Hey Guys
For my next batch ive planned to do an Aussie Lager. Reasoning behind this, is I really want to push my skills and knowledge further, and I reckon this style is one to do it on as there is nothing to hide mistakes behind.
I've got the recipe nailed down, however I'm a little unsure on fermentation as ive never done a lager before. After the do's and dont's and any advice you can give me. Yeast i'll be using is S-189...have chosen this as it sounds like it will give me the clean finish ill be looking for.
Thanks
Post #2 made 10 years ago
Nothing wrong with an Aussie Lager pist as long as it is not full of chemicals. Like your reasoning above and if you make it well, there is a lot of subtlety to appreciate in what others readily would call swill. I brewed an Aussie Lager, a kolsch and a blonde ale late last year. Bugger me though if they didn't taste very similar (five of us tried them as well). I reckon on a triangular tasting, none of us would have been able to detect the kolsch (fermented low) from the Aussie Lager.
As for fermentation, if you are doing a lager, say if the ideal temp is 10 C, I pitch at 8 C maximum and keep it below ten for the first week. After that I let it wander as high as it wants to (within reason - say 18 C) and then gradually bring it down so at the end of the third week it is at zero degrees (freezing point of water). I'll leave it there for another week.
I usually get silvers on my lagers but last year I don't think I got anything on the kolsch or Aussie Lager but I think (and a few others thought) they were great. They were really clean and crisp. To me the Aussie Lager was also interesting whilst the kolsch lacked something in 'its guts'.
I like the above fermentation schedule because it does everything and is fairly lazy if you have temp controlled fridge. I am tempted though to use a secondary a few days after high krausen on my next brews. I used to do it years ago and there's something in my beers that I can taste that most others can't that I don't like and I think it has something to do with leaving everything in the primary for four weeks.
PM me your recipe of you want pist. I think I used 34/70 from memory but another part of me is saying "Danish Lager Yeast" but it was a dry yeast for sure. (Why doe my BIABabacus say US-05? Must have forgotten to type over that
)
PP
As for fermentation, if you are doing a lager, say if the ideal temp is 10 C, I pitch at 8 C maximum and keep it below ten for the first week. After that I let it wander as high as it wants to (within reason - say 18 C) and then gradually bring it down so at the end of the third week it is at zero degrees (freezing point of water). I'll leave it there for another week.
I usually get silvers on my lagers but last year I don't think I got anything on the kolsch or Aussie Lager but I think (and a few others thought) they were great. They were really clean and crisp. To me the Aussie Lager was also interesting whilst the kolsch lacked something in 'its guts'.
I like the above fermentation schedule because it does everything and is fairly lazy if you have temp controlled fridge. I am tempted though to use a secondary a few days after high krausen on my next brews. I used to do it years ago and there's something in my beers that I can taste that most others can't that I don't like and I think it has something to do with leaving everything in the primary for four weeks.
PM me your recipe of you want pist. I think I used 34/70 from memory but another part of me is saying "Danish Lager Yeast" but it was a dry yeast for sure. (Why doe my BIABabacus say US-05? Must have forgotten to type over that
) PP
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Post #3 made 10 years ago
Pist,
I bow to PPs greater knowledge with respect to the fermentation schedule, but I will add,
Sufficient yeast is most important, my calculations using info fom manufacturer's websites indicate that 1 packet is not enough, even liquid. Also I have found oxygenation key to healthy yeast, and hence, good beer.
My two cents
Lemon
I bow to PPs greater knowledge with respect to the fermentation schedule, but I will add,
Sufficient yeast is most important, my calculations using info fom manufacturer's websites indicate that 1 packet is not enough, even liquid. Also I have found oxygenation key to healthy yeast, and hence, good beer.
My two cents
Lemon
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Post #4 made 10 years ago
No bowing to anyone please Lemon 
. I'd love to hear yours and other's fermentation schedules.
And, upur point in the amount of yeast to pith is correct. When I brew lagers, I brew two at a time and pitch 1.5 dry packets into each batch of 22 litres Volume into Fermentor (VIF). You could go more though. Mind you, this topic is worth a read.
I think but can't remember for sure, that within that thread or one of its links is something that links to an experiment that showed how much variation in live cells you can get from a packet of dried yeast depending on how you treat it.
PP
. I'd love to hear yours and other's fermentation schedules.And, upur point in the amount of yeast to pith is correct. When I brew lagers, I brew two at a time and pitch 1.5 dry packets into each batch of 22 litres Volume into Fermentor (VIF). You could go more though. Mind you, this topic is worth a read.
I think but can't remember for sure, that within that thread or one of its links is something that links to an experiment that showed how much variation in live cells you can get from a packet of dried yeast depending on how you treat it.
