There are discussions currently about the Fall Event being an Oktoberfest this year instead of the typical Harvest Fest. The purpose of this announcement is not to discuss that, there are other places for that and plenty of time to hammer out the details, This announcement is to serve as a notice and a reminder that lagers take a long time to brew and that the Oktoberfest style is more precisely a Marzen, which means March, because they are brewed in March. See where I'm going with this....If you think you would like to be able to serve a Marzen or any Lager in general for our Ocktoberfest start planning on working it in to your brew schedule soon. There's still plenty of time, and if you have to you could turn around a decent low abv one in 2 months or so, but why rush...These things take time. Usually lots of it, and while our lagering space has greatly expanded, it is still a limited resource, so start thinking, start planning, start brewing for Oktoberfest. (however don't neglect your brewing for Cerveza or the Brew-B-Q either...) If you are afraid of lager brewing but would like to give it whirl, now is the chance. If you have questions about lager brewing I would be happy to assist you, also there are a number of really good lagers coming out of the brewhouse lately, there are plenty of folks that are willing to share our lager experience with you to help you get your feet wet with it.
Fri, Feb 19, 2016 - 11:11pm
#1
Start Brewing For Oktoberfest!!!!!!
I've got a larger ready to pull next week from the fridge, and one in the ferm chamber ready to go into the fridge... I feel bad taking up more than one space. So when that one is done at the end of march, I'll make up another batch. Count me in.
i'm interested in learning how to brew lagers, if anyone brews one i'd be interested in tagging along! Let me know, thanks!
I'm interested! I plan on brewing a maibock for Cerveza, but would love to do a marzen for Harvest Fest. I've never made a lager, so am ready to take that on!
It's really just like any other beer, honestly. Just use lager yeast and ferment it at 48-50. It'll take a bit longer (and you'll want to pitch more yeast), but once it's just about done fermenting, I'd move it to the regular ferm room to make sure it attenuates enough. Then after 2-3 days of that, move it to the lagering chamber. That's about it. Use a bucket because they fit in the fermenting chamber easiest.
And really, when it comes down to it, none of that stuff really seems to matter anyway :)
http://brulosophy.com/methods/lager-method/
http://brulosophy.com/2015/06/22/fermentation-temperature-pt-3-lager-yea...
http://brulosophy.com/2015/04/13/lager-fermentation-traditional-yeast-vs...
Also pitch a TON of yeast. I always do three of the dry yeast packets and I can turn around a lager in a month
@Wes, there are a few notable differences when brewing a lager, although it's really not much different at all, my advice is as follows;
plan for a 90 minute boil. my numbers may be off...but a 60 minute boil vaporizes something like 20% of the DMS (cream corn flavor) precursors while a 90 minute boil vaporizes 80%
Boil Hard and skim off hot break. it's my experience that this results in a clearer beer. it's a disputable fact and folks argue about whether or not skim off the hot break with a strainer actually helps clear it, but in my experiences removing those proteins results in clearer beer down the line.
Plan for heavy losses. I like brewing very pale lagers for the challenge of it. To do it successfully I need to plan on very heavy losses at each stage. I leave a little more in the kettle to not suck up trub and get clearer beer in the fermenter. When I rack to secondary (usually a keg) I leave more in primary to ensure I'm only transfering perfectly clear beer. It's frustrating and wasteful if you don't plan for it, but the first time you hold up a crystal clear helles and it is perfectly see through clear it will be worth it.
Dry Yeast. Some folks say time is money, and these days now with a wife and a son I have to agree. I don't have time to take a week and prop up a yeast starter to the proper pitching rates. There are folks around the club that might do it for you for a few bucks, but I prefer dry yeast. Specifically Saflager 34/70 it's a fantastic yeast. I have won a medal using that yeast. It's good for a doppelbock, it's good for a helles, it's good for any type of lager you can imagine...basically the lager version of S05. What you'll need to do is go to Mr Malty.com and fill out the form and it will tell you how many packets you need for the correct pitching rate for your starting Gravity. To me I would rather spend an extra 4-5 dollars on more yeast than have to nurse a starter up and decant etc. etc. I don't even bother rehydrating. After chilling I dunk the packets and my hands in the star san and in they go, whirl it around with the aerater and boom, you're done.
Sanitation: Gotta be clean. Real clean. Really really clean. Since, in the course of lagering your beer will be sitting in vessels for an extended period of time, you need to be 100% sure it is clean and sanitized or it will go bad. Nasties have plenty of time to propagate themselves under long lagering conditions. keep it clean.
Those are my basic lager brewing tips. Not too much different than an ale really, just a little more planning and forethought is all. Also remember, my maxim Time and Cold Cure All. and this goes for ales too...If there is a flaw in your beer, give it 2 things; time and cold and it will more than likely get a lot better. get it really cold too and let it sit for a while...chances are good it will clear up and dissapate any off flavor...not always...but most of the time at least in my lagering experience.
I am hoping to brew a lager again soon within the next month or so, If I get that opportunity I will contact you and we can co-brew a 10 gallon batch and split it. I can't make promises right now but If I can schedule a brew we'll do it. If not go for it yourself. If you have questions message me. Lagers just take a lot of planning. Before my son was born and my brew time disappeared I would plan out my brews by the year because I would lager in my kegerator at home so I could lager a bit longer than what is reasonable in the club facilities, since they take so long if you want beer on tap all the time it takes a lot planning to keep the pipeline full. I would often brew the occasional wheat ale just to bridge the gaps in my supply.
Joe, thanks for all the great info--i like the idea of light clear beers too! The next time you're brewing one, i'd love to hang-out and watch/help, so please let me know! Thanks!
I am planning 3 Marzens using Red X malt, 1 will be a smash using 100% red x. One will be a 50/50 mix of red x and pilsner malt. The final one wil be 60% red x and 20% veinna and 20% pilsner.
Joe, DMS is created when wort is heated and has a half life of very approximately 45 minutes. Therefore, 50% of your DMS is gone after 45 minutses, 75% after 90. With a heavy rolling boil on the Blichmann equipment, 90 minutes should be plenty as long as you don't put a lid on your pot.
The primary concern should really be what happens after you boil. DMS will continue to be formed as a beer chills, so just chill your beer fast and you should be good to go.
Although if you are brewing traditional german styles, a little DMS is actually very historically style appropriate. In my experience, the only time DMS really becomes a problem is if you are using a high percentage of flaked corn adjunct in the recipe.