Second fermation of a lager beer

[Barra]

I'm brewing a mexican style lager beer.
I have the fermenter in the fridge at 12C.
What would be the best temperature for the second fermentation? Should I store the bottles at the same temperatur after bottleing or should I store them in a warmer place for a week or so, befor storing them in the fridge?
Barra

[Kevnlis]

Depends how long you want secondary to last, and what the yeast strain is.

[rwh]

For a lager, the kosher way to proceed would be to raise the temperature for 18 degrees for 1 day after primary is complete (diacetyl rest), then rack the beer and do a secondary at 0°-4°C for one to three months. Then bottle.

Or you could just not worry about it, bottle it and have a homebrew.

The beer will carbonate faster at a higher temperature, but should carbonate eventually anywhere above 10°C.

[Barra]

Depends how long you want secondary to last, and what the yeast strain is.

I used the following yeast: saflager W-3470
I am wondering in which temperature range I should keep it after bottling.
I can keep it in the fridge at 12 degrees Celsius or lower the other option is without the fridge and the temperature is then 24 degrees Celsius or above (that is our room temperature here in North West Australia.
Which option is better ?
Cheers,
Barra

[Barra]

For a lager, the kosher way to proceed would be to raise the temperature for 18 degrees for 1 day after primary is complete (diacetyl rest), then rack the beer and do a secondary at 0°-4°C for one to three months. Then bottle.

Or you could just not worry about it, bottle it and have a homebrew.

The beer will carbonate faster at a higher temperature, but should carbonate eventually anywhere above 10°C.

I am thinking of bottling it and keeping it for about 4-6 weeks at 12 degrees C. Do you think this will work ?
Cheers,
Barra

[Kevnlis]

Rack to a clean fermentor. Keep it at 4C for ~4 weeks. Then bottle and keep it at 12C for 3-4 months. If that all sounds too much, just bottle it and keep it at room temp for 3-4 weeks and see if it is ready

[Zuma]

Rack to a clean fermentor. Keep it at 4C for ~4 weeks. Then bottle and keep it at 12C for 3-4 months. If that all sounds too much, just bottle it and keep it at room temp for 3-4 weeks and see if it is ready

Do lagers take longer to gas up compared to ale yeasts?

[beerdrinker]

Ive got no activity in the airlock of a lager using a 1.5L starter of wlp830 at 12C been inactive for 48hours dont have a clear lid to check for slight activity is this normal?

[Kevnlis]

Do lagers take longer to gas up compared to ale yeasts?

Depends on the temp and the yeast strain, but commonly yes they do.

Ive got no activity in the airlock of a lager using a 1.5L starter of wlp830 at 12C been inactive for 48hours dont have a clear lid to check for slight activity is this normal?

Did the starter have normal activity? How old was the pitchable vial? How long was the starter going before you pitched it to the wort? What process did you use to make the starter? 48 hours at 12C is not long enough to be sure. Have you checked for air leaks?

[beerdrinker]

Hey Kev, the starter took a while to get going(a coupla days i think) not sure on age of vial? made starter out of 1.5L water a gram of hops and 150 DME boiled for 10 mins then cooled to about 18C for 2days then down to 14C for another few days. Was fully fermented for a few days before i poured off the liquid and pitched. Hope my first AG lager is gonna be primo still

[beerdrinker]

We have bubbles! one every 40sec. checked it 5 times over the last coupla hours thats a 50 hour lag,is this long enough to be detrimental to my lager? cheers!

[rwh]

Lag times for lagers down in the 12 degree range can be quite extended. I fix it by putting the lager in the fridge, shutting the door and coming back in five days.

[beerdrinker]

sweet im used to ales at 18C going beserk

[Trough Lolly]

TL's first rule of making lagers -> patience....


Cheers,
TL

[gregb]

TL's first rule of making lagers -> patience....


Cheers,
TL

Guess why Greg likes Ales...

[scanman]

TL's first rule of making lagers -> patience....


Cheers,
TL

Certainly agree with that statement. HBers at work can't believe I take two months to make a lager. But you can bet mine comes out better then theirs any day. Lagering is great if you ask me. Seem non home brewers appreciate a nice clean tasting HB beer, even thouse tainted by the bad HB image after having some clowns beer in the past who did not put the effort in and produced a very yeasty tasting drop.
I think thats what puts many a beer drinker off when they try a HB. Its either made good or bad. Theres no in between if you ask me.
Luckily on herethe majority make decent brews. Thats why I come here!

[Trough Lolly]

I think there are two reasons why brewers tend to avoid lagers and go for ales and the like...

1. They don't have or can't afford the right gear and equipment to consistently make a good lager, and

2. Many brewers are not sure of how to accurately put a lager recipe together.

TL's second rule of making lagers -> temperature control....

There are $hitloads of lager recipes out there on the net so you can deal with point 2 if you're prepared to do the research.

The beauty of lager yeast is that you don't have the fruity esters present, as long as you can manage the temperature at which your lager yeast ferments the lager wort. And temperature control is one thing that many brewers don't have. I've had a a fridge controller and it does the job - but my problem is that I only have one fridge to store my yeast, serve my beer out of and ferment my lagers in....until I waited for winter to kick in here in Canberra and yep, I had perfect lager conditions (10C every day in the garage!!).

I'm fortunate enough to be part of a brewclub that has a number of Australian Champion brewers and when I ask each of them what makes a good lager beer, their answers are basically the same - fresh ingredients and temperature control. They don't have fancy conical fermenters or strange rituals when they make their lagers - but they do insist on quality ingredients and a temperature controlled fermentation process. And trust me, when you sample their lagers, you can't disagree with their methods!!

Apologies for the rant, I've had a few robust porters tonight!!

Cheers,
TL

[beerdrinker]

Have krausen but still minimal airlock activity(bubble every 40sec) maybe my fermenter isnt sealed properly anymore? i want to brew german quality lager have heard long lag times affect the brew. next time im gonna do a 2L starter then step it up to a 4L one

[lethaldog]

TL's first rule of making lagers -> patience....


Cheers,
TL

Guess why Greg likes Ales...

Ahh lack of patience would be a pretty solid guess

[Trough Lolly]

Yeah grain to brain in 7 days or less is a powerful argument!