What is lagering

Maturation is also known as the diacetyl rest. In this stage, the yeast is allowed to clean up after itself, breaking down some of the more common off-flavors of lagers, such as the butterscotch-like diacetyl and the green apple flavor of acetaldehyde. In this phase, the haze-inducing proteins and polyphenols coagulate and fall to the bottom of your fermenter as cold break. This phase also mellows the flavors of the beer.

These three phases can be separated by distinct lines in the fermentation schedule or they can just flow into one another without any major changes to the fermentation temperature. Some brewers, for instance, prefer to raise the temperature of their beer somewhat for the diacetyl rest, while other prefer to maintain a cold temperature throughout the process.

First, make sure you have a good starter. Choose a good lager yeast and make at least a 2 qt. Make sure the starter is aerated well, and pitch in a 5 gallon dose of healthy yeast dry, Wyeast smack pack, or White Labs vial, for instance.

Side note: If you prefer to pitch the yeast cold, which is how the pros do it, you will need a larger starter. A starter as large as 1 gallon is common. Part of the benefit of pitching warm is rapid yeast reproduction up front. If pitching cold, you should also expect a longer lag time before krausen forms.

If you prefer, you can start it two days before, and, after a day, stick it in the fridge to precipitate the yeast to the bottom. Then, you can pour off the top part before pitching the sludge in the bottom of your starter into your wort.

Since this is your first lager, start with a recipe that has a moderate original gravity around 1. Not having a high alcohol content makes the fermentation a bit more forgiving, as the alcohol levels do not become detrimental to the yeast.

If your tap water cannot get the wort this cold, you may have to utilize an ice water bath or a pump to recirculate ice water through your immersion chiller to get the temperature down. By recirculating the cold water rather than the beer, you do not necessarily need a food grade pump. When transferring your wort, make sure to leave as much trub as possible behind. While the effects of trub on fermentation is commonly debated online, most brewers will tell you having an excess of it in a lager fermentation may cause off flavors.

I am sure that no one in a Gulag or Kanz- lager would have turned their nose up at some fresh poultry. Order a cold lager and top it off with a mixed green salad and Pizza Diavolo. Help it all down with one of the many home-brewed beers—the lager and seasonal Christmas beer disappeared quickly at our table. The lager which is a feature now well known of African warfare, is the same thing in principle. It's the same old story, so common—a champagne appetite and a lager beer pocketbook.

General Stevens at once had all the lager thrown into the road, and the wagons sent back for the abandoned rations. Steam beer and lager was five cents a glass and whiskey ten cents.

Haight was the real head-man, but he was too fond of lager -beer to be in trusted with so large a business. If we had more time it would be better, but we hope the large pitch will produce less phenols for lagering to clean up. Bottomline is taste it, if you would drink it as it is a short lager time is all you need. If it's hot or got phenols let it ride, if you have 6months let it chill for it. So it's the same as cold-crashing ales? I've fermented my doppelbock OG 1.

After that I transferred to secondary FG 1. I'm planning on leaving it at this temperatere for weeks. Basically yes, IMO and experience. There's nothing magical about the lager phase to making lagers. Its the cooler fermentation tolerance of the lager yeast, that makes for clean fermentation profiles during fermentation. The rest of it is just cold storage. Those cooler tolerant yeasts might have more activity than an Ale yeast at lager temps, but in the grand scheme of total activity there really is very little yeast activity once you go to lager temps in ale yeast and lager yeast.

Lager the rest and then see if it matters. Your beer is developing the clean crisp flavour profile associated with lagers. Also as already mentioned it allows the beer to drop clear. I might have messed up then, I lowered the temperature to 1 C immediately after the diacetyl rest.

Is there a way to salvage this, perhaps by slighly raising the temperature again? Sign up or log in Sign up using Google. Sign up using Facebook. Sign up using Email and Password. Post as a guest Name. Email Required, but never shown. Featured on Meta. Now live: A fully responsive profile. Related 5. Hot Network Questions. Question feed.