Worthog Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Early next week I plan to put together this partial mash. I want to do a nice Lager at around 5% ABV with a nice balance of bitter/sweet and light in color. I don’t have any numbers as I don’t have beersmith or the like. So I cobbled this together for experience. Hallertau Lager • 1.7kg Coopers OS Lager • 3kg Vienna • 300g Munich • 200g Carapils (All grains 16 litre mash, 60m@65c, no sparge) • 20g SAAZ @20m • 20g SAAZ @ 7m • 20g Hallertauer Mittelfrueh, 15m (coffee plunger) • 20g Hallertauer Mittelfrueh, Dry Hop 5-8 days • 2 x W34/70 yeast rehydrated To 23 Litres (depending on SG readings as I add water to OG 1.048) All comments welcome. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Looks pretty nice mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 By beersmith you will get about 27 litres to get to 1048 based on a 75% efficiency for the grains. 23 Litres will give you about 1056 OG.. Other than that looks good to me. Only did the OS Lager kit once when I got the coopers kit years ago and it was pretty piss weak to be honest so polishing it up a bit with Saaz and Hallertau should make it a nice brew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worthog Posted July 26, 2018 Author Share Posted July 26, 2018 19 minutes ago, Greeny1525229549 said: By beersmith you will get about 27 litres to get to 1048 based on a 75% efficiency for the grains. 23 Litres will give you about 1056 OG... That's a good high OG at 23 litres if I get the efficiency. If so, it begs the question about my yeast volume to ferment at 12c. Am I ok yeast-wise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Yeah you will be borderline with the 2 packets of W34/70 yeast at 12c with that volume and OG. Who knows how many viable cells are in the packet as I have seen too many different numbers. It will get through it but wont be an optimal pitch rate. You can do the cheat way and pitch and hold a little warmer for a day then drop it. Other option is to build a starter which is what I do for all my beers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worthog Posted July 26, 2018 Author Share Posted July 26, 2018 I will start the ferment at 18c and drop over 24hrs to 12c. Otherwise, I do have a couple of Coopers kit lager yeast with code 17516 which are getting a bit old but I could rehydrate 1 maybe, and prove. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 If you pitch at 12 or whatever, rehydrate and use both kit yeasts. Even if you dilute the OG by increasing the volume with water, you'll still need the same amount of yeast as the actual amount of sugar hasn't changed. In my experience the best lagers are the ones pitched at or a little below fermentation temp with a lot of yeast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worthog Posted July 26, 2018 Author Share Posted July 26, 2018 OK, 2 x W34/70 and 2 x Coopers Lager Kit yeast, all rehydrated and start at 12c. Thanks. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worthog Posted July 26, 2018 Author Share Posted July 26, 2018 14 minutes ago, Worthog said: OK, 2 x W34/70 and 2 x Coopers Lager Kit yeast, all rehydrated and start at 12c. Thanks. Cheers While I am saying "Coopers Lager Kit" yeast, I know the OS Lager has an ale yeast. My kit yeasts are from Coopers Pilsner and Golden Crown kits, hence Lager kits which I'll add to the W34/70 yeasts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worthog Posted August 10, 2018 Author Share Posted August 10, 2018 I'm at 10 days of fermention. OG 1.050, At 5 days i lifted fermented temp from 12c to 18c. A SG check at 7 days was 1.018, now at 10 days 1.017. Sounds high for the above recipe? I have not dry hopped as I ended up doing a final 30g Hallertau tea instead. I didn't want hop aroma to take over. The taste is great, and I plan to just let it sit for a 2 week ferment, then CC to 0c. What do you think of FG around 1.017? Yeast was 2xW34/70 plus 2xKitInt all rehydrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 Yeah I'd expect it to drop lower than that. Probably anywhere between 1.010 - 1.014. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 Was looking great at day 7. Right about where I would expect. Surprised it hasn't kept going as what Kelsey said I would have expected 1010 to 1012 ish. I'd leave it at 18c for the extra few days and see if you get a few more points. I'm guessing it will drop a few more. Hasn't been my experience with 34/70 or the kit yeast when I used it. They are usually pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worthog Posted August 13, 2018 Author Share Posted August 13, 2018 Day 14 of fermentation. FG check sill at 1.017. Taste good, definitely not sweet. Maybe very slightly bitter if not balanced. This is a higher than expected FG to finish on, expected was 1.013-4, maybe. This brew had a good yeast load of 2xW/34/70 plus 2xKit Int Lager. ie 35g of yeast into 23 litres at OG 1.050 These yeasts are not known to stall from my knowledge, plus the brew is not sweet. Begs the question about my mash efficiency of the 3.5kg of grain. I must not have pulled enough fermentables out of the grain. Anyway, I consider the fermentation complete and have started dropping into cold crash 0c. Comments on gravity and/or mash efficiency? Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 If the grains were mashed at 65C then that should have produced a pretty fermentable wort, however when using low mash temps to achieve that, it's often beneficial to mash longer i.e. up to 90 minutes. You could try mashing at 62-63 for 90-100 minutes if you do another batch, which should make that portion of the wort very fermentable. The high gravity suggests to me that the temp of the grain mash crept up or was higher than you thought it was. With the ingredients and process used, it should have dropped lower than 1.017, assuming your hydrometer isn't out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worthog Posted August 14, 2018 Author Share Posted August 14, 2018 Initial mash temp, with grains in, started at around 70c (17.5L) and dropped to around 60c over the 60 minutes. The top of the pot was covered with foil to keep the temp up as much as possible over the hour. I did not keep any flame under it because I'm worried about differing temps through the mash. So the possibility is that it mashed too hot, then. For bag out (mash out) temp was raised to 97c and the bag dumped back in for a few minutes, then raised and squeezed. I will mash closer to 62-3 for 90 minutes tomorrow. Hydrometer is ok. I have 2 that test 1.000 at 20c. My 3rd one (Coopers FV kit) reads .997 even with the red top clipped off. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 I think there's your answer. It started too hot and largely denatured the beta amylase as a result, which is the one that produces more fermentable sugar. You really want to start the mash at the temp you intend to mash at. If you need to add heat you can either lift the bag or use a rack or something as a false bottom in the pot to keep the bag off direct heat. Stir intermittently while applying heat. I do this in my urn and it works well, always hit target FG or very close to it. Mash out is probably too hot too, it only needs to be about 78. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worthog Posted October 1, 2018 Author Share Posted October 1, 2018 This brew turned well with fresh Vienna sweetness balanced with SAAZ bittering, and spicy late Hallertauer. Great head and lacing retention. Carbonation about perfect, smooth, fine and head holding. Sits in the Schooner glass well over a long sipping period. However a long draw on the glass delivers brilliant mouth feel, and a deep but subtle spiciness that lingers on the taste buds afterwards. This lager was 4.8% abv. I like it, but might change hop finish more to a Cascade spice, floral and citrus next time. Cheers Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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