Amount of yeast to use for pilsner

John C

John C

South Jersey FC Member
Looking for community input. I am making my second pilsner and am being careful about fermenation temperature control.

After the std step up mashing I pitched just 1 pack of omega pilsner II yeast. Initial charge was at 65 for maybe 20 hrs. Saw the start of gas evolution and lowered it to 52. A day later I get a rate of ~ 1 bubble/sec. I am now 8 days in and the rate looks the same. My plan is to let this go for another week, test the og and of I'm in the right range, drop the t to 36-40 for another 3-4 weeks.

Several questions:
1. I have read that you need more yeast, but this looks good to me. ?
2. I hate to tie up my fermenter for another month just to lager this. Can I do this in a keg instead?
3. Is the lagering temp I'm using ok? My chiller is at 31 and I'm concerned that I will not be able to hold 36-40 because of warm weather. This is another reason I'm considering keg lagering in the frig.
 
1. They say with lager yeasts you want even a vitality starter, 12 to 24hrs. Just so it makes the pitch right pouches fault proof, in my opinion this is the way to go.
2. Lagering in the serving keg is totally the way to go: If you have the kegerator, keezer or extra beer refrigerator space.
3. Lagering at specifically controlled temps has something I've never done, because I use a beer refrigerator and the serving keg. I'd say I lager on the side or 40-45 with the opening and closing of the door, even while in my cool basement. Curious others takes on proper lagering solid temps.
 
Josh Atzert said:
1. They say with lager yeasts you want even a vitality starter, 12 to 24hrs. Just so it makes the pitch right pouches fault proof, in my opinion this is the way to go.
2. Lagering in the serving keg is totally the way to go: If you have the kegerator, keezer or extra beer refrigerator space.
3. Lagering at specifically controlled temps has something I've never done, because I use a beer refrigerator and the serving keg. I'd say I lager on the side or 40-45 with the opening and closing of the door, even while in my cool basement. Curious others takes on proper lagering solid temps.
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Thanks for your input Josh. Since this beer has started, I will have to consider (and compare) either a starter or 1 or 2 more packets of yeast. Personally, I hate the idea of making a starter. Needs some extract, additional steps and starting it day or 2 before. As you can imagine, I also don't harvest yeast for re-use.

On the temperatures, maybe I wasn't clear. I kick off the fermentation at 65 until I see activity, then lower it to 52 for the rest of the fermentation (2-3 weeks) as determined by OG. At that point I would drop the temp to 36-38 (per the recipe) to start lagering it. My concern is that my chiller medium is at 31 and I fear there is too much uninsulated parts (lines, legs, valves) to drive 5 gallons of beer to even 38, so thought about transferring it to a keg and sticking it in the spare refrigerator I store kegs in. So I will give that a try
 
John C said:
Thanks for your input Josh. Since this beer has started, I will have to consider (and compare) either a starter or 1 or 2 more packets of yeast. Personally, I hate the idea of making a starter. Needs some extract, additional steps and starting it day or 2 before. As you can imagine, I also don't harvest yeast for re-use.

On the temperatures, maybe I wasn't clear. I kick off the fermentation at 65 until I see activity, then lower it to 52 for the rest of the fermentation (2-3 weeks) as determined by OG. At that point I would drop the temp to 36-38 (per the recipe) to start lagering it. My concern is that my chiller medium is at 31 and I fear there is too much uninsulated parts (lines, legs, valves) to drive 5 gallons of beer to even 38, so thought about transferring it to a keg and sticking it in the spare refrigerator I store kegs in. So I will give that a try
Click to expand...
Hi John.

Omega Packs have more cells so if it is pretty fresh and your OG isn't too high I would say roll with it a Pilsner should be fine.

I lager a lot and I use mostly dry yeast like 34/70. For 10 gallons I usually use 3 packs and get good results. If I am pitching fresh yeast I pitch the yeast as I am transferring the beer into the fermentation vessel. Usually at about 62° according to the ground water temp. But I immediately put my fermenter (sanke 1/2 barrel) into the freezer and set ambient temp to 48°. Sometimes I will raise to 54° after about a week for dialectal rest. I usually cap this off and add a spunding valve at this point too allowing for some carbonation to start. Then after another week or two I check OG over a couple days and if stable will keg the beer and lager at 31° - 35° for as long as I can. After kegging I keep the fermenter under pressure and cold. Then I brew another lager and I put 10 gallons of fresh beer in there on my next brew day.

In the last 3 months I have been using my same lager yeast cake for three lagers. I just pulled my latest lager out of there a few days ago. A Mexican Lager I hope to get another lager brewed this week and get it on that yeast.

Cheers
 
John
How do you check OG during the fermentation? Does it really change enough to bother beyond 2 or 3 weeks if gas evolution has ended? I understand that there may be subtle byproduct conversions after out gaming is done, but OG won't measure that.
 
John C said:
John
How do you check OG during the fermentation? Does it really change enough to bother beyond 2 or 3 weeks if gas evolution has ended? I understand that there may be subtle byproduct conversions after out gaming is done, but OG won't measure that.
Click to expand...
Hey John. I just pull a quick sample. since I have it under pressure and use a floating dip tube I can pull samples easily. I just dump them back and forth a few times between two cups to degas
 
Good point about degassing. I don't do that. I have a sampling valve and shut off the gas vent to my bubbler to build a little pressure.

I generally let a week go by after the end of gas evolution and test. If I'm at the target or near it, I rack and chill.
 
I've gone from super technical to professional brewery but at home ai am short and shoddy now. I brew at home in an electric all in one...and I Ferment my lagers at room temperature but under pressure in a sanke 1/4 keg (spear removed) and a triclamp cap with a spunding valve. At the brewery we do our lagers under pressure but not that high and at try lager temps ..but at home I've had great success with 34/70 yeast at 65-68 degrees in my Basement with the spunding valve
 
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