A question about my lager procedure

[FedoraDave]

Here's where I am so far with this pilsner I've got in the works. I checked the gravity 8 days in. Was around 75% done. So I raised the temp on the JC from 52 to 62. This yeast's Happy Zone is 50-55, so I figured low 60s would be good. The temp raised slowly in the fridge, and it's been in the low 60s for probably 36-40 hours now. Still bubbling slightly in the blow-off bottle.

Now for my question(s).

Should I wait until I reach FG at this temp and then take it down? Or should I just go with a 3-day D-rest and bring it down?

Also, to what temp should I bring it down? I've been a little confused by what I've read. Some say drop it to as close to 32 as possible and walk away for a couple months. I want to dry hop just before bottling, so will this still be possible after what is essentially a Cold Crash? And should I rack to a secondary before dropping the temperature?

In other words, I've got four issues I need help with sequencing. 1- Reaching FG, and at what temperature. 2- Racking to a secondary. 3- Dry hopping. 4- Drastic temperature drop.

Thanks, guys.

[BigPapaG]

Here's where I am so far with this pilsner I've got in the works. I checked the gravity 8 days in. Was around 75% done. So I raised the temp on the JC from 52 to 62. This yeast's Happy Zone is 50-55, so I figured low 60s would be good. The temp raised slowly in the fridge, and it's been in the low 60s for probably 36-40 hours now. Still bubbling slightly in the blow-off bottle.

Now for my question(s).

Should I wait until I reach FG at this temp and then take it down? Or should I just go with a 3-day D-rest and bring it down?

Also, to what temp should I bring it down? I've been a little confused by what I've read. Some say drop it to as close to 32 as possible and walk away for a couple months. I want to dry hop just before bottling, so will this still be possible after what is essentially a Cold Crash? And should I rack to a secondary before dropping the temperature?

In other words, I've got four issues I need help with sequencing. 1- Reaching FG, and at what temperature. 2- Racking to a secondary. 3- Dry hopping. 4- Drastic temperature drop.

Thanks, guys.

Hi Dave,

1) You indicated it was about 75% done before the D-Rest if I am reading this right... Where is the gravity now? If it's at your expected FG, move to cold crash... If not, wait it out at the currnet temp.

2.) As always, racking is more of a personal preference, but if you're gonna rack, might as well do it after dry hopping and before extended lagering, unless you either don't want to do it at all, or want to do it twice (now and after dry hopping).

3.) Dry hop a few days before bottling... New research seems to indicate that dry hopping for less time is as effective, as you have shared with us.

4.) As far as lagering... Cold is your friend... Without going crazy, and certainly without freezing the beer, get it as cold as you can and hold it there for 6 weeks. ( more if it is a big or complex lager ). This can be done after bottling too BTW so if you want to get it bottled and then lager, by all means have at it.




4.)

[FedoraDave]

Thanks. I'll check the gravity this weekend and proceed accordingly.

The thing is, this weekend would only make it two weeks since I brewed it, and although this was a very active fermentation, it just seems like a short time. But FG is FG, isn't it?

I think I'll wait until FG, then rack, dry hop for 24 hours, then cold crash for three days before bottling, after which, I'll put the batch back in the fridge at around 34 degrees or so for a few months.

[BigPapaG]

+1

Bet it'll be great!

[FedoraDave]

I'll keep you updated. This is for a competition, and I want it to be the best I can make it. Although I haven't seen any announcements for Homebrew Alley 8....

[BigPapaG]

That's one of the first ones of the year I think...

Late January maybe?

Probably won't see a web page for it until at least November...

[BigPapaG]

Speaking of lager and lager proceedures, gonna be picking up one of these once they are in production...

http://lagerjacket.com/

Seems like an awesome idea...

I signed up to get email updates...

[FedoraDave]

Homebrew Alley 7 was in early February. In fact, the NYC area was socked with a major blizzard that weekend, I remember, but they soldiered on anyway and actually got the thing done! I don't know when it was announced, but I remember taking a trip to NYC in mid-December to turn in my entry the first weekend submissions opened. I'll just keep my eyes open for the announcement....

I saw the Lager Jacket demonstrated at the Conference in Philly. I didn't pay too much attention to it, because I don't do a whole lot of lagers, and I do have a fridge. But I always reserve the right to change my mind.

[russki]

PapaG hit it on the head - great advice! I will only add that dry-hopping at lagering temperatures does not work all that great; it's too cold to extract hop oils. That's why you rarely (if ever) see dry-hopped lagers. Dave - did you have any flameout hops in your recipe?

As far as Lager Jacket goes - it's a neat device, but at their price point ($400-$500), it's really hard to justify. You can build a walk-in fermentation room for that kind of money.

Dave - good luck with the competition!

[FedoraDave]

Russki, I didn't have any flame-out hops additions, no. And I'm not dead-set on dry hopping, either, but if I do, I'll rack to a secondary after the D-rest, wait a day, and then cold crash.

I'll make that decision when I sample it at FG.

[Kealia]

PapaG hit it on the head - great advice! I will only add that dry-hopping at lagering temperatures does not work all that great; it's too cold to extract hop oils. That's why you rarely (if ever) see dry-hopped lagers.

I would challenge this statement. I would argue that you don't see many dry hopped lagers because it's not 'to style'. There is a new surge of IPLs coming out (India Pale Lagers) that do dry hop so you get both the crispness of a lager and the hoppy aroma of an IPA. It's kind of like when chocolate met peanut butter way back when....

And there is a lot of dry-hoppinng in the actual keg that occurs (just tried my first two recently) and it works very well. It takes a bit longer to get what you want out of the hops, but it does work.

Just a different opinion for you.

[Kealia]

As far as Lager Jacket goes - it's a neat device, but at their price point ($400-$500), it's really hard to justify. You can build a walk-in fermentation room for that kind of money.

Zoinks! Really?!
They tout the energy savings against a chest freezer on their site but make no mention of the initial outlay. For $400 I'm buying something really nice - and bigger!

[BigPapaG]

Yeah, I did't get that they were gonna be that expensive... Somehow I missed that!

Yikes

[FedoraDave]

Hey, it just occurred to me ---

I don't keg; I bottle carb and condition all my beer, so if I cold crash before bottling (which is fine), shouldn't I keep the bottles for two weeks at fermentation temperature so the yeast can do their thing? And THEN drop the temp to the low 30s for the extended conditioning?

[philm00x]

For the pilsner I did, that's exactly what I did. Bottled and primed the beer, then let it sit out for a couple weeks to carbonate, then into the fridge for lagering at 50F and slowly bring it down to 35F over the course of a week for final lagering temp for the rest of its life.