First lager- 22 hrs after pitch- no activity

[Kaiser]

this batch is fucked.

I'm sorry to hear that.

Though it is generally aggred in German lager brewing that the wort should be pitched below the fermentation temp, I don't recommend this method for homebrewers brewing their first lager. It does take some additional work to grow enough yeast and the lag times are longer too.

Next time I recommend that you brew a lager, make a 2L starter, aerate and pitch one vial or smack pack into it. Keep that in the upper 60's and don't worry about the sulfur smell that might be coming off that starter. Many lager yeasts do that. Once you have high Kraeusen pitch this into a well aerated wort at about 60-65*F. Once you see fermentation start lower the fermentation temp to 50-52 and let it ferment there. This is what is usually refered to as warm pitching and it is fairly fool proof. If fermentation stops after you lowered the temp to 50-52*F you lowered the temp to fast and shocked the yeast into dormancy. Let it warm up a little and it will get going again. Then lower the temp more gently.

Once that is working for you and got hooked on the debutants, e.g. lager yeast, you can try more advanced techniques like cold pitching. A good book for lager brewing is Greg Noonan's "New Brewing Lager Beer".

Any disgreement from Jamil or Dr. Scott?

Kai

[one_eye]

Kai,

I must retract my earlier statment about the white labs show, I did go re-listen to it, and actualy I didn't hear any talk about temps for a lager starter. I must have been on some good crack that day.

Sorry,
Jesse

[Kaiser]

I must retract my earlier statment about the white labs show, I did go re-listen to it, and actualy I didn't hear any talk about temps for a lager starter. I must have been on some good crack that day.

It seems to me that if you talk to yeast people about starters for lagers, they still say that you should keep them at room temp since the yeasts like that more and you will get better growth. And there may have been comments of that nature in some of the yeast shows.

Brewers and brewing texts however suggest that it is better to propagate lager yeast cold. The differences won't be big and its up to the idividual brewer to decide what works best. Since warm is easier to work with, I do suggest that to beginning brewers.

Kai

[bub]

it was Dan Gordon who raises his yeast at ferm temps
BUB