First Lager

[matr]

Well since I now have a fermenting fridge I want to brew a lager

Here's the recipe I have come up with, I'm aiming for something like the JS Sundown Lager

1.50 kg Pale Liquid Extract (15.8 EBC) Extract 37.97 %
1.50 kg Pilsner Liquid Extract (6.9 EBC) Extract 37.97 %
0.50 kg Pilsner (2 Row) UK (2.0 EBC) Grain 12.66 %
0.45 kg Cara-Pils/Dextrine (3.9 EBC) Grain 11.39 %
10.00 gm Nelson Sauvin [11.50 %] (30 min) Hops 14.5 IBU
10.00 gm Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (10 min) Hops 5.1 IBU
10.00 gm Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops -
1 Pkgs SafLager (DCL Yeast #W-34/70) Yeast-Lager

Est Original Gravity: 1.047 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.34 %
Bitterness: 19.6 IBU
20L batch
4L boil

Fermented @ 12C


The Carapils/pilsner malt was recommended by the HBS guy. It's now in the same bag and can't be split.
I will be steeping (and I presume mashing) it at 64 - 67C for 60mins.
I will use this liquor for the boil.

Please let me know your thoughts on this as I have never brewed a lager before.

Cheers, Mat.

[earle]

Hi Mat

My thoughts are this is going to be quite a malty brew between the extract and the grains. Unless you get great attenuation from the yeast I think it might end up a bit heavy bodied compared to what you're aming for. Been a while since I tried JS Sundown but I think it wasn't real heavy on body. The recipe itself looks fine but if I was brewing it I would probably add another longer hop addition to get some more bitterness to balance the malt. Alternatively sub out some malt and sub in something that will lighten the body - e.g. some dex, not something that I commonly do but a lot of the commercials do

[speedie]

Mat make sure that the yeast starter is rehydrated it wouldn’t hurt to use some of the liquid malt to get it kicked off prior to brewing
Most of the time that I have used 34/70 it has a really good attenuation rate so I would not be surprised if your final readings on hydrometer are lower that predicted
A pro brewer mate of mine uses this yeast for his pils which is fermented @ 8 c
And he achieves around 1008 terminal gravity
Either way it sure beats mass swill
Cheers speedie

[Bum]

it wouldn’t hurt to use some of the liquid malt to get it kicked off prior to brewing

Not having a dig here, rather putting forward another perspective, but I'm pretty sure most dried yeast manufacturers suggest that rehydrating dried yeasts in wort does hurt. Something to do with getting the yeast going before the cell walls have properly formed or something? And the sugars then do some sort of damage to the yeast? I must admit that yeast science isn't my strong suit but I do recall reading many times that sugars in rehydrating liquid is not ideal.

[matr]

Thanks for the replies guys. I was a bit worried about the FG as it is a bit higher than style and I'm aiming for a bit less bodied beer.
But it's good to hear about the attenuation of 34/70 so will hopefully have something a bit lower than expected.
I'll also adjust the hop schedule to squeeze a few more IBU out and get it into the "Evenly Balanced" category.

With regards to rehydrating the yeast. Fermentis gives either option of rehydrating or using dry. See below;

Re-hydrate the dry yeast into yeast cream in a stirred vessel prior to pitching. Sprinkle the dry yeast in 10 times its own weight of sterile water or wort at 23C ± 3C. Once the expected weight of dry yeast is reconstituted into cream by this method (this takes about 15 to 30 minutes), maintain a gentle stirring for another 30 minutes. Then pitch the resultant cream into the fermentation vessel.

Alternatively, pitch dry yeast directly in the fermentation vessel providing the temperature of the wort is above 20C. Progressively sprinkle the dry yeast into the wort ensuring the yeast covers all the surface of wort available in order to avoid clumps. Leave for 30 minutes and then mix the wort e.g. using aeration.

I have always pitched dry and never had a problem. This time I may rehydrate though. See how I feel on the day. Will prob do this next weekend when a fermenter becomes free.

Speedie, Do you have anything to support the rehydrate theory?

Cheers, Mat.

[Bum]

Speedie is absolutely right - rehydrating is a good idea. I was just re-stating some clearly recalled, yet poorly backed up, prior readings.

For what it is worth, I've also read that good quality dried yeasts are prepared with dry pitching in mind - the rehydration is more to help with shortening lag times. And under no circumstances would I suggest that shortening lag times is a bad idea.

[speedie]

Rehydration is a good kick start to what the yeast is going to be living in. Bum is correct in his statement about using malt liquid to get things off sorry for not being more specific about protocol
As you have stated rehydrate with water (sterile) once you visibly see active movement in your culture vessel then add a mild solution of prepared wort I would suggest around 1025 OG this will get your yeast into a healthy environment for though fermentation
I feel that the rip the satchel open and sprinkle option has its down side having stated that there is nothing incorrect with it but I am sure your little creatures will be happier the other way.
Manufactures of dehydrated yeast have invested a lot of research hours and money in to there products I buy 500 gram packets of yeast and all of them have instructions for rehydration on the packet
They dehydrate it so it is easy to use with very reliable constant results and minimal wild yeast count
Sorry must sign off now the wallas and boks have just started

[speedie]

matr
it is half time and we are up
back to topic when you have cooled your wort try this
pour it into your fermentation vessel from some height this will promote areation of the boiled wort
yeast requires an aerobic Environment for a rapid start then it goes into an anaerobic state for completion
cheers speedie

[matr]

Thanks speedie. I'll give the rehydration a go.

I fill my fermenter (top up) from my laundry tap so I just blast it on full to aerate the wort. This is when I will add the yeast slurry.

Cheers, Mat

[speedie]

better to put slurry in the bottom of your vessel cecil then top onto it
puts more cells into suspension

[speedie]

if i read it correctly you are going to top up from your tap
this is an excepted practice but i would advise against it as scheme water is full of clorine which is one of beers enermies
you would be better of to preboil the top up water then use it when cooled for your delution
best of luck

[bullfrog]

Municipal water supplies are much more likely to contain chloramine than chlorine, as it is much less volatile. Chloramine is not driven off by boiling, only by treating the water with an appropriate chemical like potassium metabisulfite (campden tablets.) This means that somebody merely boiling their tap water will have minimal effect and they shouldn't have bothered in the first place.

[matr]

if i read it correctly you are going to top up from your tap
this is an excepted practice but i would advise against it as scheme water is full of clorine which is one of beers enermies
you would be better of to preboil the top up water then use it when cooled for your delution
best of luck

Correct speedie. & I have done this for every brew I have done (about 30 now). Boiling is not really an option for me and from what bullfrog says it won't make any difference.
So I'll stick with the tap water for now as I can't pick up any ill effects. Thanks for the advise though.

Besides, I rekon Perth water is pretty good anyway.

Cheers, Mat.

[speedie]

i 3 micron/ carbon filter the water that i use and also let it breathe over night
cheers mat

[Bum]

Airing works for chlorine but not chloramine.

[speedie]

Read that chlorine and ammonia create this chemical
Glad we in the dry west arent subjected to it

[bullfrog]

So you get proven to be talking absolute shit and you start babbling about chlorine gas? Really? Going to pull up the Holocaust to try to add credibility to your feable points? Weak, man. Weak.

[matr]

Ok. So I put this one down tonight. All went good considering it was my first partial.

Only problem was after when I realised I didn't have it in Beersmith as a partial so when I changed it it dropped the IBUs. So I'll probably have a more malty heavier bodied lager.. Meh..

I dropped the Brewhouse efficiency to 60% as I'm not expecting 75% and that brought the IBUs closer to style.

All in all should be ok for a first time.

[rotten]

Hey matr, Go hard or go Home.
Nelson & Amarillo sounds great, lager or not!
Carn Hawks.
Cheers

[matr]

This has been CCing for a couple of weeks in jerry after a 2 week fermentation @ 12C then a couple of days @ 17C to help the yeast clean up (Not sure if this is the right thing to do)

Just waiting for a keg to empty then i'll carb, taste & report back..

Cheers, Mat.