I actually have about 4 gals of Marzen left from the batch I brewed March '16. It’s quite tasty.
Yeah, I brewed mine mid June so it’s been lagering all summer in a keg😋
Still could be done but times a wasting!
I want mine ready for Big 10 football !! Woo hoo!
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Wow, lots of good proven suggestions , thanks!
Seems the wyeast 2633 is out of stock locally. My son will check his local source in Boston tomorrow. I can get it from NB but would have to pay 20 bucks shipping to get it in time. Lots of ocktoberfest batches being brewed I guess.
It’s disgusting if you ask me… 
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Big enough batch, try an ale along side of your lager… You’d be surprised… We’ve got 20 gallons of it going over here, different yeasts, hops and water profiles… We are just curious which the crowd will go to… Sneezles61
Even my wife was incredulous, “when did they brew these?! February?!”
Give us an update on the results
Well my son got the 2633 from his source in Boston. We want to brew next Sunday so I hope to get the yeast from him by Saturday am to build up a starter. Maybe Friday.
This is our first lager ( it’s all grain), any suggestions or things that are different than brewing an ale? I know the primary will be fermenting in the temp chamber at whatever the suggest range is. I hear that the yeast ferments on the bottom(?) so I guess there may not be much activity up top to see?
I have to read about it in the palmers guide this week. Love to brew with my sons…
, and the Kama citra will be carbed and pouring from the new upstairs kegerator by next weekend. Life is good.
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Pitch it cool and keep it cool. Don’t worry about that top vs bottom fermenting nonsense. You should (you better) have a nice krauesen ( my Oktoberfest looked like meringue, which I’ve found is a good sign). What temp do you plan to ferment at? 50* is a nice place for German lagers.
Thanks voodoo, good info. I have not looked at the yeast yet to see the recommended temp range, but 50 sounds good. I can pretty much set it to what’s needed.
When you say pitch it cool, should both the beer and the starter be at 50 when pitched? And as I am thinking about it…should the starter be also made at a cool temp?
I have read warnings about pitching a warm starter in a cool wort…it can stall I guess, and I am sure it’s not good to pitch too warm. I could put my stir plate in the freezer and set to 50 or so if that helps.
You might want to see if you can get another package of yeast. Making a starter on Friday for brew day Saturday is not enough time to build up enough yeast cells for a lager. A good health pitch for a lager is around 500billon cells for 5 gallons. Each pack is around 200billion cells and declines the older the yeast gets from the manufacturers date.
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One thing you must keep in mind with lagers is that you’ll need substantially more yeast, 2-3 times as much. So prepare that starter and get it finished so you can cold crash it, decant, and add the yeast to a larger starter.
Also, you’ll see longer lag due to the pitch temps. These temps also keep the fermentation in check so it won’t be as vigorous. So relax, it will kick off and finish.
Honestly I’ve switched to using 34/70 rather than most liquid Lager strains. The only time being if it’s a speciality Lager yeast (2001/2007 fir their respective styles). By the time you buy the yeast and keep stepping it up you could have bought 2-3 packets of 34/70 and called it a day.
Of course, if I have time and plan ahead I will buy a liquid strain and make a small 2-3gal batch to build the yeast.
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I don’t make starters for any liquid least either. I do what @loopie_beer does make a 2 1/2 or 3 gallon and repitched the yeast. I’d rather make beer than starters like I said before
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When making the starter room temp is fine as you’re propagating yeast not making beer. I try to pitch the yeast reasonably close to fermentation temps, ostensibly to avoid shocking them. ( another one of those brewing gospels that may or may not be based in fact )
No need to put the stir plate in the freezer.
Once you do a lager or three you’ll be a pro.
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First what’s up with all the “words of the day?” See: ostensibly and Here with incredulous . 
Second you’re absolutely correct. Your growing yeast and want them to grow as much as possible, so temps don’t matter. I also agree that once you get the hang of lagers you’ll be a pro and start brewing them more often. At this point I’m at least 50/50 Lager/ales, if not more lagers than ales.
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FWell as they said on the jaws movie, we are going to need a bigger boat…thanks for the help guys. It’s unanimous…I need more cells. I have two more packs coming that will arrive weds. So I will make starters with these two, and depending on when my son shows up with the third, we will either make a small starter or just direct pitch the third. Brew day will be Sunday if all goes well.
Thanks again for the quick guidance, my luck I would have read that part of palmers book too late.
I should have enough cells now !
Looks like there is also some guidelines to follow with temperatures during fermentation ( lowering then raising etc.). I am going to have to lay out my notes and procedures for this batch.
I would like to retire and work at a micro brewery for fun… This stuff is really cool.
Thank you all again!
Now it’s time to crack one of my last few Belgian Tripel brews…I love the taste of that brew. Just the ABV kicks my a$$…
I’m a newbie to lagers also… and having a half gallon of yeast slurry to pitch wasn’t part of my concern… I pitched at 65, when the fermentation started… I just turned down the temp (sorry guys) it all went fine, or so as far as I can tell… It was very drinkable… With that said, I will do some more lagers, tinkering of course… but plan to do most brews with ale… then aging at lagering temps… I don’t have a fancy palate and I would beg to differ that MOST peeps could tell… Sneezles61
After plugging in all our ingredients of the Oktoberfest batch, along with the 3 packs of wyeast 2633 , I printed out the brewsmith brew steps and saw for fermentation they are saying about 14 days total but all at 67 deg F. This does not sound right based on the yeast and the fact this is supposed to be a lager. What do you guys think ?
I was all geared up to be fermenting at around 50 deg. Then transfer to a keg or secondary and lager at 35-38 for a couple of months.
It’s our first lager, so I am not exactly sure what the right procedure should be.
I typically look up the data sheet for the yeast and ferment in that recommended range, and usually below the midpoint.
Thank you
Did you change the beer style from ale to lager in beersmith?
