Finally back with a Munich Helles

[Pudge]

Ive been a homebrewer since '08, but haven't brewed since October of '14. That surprise Columbus Day heart attack was the biggest curveball of my life. Two operations, three stents, and several months of getting things back in order have FINALLY led me back to doughing in at 5:30 this morning on a nice little Munich Helles.

11 lbs Pilsner
.5 lb Munich
.125 lb Biscuit
.125 lb Melanoidin

.5 oz Magnum (12.4%) 60 min
Mash 152

Two smack packs Wyeast 2206 (no starter) with Wyeast nutrient. Pitch at 48 and ferment at 50.

[Dawg LB Steve]

Welcome back to brewing!!!

[Inkleg]

Welcome back to brewing!!!

^This^

That Bavarian Lager is a nice choice of yeast.

[BlackDuck]

Yea...welcome back to brewing. And it sounds like you should also get a welcome back to a healthier life. Glad to know that you better.

[Beer-lord]

That's a long time away from brewing but it's easier than getting back on a bike so I'm sure the beer will be great.
If you call a heart attack a curve ball, you are one tough cookie. Happy brewing and best wishes to continued good health.

[Pudge]

Columbus Day has gained new meaning that's for sure. Not sure what I'm going to do this time around, but the one year mark is coming up. I'm thinking a 10+ mile run in the morning just to stick it to heart disease and finish the day with a local craft beer or three. There was a point I didn't think I'd see another year... damn glad I did

Welcome back to brewing!!!

^This^

That Bavarian Lager is a nice choice of yeast.

I tried this strain out a 2-3 years ago just to do something different. Everybody uses W-34/70, Wyeast 2124, and whatever the White Labs equivalent is. It made a nice malty, full bodied beer just like the Wyeast site said. I reused that yeast for 4-5 more lagers that winter and noticed it tended to attenuate more with each generation. That was fine with me since I planned on finishing with a Traditional Bock and a Maibock. Those needed some solid attenuation. The Bock came in around 8.5% and took a first while the Maibock was a tick over 9% and got me a 3rd. I'm gonna do kinda the same thing this winter only minus the competition part.

Oh, first time out of the gates in a long time and lucked out... nailed my OG 1.052

[Beer-lord]

Oh, first time out of the gates in a long time and lucked out... nailed my OG 1.052

Luck had nothing to do with it.....it was skill. Once you know it, you never lose it. Good on ya!

[mashani]

Sounds delicious.

Glad you are back in the saddle!

[Beer Warrior]

I am almost in the same boat, due to marital issues and having an unwanted house guest (brother-in-law) I haven't brewed at my house, which is on the market due to the impending divorce, in at least a year. I have brewed with friends and all, but it is nice to just relax and brew a batch at your own place. Don't think that will happen for a good minute though. I do need to brew a lager for those days when you want a nice clean beer.

[Kealia]

Pudge, haven't "known" you for long since you just arrived here but always glad to hear about somebody overcoming a health issue. Congrats to you!

Beer Warrior, sorry to hear about your troubles.

A toast to you both:

[Pudge]

How about a 48 hr lag time?

That's why your supposed to do nice big old starters for lagers. It'll be fine. I'm confident in my cleaning/sanitizing and I've been down this road before. Nothing starts up quick at 48 degrees. The next few beers will have much larger pitches when I reuse this yeast cake. It'll need the cool temps to keep fermentation activity down and under control.

[MadBrewer]

Glad to see you back at it Pudge. Probably felt great to get a brew session in.

I just heard someone explaining the lag time with lagers, it had to be a BN podcast or something. But anyway, since the wort it colder there's that co2/temperature thing that comes into play. The colder temps hold in more co2 and it takes longer to saturate the wort (beer since yeast is pitched). The co2 takes longer to come out of solution and therefor longer to see any airloc activity.

What is your normal lag time with lagers?

[Pudge]

Fresh pitch like that (no starter), 24 hrs or so. You make a good point, Kenny, about the sort holding more CO2.

Re pitches tend to take off quickly... Sometimes too quickly. I remember Jamil saying some lag time is beneficial but cannot remember exact why.

[mashani]

Even at high pitch rates, you will get 2-3 generations of growth after you pitch (anything more is a significant overpitch). How long each growth phase takes is temperature and yeast strain dependent, so lagers "lagging" a bit more even at high pitch rates makes sense, even if lager yeast doesn't mind the temps. And yeah, cold liquids can take up a lot more CO2, so even when active fermentation starts, it might delay visible signs of CO2 escaping.

[Pudge]

I heard Dan Gordon once say as long as there is any oxygen present you will get yeast growth... to a reasonable point. Once the oxygen depletes, ferementation begins. That is the reason behind stir plates for starters. Paraphrasing here of course.

A well aerated wort should see some significant lag time then, right?