Howdy,
I’m brewing this recipe this weekend. It’s my first lager.
The recipe sheet that comes with says, “Move the fermenter to a warm, dark, quiet spot until
fermentation begins.” No other fermentation temperature suggestions, nothing about lagering. Just essentially leave it in the carboy for a month.
(Odd thing: The directions mention this kit comes with “Wyeast 2112” but the default yeast on the ordering page is Saflager s-23. I don’t know what I have but will check later.)
So I’ll research the fermentation temp for primary as soon as I know what kind of yeast I have, but the question I have now is: when do I “lager” the beer?
You’ll want to lager the beer AFTER fermentation is done. The closer to 32* the better.
As far as yeast did it come with the liquid or dry yeast? If its liquid (wyeast 2112) you’ll want to make a starter. If you got the dry (saflager s23) you may consider buying an extra packet and pitching 2.
Thanks Loopie. I forgot to look at what yeast I was provided with.
I guess that, more than anything, I’m ranting against NB’s instruction sheets. From my research, I could have screwed up this recipe pretty badly had I followed their instructions to ferment in a “warm dark place.”
I received a kit from Midwest not long ago and the instructions were much more detailed.
Yeah unfortunately I think most homebrew shops just use the same instructions to keep things similar on their end. I will say that, IIRC, the kit also had the option of the wyeast cali lager yeast which would allow you to ferm up to approx. mid 60’s. That also might be the reason for the poor instructions.
S-23 is a form of steam yeast and can be fermented in the upper 50’s.
