How to lager

[britton]

Thinking of doing the below recipe from Greg Hughes book but I've never done a larger before. When and how do you carb this up? Before or after the 4 week conditining at 3C? Or does the conditining period actually carb even though it's only 3C?
I'm guessing I put it in the PB straight after fermentation and condition in that?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[BeerCat]

You would carb after the 4 weeks at 3c. There will still be enough yeast but it will take longer if your going to bottle it with sugar. I you want a faster beer i would recommend trying that recipe with MJ's cali lager yeast, does not require extended lagering and can ferment at higher temps. And read up on the brulosophy lager method as that also save time. You normally condition in the fermentor and if you can get the beer colder near zero it will clear faster.

 

[britton]

Cheers beer cat, is it worth moving to a secondary after fermentation for the conditioning period? I have a brew fridge now so near zero is not a problem. I will look up about brulosophy lager method, sounds interesting.

 

[Zephyr259]

The brulosophy method did a good job for my helles 2 months ago. If you go traditional and lager for a month or more I'd transfer to a carboy so it's off the yeast, more for clear beer than risking autolysis.

That books great but his timings are weird, all his brews assume 1 week in primary then extended conditioning where most of us would leave it at the primary temp for 2 weeks then bottle and condition there. I've read that some folks do lager once bottled, it obviously traps any gasses that would dissipate normally but unless you have a heap of sulfur dioxide remaining it shouldn't be too big an issue. Has the advantage that you can bottle condition after primary easily then leave them to chill for a while. My bock got this treatment and it's tasty enough.

 

[BeerCat]

I don't do a secondary, i don't open the fermenter until i add the finings (unless i dry hop). I have left in on the yeast for a month before without issues but i cant often wait that long. With the mj54 i have done 2 weeks, then crash and and add finings and keg. Drinking it in 3 weeks. My wyeast bohemian seems to make cloudy beer so i stopped using it. I like the taste but the starter has been in the fridge for months and its still cloudy. Perhaps i need a new batch.

 

[BeerCat]

I really cant recommend MJ54 enough. After 1 day at -0.5c the beer looked clear but i added finings in any case as i had already prepared them. Brewed 23 days ago. Very clean and allows the malt and hops to come through, using this for hop bombs too. Ferments very hot as well, use 2 packs for a large batch. Will be trying the Bavarian and Bohemian yeasts out next. Hopefully its flocs better than the wyeast but i would expect to leave it crashing for at least a week/10 days.
Once you start making lagers you might find it hard to stop. :)

 

[britton]

Thanks BeerCat will have to try it. What is the idea of the "Largering" period? What does it add to the brew? Is it just for clarity?

 

[Dave 666]

Lager is a brew I real!y want to try, yet the low conditioning temps is the issue as I simply don't have the space as such right now for a brew fridge. Fermentation temp is less of an issue since I'm refining my cool bag (well, insulated sleeping bag anyway) setup so I can get close to 13 degrees now, as the weather cools below that I guess. But as long as I can get into single figures temp wise in the next few weeks then I'm going for a full lager brew. As out of sight (sleeping bag cool bag) out of mind as far as her indoors is concerned. Though she is suspicious why I'm stock piling 1 litre plastic bottles as the moment

 

[DavidDetroit]

Lager is a brew I real!y want to try, yet the low conditioning temps is the issue as I simply don't have the space as such right now for a brew fridge. Fermentation temp is less of an issue since I'm refining my cool bag (well, insulated sleeping bag anyway) setup so I can get close to 13 degrees now, as the weather cools below that I guess. But as long as I can get into single figures temp wise in the next few weeks then I'm going for a full lager brew. As out of sight (sleeping bag cool bag) out of mind as far as her indoors is concerned. Though she is suspicious why I'm stock piling 1 litre plastic bottles as the moment

You could make a lager-style beer without much attention to the temperatures. It would be a good experiment. I am going to do it myself, if I can ever get over my Belgian/Stout craze. Much has been done fermenting lagers at ale temps to very good results. A positive would be when you do get set up, you'll have a firsthand comparison.

 

[GerritT]

I made a Czech Pilsner using "outside" as fermentation environment: the balcony. Bin liner over the vessel: that's it. Worked like a charm, tasted better than most premium pilsners (and I'm not a lager person (anymore)). Gonna do it again, if the weather is cooperative.

 

[DavidDetroit]

I made a Czech Pilsner using "outside" as fermentation environment: the balcony. Bin liner over the vessel: that's it. Worked like a charm, tasted better than most premium pilsners (and I'm not a lager person (anymore)). Gonna do it again, if the weather is cooperative.

What were the outside temps?
edit: I had Kolsch in Germany and it was refreshing. I believe it's not a lager but it is on the lighter side. I made it a while ago and it was very good.

 

[GerritT]

What were the outside temps?
edit: I had Kolsch in Germany and it was refreshing. I believe it's not a lager but it is on the lighter side. I made it a while ago and it was very good.

10 to 15º for several weeks, then it got a few degrees colder, ideal for conditioning. Not much variation in day and night temps either. Not THE PERFECT™ temperatures, but good enough for the yeast to perform as expected. So I'm waiting for the autumn. One quick pilsner outside, then a double ale in the closet. Best of both worlds!

 

[BeerCat]

Thanks BeerCat will have to try it. What is the idea of the "Largering" period? What does it add to the brew? Is it just for clarity?

Yes for clarity and too smooth out the beer.