Lager yeast pitching temp

[Sandimas]

Been a few years since I've brewed a true lager, but the house is still cold so going to try to squeeze one in before it starts to warm up. Will be using Saflager S-23 which has an ideal brewing temp range of 12-15C. My downstairs loo is currently sat at 11C, but I can open the door a bit.

Getting a brew down that cold is going to be a challenge, is it OK to pitch at normal temps (18-20C) and cool the whole thing, or is it better to put the brew in the cold to really cool down and then pitch the yeast?

 

[terrym]

https://www.murphyandson.co.uk/Datasheets/Yeast - Saflager S-23 Yeast.pdf

 

[Sandimas]

Thanks - that's a lot more detail than the datasheet I found when I did a search :hat:

 

[Wouter]

Also don't be fooled by the ambiant temperature. It's irrelevant how cold the room is where the FV is in. During primary fermentation your young beer heats up considerably. And during this fermentation the temperature is the most important.

Still no reason not to do it :).

 

[strange-steve]

I always try to pitch close to fermentation temperature, or even a degree or two colder when a clean fermentation is desired.
I understand your concern though, delaying the yeast pitch for a few hours for cooling can be rather anxiety inducing

 

[BeerCat]

You could leave it outside to get below 10c pitch and let it rise. I have been pitching at 5c recently and really pleased with the results. I am fermenting at 10.5c for about 10 days then raising up to 18c.

 

[MrRook]

The last lager that I did I was only able to get it down to ale temperature with my I C. I pitched the yeast and put the fv into my "cellar" set at lager fermenting temperature. By the next morning the wort was down to lager temperature and had signs of fermentation by noon.

 

[Kevin Falconer]

You could leave it outside to get below 10c pitch and let it rise. I have been pitching at 5c recently and really pleased with the results. I am fermenting at 10.5c for about 10 days then raising up to 18c.

Do you cool the yeast to the same temp as your wort or just pitch at room temp?

 

[BeerCat]

Do you cool the yeast to the same temp as your wort or just pitch at room temp?

No i don't worry about that. I always use a large starter though and decant the wort from the yeast.