BeerBorg

O.K. I have a quick question. My basement in the winter is sitting RIGHT AT 55 degrees or less. I'm about to do my first Mr.Beer lager (La Vie Boheme) because of that, and I was wondering a few things.

1. Should I ferment the normal 3 weeks or longer in a LBK? (Saflager S-23 dry lager yeast) (my guess? 3 weeks?)

2. Should I condition the bottles at room temps or the same 55 degree basement? (my guess? Same 55 degrees?)

Anyone?

ferment till it is done. Lager yeasts take longer. When you get a couple of points from FG do a D-rest. Bottle and let sit at least 2 months @ ferment temp. True Lagers take longer than ales. Time & Patience are your best friends.

haerbob3 wrote:ferment till it is done. Lager yeasts take longer. When you get a couple of points from FG do a D-rest. Bottle and let sit at least 2 months @ ferment temp. True Lagers take longer than ales. Time & Patience are your best friends.

Thank you very much. I knew this was going to be a bit of a challenge for me but that's why I wanted to do it.

Had to look up Diacetyl Rest. Any opinions on how long to do that? 4-6 days? Or after I take another FG and am sure it's done?

How about my normal cold crash? Would that still be a good idea before I bottle after the D-rest?

Should I pitch the yeast colder than an ale? (cool down the wort first?)

Usually about 3-4 days, but more accurately until the beer has reached FG, plus two days to ensure the yeast have had ample time to clean up diacetyl) is what I do. I don't know whether a cold crash is advisable or not with a lager. I did not do one. After fermentation is done, I primed the beer and bottled it. Conditioned at room temp for two weeks, then into the fermentation fridge to slowly bring the temperature down to about 37*F over the course of a week, and lager for a month (longer if it's a high gravity lager).

Thank you Philm00x. This one is a curve ball for me so I appreciate the info. Trying to read up as much as possible. More to it than I thought.

haerbob3 wrote:K can you keep your wort between 50 - 59 F that is the yeasties happy place?

From Brewferm
LAGER
A sturdy lager yeast, delivering a consistent neutral fermentation with little or no Sulphur components or other undesirable by-products.
Flocculation: high.
Final gravity: low.
Fermentation temperature: 10-15°C.
Dosage: 3-6 g/10 l.



From Norther Brewer
Manufacturer Brewferm
Yeast Format Dry
Yeast Type Lager
Yeast Origin/Influence Germany/Czech Rep.
Min Fermenting Temp 50
Max Fermenting Temp 59

Not without a fridge unfortunately.

I guess I'll put this kit away for awhile, and just keep practicing with ales until I can save enough for a fermentation fridge.

Or... you could buy a kolsch yeast (or other clean ale yeast like Notty) and use the kit with that... IMHO, it's better to use the ingredients while they are fresher...

swenocha wrote:Or... you could buy a kolsch yeast (or other clean ale yeast like Notty) and use the kit with that... IMHO, it's better to use the ingredients while they are fresher...

Oh damn… I never thought of that

a California ale yeast would be nice too