First lager - process check

[shacked]

About to have a crack at a lager for the first time and wanted to sense check my process first. Sorry for the long post.

I wanted to start with a simple Aussie Lager of sorts.

Recipe
22L
90% Gladfield American Ale
10% Adjunct

OG: 1.047 / FG: 1.009

For the adjunct, I have a jar of 'organic' brown rice syrup.

Plus 50g of Acidulated.

Mash: 64 / 72 / 76 for 45 / 15 / 15

Salts: 5g Gypsum, 5g Cal Chloride, 3g MgSo4

Mash PH: 5.50

Water: (ppm)
Ca: 89
Mg: 10
Na: 10
Cl: 96
So4: 125
Chloride / Sulfate Ratio: 0.77

Hops: 18IBU of summer FWH; maybe 10g in the cube.

Ferment
Yeast: WLP830 - German lager (already on stir plate), stepped up to 3L, chilled and decanted.

Chill cube to ~8C, pitch and set to 10C. At SG of ~1.014 raise to 18C and keep there for 3 days, then step down to 1C at 2C per day. Keep at 1C for 3 to 4 weeks before kegging.

Questions
1. Should I use the brown rice syrup or just replace with dex or table sugar?
2. Is my water profile OK for the style?
3. Is my fermentation schedule looking OK?
4. Can I lager in the primary or should I rack to a glass carboy (flushed with a little CO2)?
5. Does the mash schedule look alright? I was after a relatively dry finish.

 

[sponge]

1. If you've got table sugar lying around, just use that.
2. If you're just using Wollongong tap water, I'd go (mostly) without salts first up. It's pretty soft and a lot of lagers use fairly soft water. Add a little CaCl2 to get Ca up to 50ppm.
3. Ferment looks pretty good, though you could probably raise the temp between 1.014-1.020. Let ferment down to FG, whatever time that may take (rather than 3 days).
4. I like to lager in a keg, but that's just to free up the ferment fridge. I'd still look at lagering in a secondary.
5. Drop sacch rest to 62/63 for 60-90min. The lower and longer the better for a dry finish.


Don't worry about cube hops, keep it real simple first up and if you want a lil sum'n sum'n next time, add in a small cube addition.

 

[danestead]

3. I would suggest doing a 'diacetyl force test' after the 3 days and if diacetyl appears in either of the 2 samples during that test, up the temp a few more degrees and/or leave it longer before chilling.

 

[shacked]

2. If you're just using Wollongong tap water, I'd go (mostly) without salts first up. It's pretty soft and a lot of lagers use fairly soft water. Add a little CaCl2 to get Ca up to 50ppm.

Cool so just a little CaCl2 and use acid malt to hit my PH?

 

[kunfaced]

why did you choose rice syrup over rice?

 

[shacked]

To be honest, I just saw it at the IGA and bought it on impulse

 

[kunfaced]

I've never seen it. Would be interested in giving it a go because cooking rice adds too much precious time to the mash.

 

[shacked]

I've never seen it. Would be interested in giving it a go because cooking rice adds too much precious time to the mash.

This is the stuff: http://www.cavemanco-op.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/organic-brown-rice-syrup-500g-SURICSY2.500.jpg it was about $6 from my local IGA

 

[shacked]

Pretty stoked on how this turned out. Super drinkable with a slight hint of malt in the background. Will re brew for sure

 

[Vini2ton]

Did you use the rice-syrup? I used it once and found the result quite cloying and was always suss on it after that. Flaked rice works a treat and no stuffing around with gelatisamecallit.

 

[shacked]

Did you use the rice-syrup? I used it once and found the result quite cloying and was always suss on it after that. Flaked rice works a treat and no stuffing around with gelatisamecallit.

Not in this brew but I did in the repitch of the same yeast. Turned out about 0.02 to 0.04 points higher than expected but the lager was really well hopped at 35IBU so it wasn't the end of the world. I wouldn't use it again TBH; I'm sold on straight cane sugar.

 

[Adr_0]

Nice one!

FWIW, I've just done a boh pils with basically distilled water, cold pitch, then a couple of days after pitching it was 12°C then I let it hit 14°C right on day 5.

OG was 1052, and at what would have been 1027-1028 (after a couple of days at 14°C) or about 50% attenuation I let it rise up to 18-19°C and sit there to FG. No esters or apple despite the 'early' rise. Sulphur was strong in the first few days (pretty normal) but it cleaned up very quickly and I would say a solid week was saved prior to lagering.

 

[shacked]

Nice one!

FWIW, I've just done a boh pils with basically distilled water, cold pitch, then a couple of days after pitching it was 12°C then I let it hit 14°C right on day 5.

OG was 1052, and at what would have been 1027-1028 (after a couple of days at 14°C) or about 50% attenuation I let it rise up to 18-19°C and sit there to FG. No esters or apple despite the 'early' rise. Sulphur was strong in the first few days (pretty normal) but it cleaned up very quickly and I would say a solid week was saved prior to lagering.

Yeah I let this one go to about 75% attenuated (1.018 - about 7 days) at 9C and let it rise to 18C and left it there for a week. I then crashed it to 1C and left it there for about a week, then racked to a keg with gelatin. Took about 2 weeks and it was unreal.

 

[AJS2154]

That is one handsome looking beer, shacked. If it tastes half as good as it looks it must be a cracker. Well done! Anthony

 

[shacked]

Here is the re-pitch of the same yeast in a more adventurous lager with the rice syrup. I think the rice syrup imparts a flavor that's a little sweet and frankly a bit odd.

 

[yankinoz]

To be honest, I just saw it at the IGA and bought it on impulse

I used a jar in a batch a couple of years ago. Can't say it brings big flavour, but neither does rice. Go with it.