No Rack Lagers

[Green Iguana]

Do lagers need to condition with some yeast remaining in the brew ? I am considering purchasing a Buon Vno mini-jet filter, so I could ferment 2 weeks then diacetyl rest 4 days all in the primary, then simply filter into a keg and lager before gassing.

Would filtering out all the yeast affect how the beer conditions assuming that FG is reached before running through the mini-jet

Cheers

 

[dicko]

Hi GI.
Those filters do not leave enough yeast to prime the bottles.
If you want to filter you would need to make another 1.3 litres of wort of about 1040 SG (assuming you are bottling 22 litres) with the same yeast as the original beer and pitch this into your filtered beer when it is at high krausen, give it a stir and bottle immediately.
A lot of trouble for filtered beer!
Might be easier to use a high flocculating yeast and just bottle without filtering.
Just my opinion!
Cheers and good luck,

 

[Green Iguana]

No bottling dicko, straight into a keg, lager then force carbonate after a few weeks....

Cheers

 

[Trev]

It's not just a question of FG. Largering requires the yeast to be there, admittedly not a lot but nevertheless a certain amount is needed to allow for the final fermenting of some of the remaining higher order sugars/dextrins/maltose/etc. The change in SG is relatively small but the effects are significant.

Filtering out the yeast that stubbbornly refuse to settle robs your beer of the ability to mature and improve.

The remaining yeast does become dormant as the remaining glycogen reserves are depleted but in doing so it reabsorbs some of the esters and sulphur compounds from the now slowly fermenting wort.

Overall the yeast aids most of the other reactions that occur, the tannins coagulate with haze forming proteins and other sulfurous compounds that are left over and drop out of suspension. The yeast settles and we end up with a more mellow flavour profile.

If you want to filter for appearance sake that's fine - heck I've built one of the Ross-Inspired filters for exactly that purpose but do it after conditioning.

Trev

 

[homebrewworld.com]

Green Iguana....
Ross is the filtering guru in my book, and he mentions through his tests that the actual filter you use will depend on the amount yeast left in the beer. It is very important to use the right filter for beer.
I ordered my filter today, and have requested a .35 micron p.e..t pleated cartridge, the one suggested by Ross.
This filter will take out most the yeast, but as it is not a 'carbon type' it wont take out all the other goodies you want to leave in your beer, i.e. flavour.

Go the 1micron, and this will be suitable for bottling and conditioning....
Check out threads on filtering by Ross.

Cheers,

OH, I saw Trevs filtered beer and man, it inspired me.......!!

 

[nonicman]

Trev is 100% on this,
EDIT:WRONG INFO
a lager yeast is different in that can ferment more complex malts, but that takes time
END WRONG INFO
(sorry I can't be more provide more details at this present state of mind B) ),


and Lager is often translated as being German meaning "to store". Let the lager yeast condition, making your beer a lager, then filter. :beer:

Though I note Ross advised that he didn't filter his crystal bright Octoberfest on offer at the past Brissy Big Brew day.

Edit: the best test is a taste test, the non conditioned lager will lack the chrispness of a lagered lager (as the other forms of maltose will have been fermented by the lager yeast in the lagered beer).

Edit: please see post by Gulf Brewery. I can only suggested that a little a knowledge is a dangerous thing and now I know why I couldn't find anything to backup the above incorrect information (though I've read a heap of interesting articles, Fullers fermenting at 20 psi?).

 

[dicko]

Hi GI,

I must apologise to you and the others for my total inability to read your original post and question accurately, before going off on a tangent regarding priming. h34r:

This'll teach me to read before replying and not try to answer posts when my mind is on other things. :unsure:

I beg forgiveness!

Cheers

 

[Ross]

Just brewed my 2nd lager, a Schwarzbier, & whereas my Oktoberfest continued to condition for a month, detectable by the small amount of gas generated each day, my Schwarzbier seems totally brewed out & dormant from day 1 of lagering. It's been lagering for 10 days & wondering if it's actually conditioning with no detectable activity? Do i keg now or leave it another few weeks?

 

[pint of lager]

When beer is brewed, not all the carbon dioxide formed escapes through the airlock. Much of it stays in solution, as evidenced by all the bubbles that form on the hydrometer. This dissolved gas slowly comes out of solution making the airlock continue to move for weeks. New brewers often mistake this slow outgassing as the beer still fermenting. The real guide to whether a beer is actually fermenting is accurate hydrometer readings.

Dissolved gases stay in solution longer when the solution is cold. So if you lager a brew, it is less likely to have gas come out of solution.

Lagering is a natural form of filtering and I would leave the yeast in.

If you are a gadget head, get the filter. If it were my beer, I would not be filtering, but it is your beer.

Do lagers need to condition with some yeast remaining in the brew ?

Yes

Would filtering out all the yeast affect how the beer conditions

Yes

 

[Gulf Brewery]

Trev is 100% on this, a lager yeast is different in that can ferment more complex malts, but that takes time (sorry I can't be more provide more details at this present state of mind B) ),

[post="59561"][/post]​

nonicman

Its not quite that they ferment more complex malts, but its the time that they have to work on the sugars in the wort/green beer. When you lager, the yeast still continues to work, but very slowly.

Cheers
Pedro

 

[Green Iguana]

Dicko, no worries. Appreciate your posts and input.

Thanks for your response 'Pint', thats cleared a few things up.

Cheers