Problematic lagering

[Rob Martin]

I'm on my 4th lager. I ferment both the primary and secondary between 40-46.

This particular Bavarian Helles seems to be slow/stuck. At 25 days it is still at 1.038 after starting at 1.058. My other three batches of Pils, Pre-prohibition lager, and Schwarzbier ended between 1.012 to 1.006 at the above temperatures throughout ferementation. I don't recall any of them being this high when I racked from primary to secondary after 3 weeks. The yeast is SafLager Wihenstephan Lager W-34/70. That is the same yeast I used with my Schwarzbier that I recieved some decent comments on. The fermentation for the other three was between 41 and 49 days.

Some variables from this batch from the first three. Normally I make a yeast starter. I did not this time, using the dry lager yeast straight from the packet. If this is the problem, why would it ferment 1058 to 1038 and then stop?

Second variable: When putting the rubber stopper on, it got stuck. I tried to fish it out with a non-sanitized wire (yeah, I know - stupid) and it fell through into the wort. I left it in and used a different one. At time of transfer, the beer didn't taste infected, just very sweet.

Am I just forgetting how high it is after 3 weeks when lagering that cold, or is there an issue going on?

Thanks for the advice.

[Rob Martin]

At the club meeting, I got a few different suggestions. They primarily were either to add more yeast or allow to warm the beer to warm to finish fermenting.

I chose the second because of low oxygen levels after it has fermented some what. The beer was pulled out of the fridge and slowly raised to the mid-60's. Fermentation gradually started at about 40 and never did really just take off - it just kept slowly fermenting. I also added some yeast nutrient as well.

I attribute this problem not with the low temperature, or the dry yeast, but with the pitch rate. I've used this exact yeast and fermented 40-46 with it and did not have any problems. The difference was having a yeast starter vs. not having the starter.

I plan on kegging it this weekend. I'll post again when it comes time to drink it.

[Jensen]

Lagers are such yeast hounds, Three to five times the pitching rate of ales. Also pitching a starter while it is really rolling seem to help a lot too. I think it is the cold temps that really work against the yeast, because it really, secretly, wants to work a warmer temps-- therefore the need for a huge pitch, but oh how the payoff is so worth it in a great lager!

[Rob Martin]

Kegged this today. It finished at 1.021, a bit high - but did come down from the 1.038 it was stuck at. This is what my bill was:

Carapils, .75 lbs
Pilsener malt, 10lbs
Hallertauer Mittelfruh, 1oz, 60 min
Hallertauer select, 1oz, 15 min

Yeast Fermentis W-34/70 SafLager Weihenstephan Lager.

OG was 1.058. I was wondering, what would you expect the ending gravity to be? I was hoping for 1.015 or lower because of previous ending gravities with this type of yeast.

Any comments?

[klickcue]

You appear to be well below the operating temperature of your yeast. The happy area is 53.6 though 59 degrees for your dry yeast. Lager needs a higher pitching rate than ale yeast because of the colder temperatures, this added with a lower concentration will have a hard time getting started in a descent period of time.

If you have had good success in the past with your temperature, try 50 degree F for 4 weeks and then lager for 4 weeks a 40 degrees F.

Temperature in fermentation is everything. I wish that I was at the point in my life to control the temperature but I need another refrig to serve from and to ferment, ain't it fun

Let me know how it works out.

[klickcue]

By the way, your ADF (apparent degree of fermentation) was 64 percent but should have been in the range of of about 74 percent or greater. Again, try a warmer temperature to make your yeast happy. Though not generally accepted, try a yeast starter with your dry lager yeast to get the pitching rate up to at least 3 times the packet pitching rate.

[Rob Martin]

Finally kegged it on Sun, 12/7. Tapped it today for tonight's meeting. I think it is quaffable. I would be interested in your opinion if you have followed this thread. Let me know.