First Lager?

Yeast & Fermentation
1

Well i have a 7cf chest freezer and Johnson A419 temp controller. This is my first lager and was wondering what the best way to ferment. My ground water in Idaho Falls is only 62 right now so cant get to 45 as i would like. So wondering if i could chill to 62 and then put in chest freezer for 24 hrs until temp is 45 then pitch? Also dont quite know the process. Do i let it go at around 50 for a few days and then let it rise to around 55 then lager at 35 for 4 weeks or so. I really dont want to pitch warm but i may have to just because i am nervous about letting the wort sit for 24 hrs before pitching. Any suggestions. This is the brew. It’s Jamils marzen

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Oktoberfest
Brewer: Quattlebaum
Asst Brewer:
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications

Boil Size: 8.06 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.86 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 6.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 6.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.055 SG
Estimated Color: 10.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 26.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 88.0 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:

Amt Name Type # %/IBU
4 lbs 5.8 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 38.5 %
3 lbs 7.8 oz Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 2 30.8 %
2 lbs 9.9 oz Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 3 23.1 %
14.0 oz Caramunich II (Weyermann) (63.0 SRM) Grain 4 7.7 %
1.86 oz Hallertauer [4.30 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 24.0 IBUs
0.35 oz Hallertauer [4.30 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 6 2.7 IBUs
1.0 pkg Bavarian Lager (Wyeast Labs #2206) [124. Yeast 7 -
1 Gal starter

Mash Schedule: (208) Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out, Fly
Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs 5.5 oz

Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 5.01 gal of water at 162.8 F 151.0 F 60 min

Sparge: Fly sparge with 4.60 gal water at 168.0 F
Notes:

Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com

2

What do ya think about this. http://www.brew-wineforum.com/viewtopic … 08&t=59851

3

The link you posted is a common reference on this site. Some good info there.

I have only done a few lagers, but I use an ice bath, a pond pump and a counterflow chiller to cool my wort and when I do lagers, I run it through twice. First time I tried this I got to the high 40’s.

4

If you are really diligent about cold side sanitation, and pitch a healthy amount of yeast, you can leave the wort sitting until it reaches desired pitching temperature. Shoot for something about 3 degrees lower than fermentation temp; if you want to ferment at 55, get wort to 52. Pitch the yeast starter and the beer will warm up as it ferments. Depending on the yeast, you may need a diacetyl rest. The way to tell is to sample the beer after about 75% of fermentation is finished (around the 2 week mark) and see if you detect a buttery flavor. If so, raise temperature up to 65 to finish fermentation and then lager at 35. You should probably gravity test a sample before you lager. Cold fermentation takes a while longer than ale fermentation and may not be finished at 4 weeks. A month lagering is usually sufficient for normal lagers.

Good luck with your first lager!

:cheers: