Brewing times for different yeasts

Toam · Post by **Toam** » Monday May 28, 2007 9:08 pm

For ale yeasts I should brew at roughly 20 degrees and for Lager yeasts roughly 10...

An ale yeast should take almost 2 weeks to ferment at this temperature...

Now my question is does a Lager yeast take about the same amount of time, or will it take much longer because it is colder?

Do they ferment at the same rate at the same offset from their ideal temperatures, or do they ferment at a certain rate for a certain temperature regardless of the yeast type?

Rysa · Post by **Rysa** » Monday May 28, 2007 11:02 pm

From the little i know i'd say at least 10 to 14 days for a lager even more if you can wait. As the rule says, wait as long as you can then do a FG.
If consistent, bottle.

Rysa · Post by **Rysa** » Monday May 28, 2007 11:10 pm

http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/forum/vi ... php?t=3814

This is pretty good too for a temp guide. (and the rest)

Toam · Post by **Toam** » Monday May 28, 2007 11:21 pm

Yeah I've read that thread, which is what made me wonder about different yeasts...

Rysa · Post by **Rysa** » Monday May 28, 2007 11:27 pm

Short answer, lager takes longer than an ale.
This is my understanding.

If i'm wrong someone else can take over this topic.

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Tuesday May 29, 2007 7:30 am

The fermentation will be about the same for ales and lagers. Lagering means to rest or something like that, so in fact you are aging the beer, but the fermentation for all intents and purposes is complete.

Dogger

FazerPete · Post by **FazerPete** » Tuesday May 29, 2007 9:48 am

It depends on which type of yeast you use but the actual fermentation times are likely to be much lower than the times quoted in the other thread. I've just done a newcastle brown ale with a windsor yeast and it was all over in 4 days. The extra time just allows everything to fall out of suspension and settle on the bottom so that you get a clearer beer.

Pale_Ale · Post by **Pale_Ale** » Tuesday May 29, 2007 10:07 am

Depending on the type I've found lagers can take 14 - 21 days to completely ferment out. I've had a few start very slow and only show a decent krausen after 10-12 days. I would generally leave lagers for 3 weeks in the primary regardless on the basis of 'why not?'.

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Tuesday May 29, 2007 10:09 am

Gets it off the break.

Dogger

Rysa · Post by **Rysa** » Tuesday May 29, 2007 11:52 am

Temperature has to come into i thought.

Ales being cooked at a higher temp would have to finish sooner than a lager done at 10C.

rwh · Post by **rwh** » Tuesday May 29, 2007 11:57 am

Dogger Dan wrote:Lagering means to rest or something like that

Lager means to store.

Longrasser · Post by **Longrasser** » Tuesday May 29, 2007 12:58 pm

From Merriam-Webster:

lager
One entry found for lager.
Main Entry: laÂ·ger
Pronunciation: 'lÃ¤-g&r
Function: noun
Etymology: German Lagerbier beer made for storage, from Lager storehouse + Bier beer
: a beer brewed by slow fermentation and matured under refrigeration

FazerPete · Post by **FazerPete** » Tuesday May 29, 2007 1:13 pm

Rysa wrote:Temperature has to come into i thought.

Ales being cooked at a higher temp would have to finish sooner than a lager done at 10C.

That's not the case at all. They are different strains that ferment at different temperatures but they can both ferment at the same rate at their respective optimum temps.

In general, taking a lager yeast down to 5c is going to have the same impact as taking an ale yeast down to 15c. They are both going to slow to a crawl or stop altogether. Of course the same is true with high temperatures where 25c might be enough to kill a lager yeast whereas 35 can kill an ale yeast.

Rysa · Post by **Rysa** » Tuesday May 29, 2007 1:17 pm

FazerPete wrote:
Rysa wrote:Temperature has to come into i thought.

Ales being cooked at a higher temp would have to finish sooner than a lager done at 10C.
That's not the case at all. They are different strains that ferment at different temperatures but they can both ferment at the same rate at their respective optimum temps.

In general, taking a lager yeast down to 5c is going to have the same impact as taking an ale yeast down to 15c. They are both going to slow to a crawl or stop altogether. Of course the same is true with high temperatures where 25c might be enough to kill a lager yeast whereas 35 can kill an ale yeast.

Cheers, still learning here.

Toam · Post by **Toam** » Tuesday May 29, 2007 1:30 pm

FazerPete wrote: That's not the case at all. They are different strains that ferment at different temperatures but they can both ferment at the same rate at their respective optimum temps.

In general, taking a lager yeast down to 5c is going to have the same impact as taking an ale yeast down to 15c. They are both going to slow to a crawl or stop altogether. Of course the same is true with high temperatures where 25c might be enough to kill a lager yeast whereas 35 can kill an ale yeast.

Excellent, this was exactly what I wanted to know.