I picked up a Bock kit from our local store and brewed yesterday. All went well but I did miss my OG target. I measured it at 1.040 when the goal was 1.046. I pitched the Wyeast Bavarian Lager 2206 at 66 degrees at 6:00 pm Sunday as directed by the guy I bought the kit from. I was expecting a lot of activity Monday morning but nothing. Monday at 1:00, I finally got some fermentation activity and more so tonight.
My concern or question is, the guy I bout the kit from says I’m good with 66 degrees for 2-3 weeks, bottle/keg and drink. Everything I read online is to ferment like a lager at about 48 degrees. Am I ok at 66 degrees? Do I need to get it down to 48 degrees? Will the Bock still turn out good if I keep it at 66 degrees? I really don’t have a good way to get the temp down to 48 degrees but can try if I need to.
66 is higher then I ferment most of my ales. 2206 is a good yeast, but it will produce some off-flavors if fermented at ale temperatures. Cool it down a much as you can.
By the way, are you aware that lager yeasts need twice as much to pitch as ale yeasts? Check out mrmalty.com for a calculator for how big a starter you should use. For a simple starter to use on a Bock, I’d guess around 5 liters.
You need to cool it down at least into the low 50s as soon as possible. Otherwise there’s no telling how this beer will taste. It probably will not taste like a lager.
I make a steam style beer with that yeast fermented in the low 60’s (usually 60, in fact). Turns out great, but it has a lot of specialty grains in it, and Northern Brewer hops to about 70 IBU, so there is plenty to obscure the esters/phenols it could be kicking off. Its a pretty clean beer at that temp, but 66 (I’m assuming you mean beer temp, not ambient temp) is considerably warmer, so its tough to say what you will wind up with.
Will your beer be a proper bock? Probably not. Will you have a drinkable beer? Probably.
It is a bit of a slow starter as well, so not to worry on light airlock activity.
My problem if he cools it down now is that the yeast may poop out sooner and potentially leave him with sweeter beer or diacetyl. I would recommend finishing the ferment up as-is and not buying from this dude again (or, at least, not listening to his advice).
[quote=“Pietro”]I make a steam style beer with that yeast fermented in the low 60’s (usually 60, in fact). Turns out great, but it has a lot of specialty grains in it, and Northern Brewer hops to about 70 IBU, so there is plenty to obscure the esters/phenols it could be kicking off. Its a pretty clean beer at that temp, but 66 (I’m assuming you mean beer temp, not ambient temp) is considerably warmer, so its tough to say what you will wind up with.
Will your beer be a proper bock? Probably not. Will you have a drinkable beer? Probably.
It is a bit of a slow starter as well, so not to worry on light airlock activity.
My problem if he cools it down now is that the yeast may poop out sooner and potentially leave him with sweeter beer or diacetyl. I would recommend finishing the ferment up as-is and not buying from this dude again (or, at least, not listening to his advice).[/quote]
A couple years ago I made a CaliCommon with this yeast as well, and yes fermented at 60F. I was in fact a bit disappointed that it stayed as clean as it did, though the hop flavor from the Northern Brewers was pretty pronounced - even though I only bittered to about 45 IBUs - and so it could have been masked.
I’m sure he can get away with a slow chilling (over a day or so) to below 60, then raise the temperature again as it starts to slow down or about 3/4 the way to FG.
I recommend you look for another brew supply store. The guy gave bad advice, or at least incomplete advice.
You would do him a favor by suggesting he start following this forum.
Retail is a tough way to make a living (been there, done that, bought the tee shirt, lost the tee shirt) but it doesn’t sound like he understands beer brewing beyond a very basic level. As a retailer, most of his customers are going to assume he knows his products. If he steered you wrong on the amount of yeast and pitching temp, he’ll probably steer your wrong on other things.
Meanwhile, you’re making beer and learning how to make it better next time!
