First Pilsner

[tipsy_mcstagger]

Brew so far;

Morgans saaz pilsner + 1Kg Dex.
11g Saflager sachet dry lager pitched @13 deg, temp went up to about 18 while I frigged around with correct setting of fridge then steeled back to 13deg.
after one week airlock slowed to one bubble every 20secs so trabferred to 20L glass carboy. added 50g saaz hops (boiled & sqeezed in coffee plunger)
11 days later, still @ 13deg the SG is down to 1.014, the sample tasted pretty clean and was very clear. There are still small bubbles rising slowly up the side of the carboy.

My questions are;
1. not having used the hydrometer that religously how far through the ferment is the brew?
2. do I need to do a Diacytel rest and finish the ferment off at the higher temp. (not that sure what diacytel tastes like but the sample tasted fine)
3. I want to drop the temp down to 4deg to lager, can I do this now or should I wait until the SG is lower or should I do the DR then drop temp?
4. how long should I lager for?

all quaestions asking WHAT SHOULD I DO?

I am trying to brew a clean crisp lager.

 

[Ross]

Brew so far;

Morgans saaz pilsner + 1Kg Dex.
11g Saflager sachet dry lager pitched @13 deg, temp went up to about 18 while I frigged around with correct setting of fridge then steeled back to 13deg.
after one week airlock slowed to one bubble every 20secs so trabferred to 20L glass carboy. added 50g saaz hops (boiled & sqeezed in coffee plunger)
11 days later, still @ 13deg the SG is down to 1.014, the sample tasted pretty clean and was very clear. There are still small bubbles rising slowly up the side of the carboy.

My questions are;
1. not having used the hydrometer that religously how far through the ferment is the brew?
2. do I need to do a Diacytel rest and finish the ferment off at the higher temp. (not that sure what diacytel tastes like but the sample tasted fine)
3. I want to drop the temp down to 4deg to lager, can I do this now or should I wait until the SG is lower or should I do the DR then drop temp?
4. how long should I lager for?

all quaestions asking WHAT SHOULD I DO?

I am trying to brew a clean crisp lager.

too late now, but don't boil your hops when dry hopping, just add them straight to primary/secondary once main ferment finishes.
1. ferment is close to finished.
2. Diacytel rest not needed with all yeasts, but a good precaution. once Fg is below 1020, let the temp rise to approx 18c for a couple of days.
3. If you raise the temp for a couple of days, then you can drop to 4c for lagering. i drop the temp by 5c a day, to prevent shocking the yeast into sleep.
4. As long as your patience holds..... Personally i prefer to filter & carbonate straight away & let condition in the keg. I've found no benefit in long term lagering, but this is just a personal view & I know there's many disagree....

Cheers Ross

 

[Keifer]

1) The brewcraft calculator says FG should be about 1.006 (for 23l im assuming). i would shake the fermentor to swirl it up a bit, but gently and wait some more.
Did you mix the goo + dex in well enough?

2) Seems like common practice, if you have the time, it wont hurt.

3) Order would be, get to your FG, then DR, then Cold Condition.

4) As long as you can wait, give it at least a few days, the more the better.

5) I could be wrong on any/all of these and it's only what i would do.

6) Try racking your beer to a secondary, this will mix up the yeast/wort and finish off any sugars, and will also make a clearer beer that your after.

 

[sluggerdog]

As the SG is down to 1.014 I would be resting it now at 18C for 48 hours, once this is done, rack it to a cube and cold condition.

What I do is, once I have rested (I rest all lager yeasts) I will rack to a cube ontop of gelatine (Gelatine Info Here) and straight into my keg fridge at around 4C, here I leave it for 1 week, then I rack into my keg and drink. My whole lager process is 3 weeks until i can start drinking it. Sometimes the keg needs to age a little so I leave it while taste testing it until I am happy with it.

If you bottle, I would do the gelatine method and maybe leave it a little longer in the cube, My cold conditioning is done 1 week in the cube and sometimes more in the keg.

 

[tipsy_mcstagger]

Thanks guys

So I have set the fridge as low as it goes and the ambient temp has gone up to 18deg. So i will leave it there for a few days then rack into a keg and leave it at 4deg for a few weeks.

Will let you kno wwhat it tastes like.

Thanks again

Tipsy

 

[tipsy_mcstagger]

so Guys I have just kegged the pilsner & am cooling it down to 7deg and plan to let it sit there for a few wekks.

I have decided on 7 degress as it seems it will be a happy medium to serve both lagers & ales.

I have an english bitter on the go and this I plan to keg & force carbonate. From Docs cheat sheet I figure I need a pressure of about 60Kpa to dispense the bitter at that temp.

so my question is once the pilsner has lagered for long enough, if I hook it up to the gas line and let it gas slowly I wont get the carbonation for a pilsner. How do I get the carb up to 2.5 vol co2 while pouring my bitter?

Thanks

BTW installed the Celli tap today using the pumpy method, worked a treat & looks great.

 

[Bazza]

tipsy
I'd recommend force carbonating your beers using the Ross method. I used to gas my beers over a couple of days but the force carb is quicker and easier all round, and you can pour a beer afterwards.
Bazza