the slice of yeast covered toast on the elderberry juice and cover the pancheon with a muslin cloth tied in place with a bit of string.

Keep the pancheon somewhere cool and dark for about six weeks to let it ferment.

When fermentation is complete, bottle the wine in any old pop bottle you can lay your hands on. (Rinse them out first.)

Put the bottles somewhere cool and dark for at least a year then enjoy! :thumb:

God only knows why or how, but my Gran never once had a brew
go "off" either during fermentation or when it was laid down!
​

 

[BeerCat]

I also read on their site that it didn't seem to make much difference if you ferment hotter. Has anyone else tried this? I have made some ok lagers so far and its crystal clear so this method works. I could get it down a lot quicker if i wasn't so lazy.

 

[Sadfield]

I've made a few lagers using this method, and it works great. It tends to get misrepresented as a 'hack', when in reality it's just sensible use of temperature control and a good understanding of how yeast works (neither of which the brewers who lagered in caves would have had). The lagers I've made could have easily passed for the unfiltered, unpasteurised lagers that you get served in Prague, which are a million miles away from standard British pub rubbish.

Seconded. This works to good effect.

Can't say I took too much notice of the 50% attenuation thing. Looking back at my notes, I guestimated 5 days from pitching would be about right and then ramped the temp up.

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

 

[MyQul]

I also read on their site that it didn't seem to make much difference if you ferment hotter. Has anyone else tried this? I have made some ok lagers so far and its crystal clear so this method works. I could get it down a lot quicker if i wasn't so lazy.

I plan on trying out fermenting W-34/70 at 19C similar to the brulosophy experiment he did. When I'll get around to doing this is anyones guess as there's other yeasts/things I want to do/try first

 

[BeerCat]

I plan on trying out fermenting W-34/70 at 19C similar to the brulosophy experiment he did. When I'll get around to doing this is anyones guess as there's other yeasts/things I want to do/try first

Only tried that once with my first batch with no temp control. Was great after a tear. If they say it works i am sure it does so will try the WLP830 at 16c next time. Just drinking a Lager i made 2 months ago straight from the airing cupboard and an hour in the freezer and its excellent. Best i have made so far. Well worth trying that yeast.