Lager brewing

[Darren Jeory]

I agree with you entirely, @Skello , I don't know of any bottled beer thats good to drink after a couple of weeks in the bottle, either. As for the trub, that's the hop debris and cold break stuff that comes over from the kettle. Some of it is needed to feed the yeast. When the first flush of fermentation is over- with lager, a couple or more weeks- then it's good to get the beer off all this and into another fermenter. But after that, leave it alone. Don't keep removing the fallen yeast- it's a bottom fermenting yeast so how is it supposed to ferment and / or clean up the beer if you keep removing it? As I said earlier, my lagers stay at least six weeks in the secondary fermenter while an ale might get 5 days to a fortnight max.

I'm just drinking the second bottle of 6 remaining of a batch of Czech lager that I bottled 22nd Feb, 2020. As a Pilsner Urquel clone it's not very close. As a pilsner, it's probably the second best pint I've ever tasted. The best being Urquel!

100% agree with your lager choice...I was over there last year pre-covid and it was a joy to drink something so well made and cared for

 

[Darren Jeory]

Honourable mention to kozel Dark which is delightful and the flavour is the polar opposite of what its appearance suggests.

 

[Skello]

I agree with you entirely, @Skello , I don't know of any bottled beer thats good to drink after a couple of weeks in the bottle, either. As for the trub, that's the hop debris and cold break stuff that comes over from the kettle. Some of it is needed to feed the yeast. When the first flush of fermentation is over- with lager, a couple or more weeks- then it's good to get the beer off all this and into another fermenter. But after that, leave it alone. Don't keep removing the fallen yeast- it's a bottom fermenting yeast so how is it supposed to ferment and / or clean up the beer if you keep removing it? As I said earlier, my lagers stay at least six weeks in the secondary fermenter while an ale might get 5 days to a fortnight max.

I'm just drinking the second bottle of 6 remaining of a batch of Czech lager that I bottled 22nd Feb, 2020. As a Pilsner Urquel clone it's not very close. As a pilsner, it's probably the second best pint I've ever tasted. The best being Urquel!

Have you had the unfiltered urquell? There is a bar we frequent in Neu Köln in Berlin that serves it. They get a delivery once a week directly from the brewery and it is without a doubt one of the best beers I’ve had the pleasure of drinking.

 

[Darren Jeory]

I haven't...I did have the staropramen unfiltered at the brewery in Prague and it is absolute leagues ahead of the staropramen we get over here....my next beer pilgrimage will be to Koln for some kolsch.

FYI I went to Krakow 2 years ago and the craft beer scene there is amazing...so many great brew pubs and craft pubs.

 

[Darren Jeory]

If I buy lager over here I go for urquel first, budvar 2nd then after that probably warsteiner...can't fault a single Czech or German beer imo

 

[Gerryjo]

Thats why I was asking because MJ cali is a top fermenter so in which case removing trub regularly shouldn't be an issue should it?

Remove it once to secondary and either bottle,keg or leave it be as the more you mess with it the more chance of oxidisation will be induced spoiling your efforts.

 

[Darren Jeory]

Remove it once to secondary and either bottle,keg or leave it be as the more you mess with it the more chance of oxidisation will be induced spoiling your efforts.

Well my conical means I can remove trub and then do secondary in it without moving the beer

 

[An Ankoù]

Thats why I was asking because MJ cali is a top fermenter so in which case removing trub regularly shouldn't be an issue should it?

It's not trub, as such, while there's still some protein coagulating and precipitating out, it's mainly dead and dormant yeast mixed with live and active yeast even though it's dropped to the bottom. The active yeast needs more than just mineral nutrients and it gets these from the what's dropped out. True, there is much more than is needed, but you don't need to worry about autolysis especially at lagering temperatures. What do you hope to achieve by constantly removing the bottoms? I think you might be working against that goal.

 

[Darren Jeory]

I'm trying to eliminate off flavours and I figured the trub would be a possible cause. I will be fermenting MJ Cali at room temp which is why I selected it as I believe it is a very forgiving strain

 

[Skello]

I haven't...I did have the staropramen unfiltered at the brewery in Prague and it is absolute leagues ahead of the staropramen we get over here....my next beer pilgrimage will be to Koln for some kolsch.

FYI I went to Krakow 2 years ago and the craft beer scene there is amazing...so many great brew pubs and craft pubs.

Köln is wonderful, I’ve always liked that you have to tell them to stop giving you beer there rather than you having to go and order it.
We were in Krakow a few years ago and I don’t recall any decent beer scene, tbh I wasn’t really looking

 

[Darren Jeory]

Köln is wonderful, I’ve always liked that you have to tell them to stop giving you beer there rather than you having to go and order it.
We were in Krakow a few years ago and I don’t recall any decent beer scene, tbh I wasn’t really looking

Yeah my favourite place is "house of beer" upstairs 16 craft beers on tap and downstairs a further 13...really good place

 

[AXW123]

I want to go there......

 

[AXW123]

Actually I want to go ..... anywhere.

 

[Jimmy90]

Darren jeory, regarding those beers you specified, all of which are lovely. Is it just me that looks for whether a certain beer is brewed in the brewery it's meant to be brewed ie pilsner urquell in Czech etc rather than 'brewed in the UK under licence'. Might just be me but I stick to that idea

 

[Darren Jeory]

Darren jeory, regarding those beers you specified, all of which are lovely. Is it just me that looks for whether a certain beer is brewed in the brewery it's meant to be brewed ie pilsner urquell in Czech etc rather than 'brewed in the UK under licence'. Might just be me but I stick to that idea

100% agree...thats why I like urquel and budvar.

Staropramen in Prague is a cracking beer as are all the other variants that they get over there. Over here its just decent not great but not terrible. They can't do ale over there though...I had a few IPAs and they were pretty poor

 

[Darren Jeory]

Also somewhat ironically...staropramen over here is brewed in Scotland...sainsbury have their "czech" beer and its brewed by staropramen in prague

 

[Jimmy90]

Also somewhat ironically...staropram

Honourable mention to kozel Dark which is delightful and the flavour is the polar opposite of what its appearance suggests.

I tried kozel dark and kozel light? When I travelled through Prague a few years ago. If I remember rightly some locals we were drinking with mixed the light and dark 50/50. It tasted great from what I remember!

 

[Darren Jeory]

Yeah they do and for some reason I never tried it like that