PP
Last edited by PistolPatch on 24 Mar 2014, 15:58, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #6 made 10 years ago
Well I finally got around to putting this one down yesterday.
All in all it was a successful brew day, the only drama I hit was dropping the hydrometer. No biggie...I just don't know how I went efficiency wise, though doesn't matter, I've made wort...and its on its way to being ready to be fermented.
On the yeast, I took your advice on board and made sure they sent me 2 packets...I ended up going with Saflager S-189 for this one.
This is the recipe I put down. Its quite traditional to the style with the use of white cane sugar for a portion of the fermentables:
Aussie Lager (Australian Lager)
Original Gravity (OG): 1.052 (°P): 12.9
Final Gravity (FG): 1.012 (°P): 3.1
Alcohol (ABV): 5.28 %
Colour (SRM): 3.7 (EBC): 7.3
Bitterness (IBU): 22.5 (Average - No Chill Adjusted)
5.149 KG Barrett Burston Pale Malt
0.300 KG White Sugar
21.79 g Pride of Ringwood (8.3% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
Whirlfloc Tablet @ 10 Minutes (Boil)
Single step Infusion at 66°C for 60 Minutes. Boil for 90 Minutes
Fermented at 10°C with Saflager S-189
Recipe Generated with BrewMate
The cube is now in the brew fridge cooling to pitching temp, should be ready by late this afternoon
All in all it was a successful brew day, the only drama I hit was dropping the hydrometer. No biggie...I just don't know how I went efficiency wise, though doesn't matter, I've made wort...and its on its way to being ready to be fermented.
On the yeast, I took your advice on board and made sure they sent me 2 packets...I ended up going with Saflager S-189 for this one.
This is the recipe I put down. Its quite traditional to the style with the use of white cane sugar for a portion of the fermentables:
Aussie Lager (Australian Lager)
Original Gravity (OG): 1.052 (°P): 12.9
Final Gravity (FG): 1.012 (°P): 3.1
Alcohol (ABV): 5.28 %
Colour (SRM): 3.7 (EBC): 7.3
Bitterness (IBU): 22.5 (Average - No Chill Adjusted)
5.149 KG Barrett Burston Pale Malt
0.300 KG White Sugar
21.79 g Pride of Ringwood (8.3% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
Whirlfloc Tablet @ 10 Minutes (Boil)
Single step Infusion at 66°C for 60 Minutes. Boil for 90 Minutes
Fermented at 10°C with Saflager S-189
Recipe Generated with BrewMate
The cube is now in the brew fridge cooling to pitching temp, should be ready by late this afternoon
Last edited by pist on 04 Apr 2014, 09:57, edited 1 time in total.
Post #7 made 10 years ago
Good on you pist 
. Nice to hear all went pretty smoothly 
. Will look forward to seeing a pic and hearing what you think in a few weeks.
. Nice to hear all went pretty smoothly . Will look forward to seeing a pic and hearing what you think in a few weeks.If you have found the above or anything else of value on BIABrewer.info, consider supporting us by getting some BIPs!
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Post #8 made 10 years ago
Well the time has come to taste it.
Overall its not bad...got some work to do to improve on it butots a start.
Firstly...im extremely impressed with the yeast and the way fermentation went. Its clean and crisp and cant taste any off flavours that relate to fermentation by products. Ill be using this yeast again on my next attempt. I followed your fermentation schedule pp and i think its a winner.
Bitterness - i think this could do with a few more ibu in my opinion. It doesnt seem bitter enough when compared to other aussie lagers. Could be my grain bill thats out of whack...but as a starting point i might trial a few more ibu first.
Theres a slight malty sweetness to it that shouldnt be there. The malt needs to take more of a back seat...and be a bit more dry. May consider cutting the malt back and increasing the sugar to achieve this if the bitterness doesnt bring the balance in check.
Theres also some haze present. Im fairly certain its due to carrying some trub over to the cube from the kettle. I need to make up a new dip tube or use a syphon to stop this happening. The domed bottom on the keggle makes it difficult to get a nice trub cone bang in the middle...i can see chunks of trub going down the transfer hose when i first crack the tap.
The alcohol is also too high with the recipe i used. I was aiming to make it sessionable. A few schooners gives ya a kick start on the way to getting a good glow up lol
. Some improvement also needed in this area.
All in all...a good start i reckon. Ive got a base where i know roughly where i went wrong to work from. Hopefully soon ill have it mastered.
Cheers all for the help
Pist
Overall its not bad...got some work to do to improve on it butots a start.
