Crazy overkill on German Lager or just a case of OCD?

[Rob S]

Ok so I bought a can of Munich Lager and some other goodies.

So I've been looking way too much on the internet and writing down lagering/maturing techniques that they use and totally bastardised the whole process. I put it down today so here's what I did. Let the flaming begin lol!

Ingredients: -

1 Can Brewcraft 1.5 Munich Lager 297
1 Kit converter - German Lager #60 (Enhancer powder and 15g Hersbrucker hops)
1 Packet malt extra dry light 500g 534
12g Saaz Hops
1 SAF Lager yeast W-34/70

Process : -

Rehydrate yeast in 500mls boiled & cooled water, after 20 mins add 50g malt

Make up the wort to specifications on the tin/pack of German converter: -

Add dry ingredients to hot water, bring to boil, add Hersbrucker hops for last 1 min of boil, steep for 10 mins, strain into container, add lager kit can, stir until dissolved, add to fermenter with cold water, pitch yeast at 23 degrees, take OG etc.

Now for the fun part: -

Put into fridge at 11 degrees.

When fermentation is complete (FG =< 1.008 as per instructions) increase temp to 18 degrees for 3 days (diacytl rest).

Reduce temperature to 11 degrees for 1 week for "secondary conditioning".

Rack into secondary. Add 12g Saaz Hops teabag. Lower temp to 1 degree and leave for 4 weeks

Take 1/4 cup of trub from first fermenter and seal in a zip lock bag and put in the freezer

After four weeks take out the second fermenter and put on bench and bring up to room temperature

If it doesn't start to bubble once reached room temperature, mix in the thawed trub & leave a few hours.

Bottle with 2 priming tablets per longneck and store in a stable room temperature, turning daily for the first week or two.

Store for 3 months at original fermenting temperature (11 degrees celcius) in the bottle turning daily for the first 2 weeks.


That's the process. All up it's going to take 19 weeks and 3 days and a lot of dicking around (assuming 2 weeks to reach FG),.

Overkill? OCD? Or is this the normal process for a lager?

[bullfrog]

If you remove the three paragraphs starting from "Take 1/4 cup of trub..." then it looks good. Not sure where that part of the instructions came from, but they don't make much sense to me.

[Bum]

The thinking is probably about too much yeast floccing out during lagering. I'm with you, of course. Sounds like a wrong'un to me too. Especially the freezing.

[Rob S]

Ok then I'm on the right track. Sort of understand the reasoning for the changes in temperature but it looks overboard.

I'll leave the trub freezing and farm some yeast from the trub and fridge it in case too much yeast flocs out during lagering.

Cheers for the comments.

[warra48]

Holy complications Batman, let's simplify this process.....

OK, I brew AG, and only do about 2 lagers a year, but it's nothing as complex as your process.

Here's what I'd do:

1. Dissolve the kit converter and the dry malt in a few litres of water. Bring to the boil and add all your hops (Hersbrucker and Saaz).
2. Boil for approx 10 minutes.
3. Chill the pot, say in the sink with cold water etc. You may need to do this 2 to 3 times to get it down to ambient temperature.
4. Dump the contents into the fermenter. Do not strain anything, leave everything in it, including the hops.
5. While the boil is happening, warm up the can by standing it in hot water. Be careful opening it, as the contents may be hot and under pressure. Add contents to the fermenter.
6. Top up fermenter with water to desired volume.
7. Stir to dissolve and mix properly.
8. Take sample for OG, or do what I do, sanitise the hydrometer and place into the fermenter. Take reading, and remove hydrometer.
9. Dry yeast should be rehydrated in about 4 times its own weight of water, so, for a 12 gr packet, you need only about 50 mil of water. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water, and leave it for about 20 to 30 minutes. Then stir it till it's a nice creamy consistency, and add to your fermenter. Ideally use two packets for a lager, but if you pitch at 20 to 25 degrees Celsius, you might get away with one.
10. Your batch needs to be aerated. You can do this with step 6 by spraying your water into the fermenter. Alternatively, use an airstone etc.
11. Place in fridge, set at about 10 degrees, and walk away for 3 weeks.
12. You may or may not need to do a diacetyl rest. Let the temperature come up to about 18 degrees for a day or two only.
13. I then rack to a different container to lager my brew. I place it in the fridge, and set it as low as the fridge will go, 2.5 degrees celsius for my fridge, but I use a TempMate to control it. I also take a hydro sample at this time to measure FG.
14. If you want to harvest some of the yeast from your fermenter, do it once you have racked your brew. Have a read on yeast washing if you want to get complicated, ot alternatively, just harvest a jar of the yeast and keep in the bottom of the fridge. Do not freeze it, or you may kill most of it. It is OK to use as is for the first week or two. After that, I'd make a starter to prove it before reuse.
15. Once you've run out of patience with lagering, bottle your brew. No need to turn your bottles. No need to keep it at other than normal ambient temperature.
16. 2 to 3 to 4 weeks later, start to enjoy your brew.

Sounds a little complicated, but it's really all quite straightforward.
Hope it helps.

[Rob S]

It does, thanks. Unfortunately I'm up to step 11 already. Step 12 will be done. Step 13 will be done to 1 degree Celcius. 14 will be done as per a yeast farming blog - using trub, slowly filtering out the yeast and storing in the fridge. 15 will be done after 4 weeks of secondary conditioning at 1 degree, step 16 will be done with pleasure - maybe earlier than the 3 months bottle conditioning depending on my patience.......