Firstly...im extremely impressed with the yeast and the way fermentation went. Its clean and crisp and cant taste any off flavours that relate to fermentation by products. Ill be using this yeast again on my next attempt. I followed your fermentation schedule pp and i think its a winner.
Bitterness - i think this could do with a few more ibu in my opinion. It doesnt seem bitter enough when compared to other aussie lagers. Could be my grain bill thats out of whack...but as a starting point i might trial a few more ibu first.
Theres a slight malty sweetness to it that shouldnt be there. The malt needs to take more of a back seat...and be a bit more dry. May consider cutting the malt back and increasing the sugar to achieve this if the bitterness doesnt bring the balance in check.
Theres also some haze present. Im fairly certain its due to carrying some trub over to the cube from the kettle. I need to make up a new dip tube or use a syphon to stop this happening. The domed bottom on the keggle makes it difficult to get a nice trub cone bang in the middle...i can see chunks of trub going down the transfer hose when i first crack the tap.
The alcohol is also too high with the recipe i used. I was aiming to make it sessionable. A few schooners gives ya a kick start on the way to getting a good glow up lol
. Some improvement also needed in this area.All in all...a good start i reckon. Ive got a base where i know roughly where i went wrong to work from. Hopefully soon ill have it mastered.
Cheers all for the help
Pist
Post #9 made 10 years ago
Great update Pist.
I have just started drinking my first lager attempt and seem to have a very similar batch to yours. I'll have to keep an eye out for your next attempt and the changes you make.
Cheers
I have just started drinking my first lager attempt and seem to have a very similar batch to yours. I'll have to keep an eye out for your next attempt and the changes you make.
Cheers
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Post #10 made 10 years ago
Not wrong! You have a great skill there pist.Lumpy5oh wrote:Great update Pist.
The haze is probably less due to kettle trub than other things. Water and malt quality can play a big part in that. Anyway, worry about that another day if at all!
Oh and mash for 90 minutes on your next brew. Just noticed the 60 minutes.
Look forward to your next update
.
Last edited by PistolPatch on 21 May 2014, 19:29, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #11 made 10 years ago
Thanks guys appreciate the feedback and encouragement.
I guess this is a bit of an update. I've been progressively drinking the lager over the last couple of weeks (the last update was based on my first trial a couple of weeks ago)...and even since last Monday it has improved quite a lot. This is good...as its giving me a feel of how much difference in the length of time it takes to condition a lager as opposed to an ale (bloody slow in comparison!). The hit of malt I described earlier appears to have faded quite a bit...and now I can detect a level of bitterness that I would expect from an Aussie Lager. Based on this...now I think I'll brew the same recipe next time and let the Tap king bottles sit in the fridge for longer to cold condition before drinking. Might be time to brew a few ales to get me through the long wait!
I guess this is a bit of an update. I've been progressively drinking the lager over the last couple of weeks (the last update was based on my first trial a couple of weeks ago)...and even since last Monday it has improved quite a lot. This is good...as its giving me a feel of how much difference in the length of time it takes to condition a lager as opposed to an ale (bloody slow in comparison!). The hit of malt I described earlier appears to have faded quite a bit...and now I can detect a level of bitterness that I would expect from an Aussie Lager. Based on this...now I think I'll brew the same recipe next time and let the Tap king bottles sit in the fridge for longer to cold condition before drinking. Might be time to brew a few ales to get me through the long wait!
Advice on fermenting a lager
Post #12 made 9 years ago
Since I now have 6 kegs to fill and brewing time is not available I used a fresh wort kit but I brewed my first lager with PP's method mentioned above, more or less. It's been in the keg for a bit over a week and tastes great. A bit bitter but another month or so will fix that.
A week at 9c, a week wondering up to 17c (the STC turns on at 18c) and a week at -1c. I don't think it ever reached minus 1 as my little diy extended bar fridge fermenter was struggling a bit. The stc said -1 but the strip thermo on the fermenter said 3-4. So I think next time I'll skip the cold crash and go straight to keg. My keezer is set to 6c so it might just take a bit more conditioning. Either way I'm very happy with the result.
I won't be making any more lagers until next winter though as my little fridge will die if I try ti over summer.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
A week at 9c, a week wondering up to 17c (the STC turns on at 18c) and a week at -1c. I don't think it ever reached minus 1 as my little diy extended bar fridge fermenter was struggling a bit. The stc said -1 but the strip thermo on the fermenter said 3-4. So I think next time I'll skip the cold crash and go straight to keg. My keezer is set to 6c so it might just take a bit more conditioning. Either way I'm very happy with the result.
I won't be making any more lagers until next winter though as my little fridge will die if I try ti over summer.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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