Making a starter for a lager yeast

[Spicoli]

Do you start your starter at room temps or bring it down to lager fermenting temps?? Please advise.

[Stodbrew]

Leave it at ambient temp.

[Spicoli]

Can one trust a Giants fan??;) Now would I leave it at this temp until I pitch??

[Stodbrew]

Now that's funny as hell! Of course you can. :D

Yeah, I'd leave it warm until its ready to be pitched. That way, its all fired up and ready to go.

[brewmonkey]

Actually I would also pitch the wort at room temp and when fermentation is started bring it down to the temp you are looking for.

[Stodbrew]

Originally posted by brewmonkey
Actually I would also pitch the wort at room temp and when fermentation is started bring it down to the temp you are looking for.


I would completely agree.

[danno]

and remember, the goal for a starter is yeast propagation, not developing a flavor profile. get them babies at room temp where they can multiply like crazy, then proceed as the two esteemed pros before me have said...

[Spicoli]

Thank you fellas. I will now proceed to brew my first real lager.

[HogieWan]

I see you're attempting a lager in your new freezer

[Spicoli]

I have a California common going now which is a pseudo lager. i do plan on brewing a few lagers here in the next coule of weeks though. It's like another unexplored territory I must visit. I can't wait.

[HogieWan]

I personally prefer ales over lagers (I know it's pretty generalized but true). I may eventually get into lagering, but I think I have my hands full of the ales I want to make for quite some time. There are some styles like kolsh and alt that will require lower temps that I want to make, but it can wait

[BrewDog]

Be ready for the sulphury stink.

[Grog]

Originally posted by HogieWan
I personally prefer ales over lagers (I know it's pretty generalized but true). I may eventually get into lagering, but I think I have my hands full of the ales I want to make for quite some time. There are some styles like kolsh and alt that will require lower temps that I want to make, but it can wait

I'm curious, why do you think this is?

[Spicoli]

Originally posted by BrewDog
Be ready for the sulphury stink.

I noticed a sulphury stink just with the California Common. It is fermenting at about 59 degrees in my chest freezer. I opened the lid the other day, stuck my head in to check the temp and almost fell on my ars with the smell. A scent that was overwhelming.

[Grog]

Originally posted by Spicoli
I noticed a sulphury stink just with the California Common. It is fermenting at about 59 degrees in my chest freezer. I opened the lid the other day, stuck my head in to check the temp and almost fell on my ars with the smell. A scent that was overwhelming.

Believe it or not it gets worse! The Munich lager yeast I used for BrewDog and my Vienna was so bad it could have knocked a buzzard off a sh*t wagon. It is still the foulest smelling, but smoothest tasting beer I have been a party to making so far.

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by Grog
I'm curious, why do you think this is?

I like the fruity esters involved with ales. I'm not sure if you have caught it yet, but I've said many times that Conniston's Bluebird Bitter is my favorite. I love malty beers with fruity esters and hop aroma. It's just my preference. I do like some lagers, but I tend to favor the ales.

[fretlessman71]

Just going to have to give Bluebird another shot one of these days... I just wish people would stop sending me more beer than I can drink! ;)

(I can already see the posts following this one: Party at Fret's place!)

[HogieWan]

well, it's only about 11 hours from my place.

did you ever get to that porter I sent? I forgot to warn you that its 6.5% ABV.

[toneyc]

Originally posted by Grog
I'm curious, why do you think this is?

I'm with HogieWan on this. I made one lager, "Lawnmower Lager" from AHS, when I first got my freezer. I agonizingly waited through the 6-8 weeks of fermentation and the week of carbonation, and it was like "ho-hum", what a boring beer. Now, I'm not saying all lagers are boring, I'm saying my palate isn't sophisticated enough to enjoy them as much as a robust ale.

:)
Toney.

[HogieWan]

well said tony. my sentiments exactly

[fretlessman71]

Originally posted by HogieWan
well, it's only about 11 hours from my place.

did you ever get to that porter I sent? I forgot to warn you that its 6.5% ABV. Waitaminnit - Gnasvhlle was a 24 hour drive for us! Just where in the world are you, anyway? (or maybe you just drive that fast.... ;) )

Yeah, I got them - remember me commenting on the bottle caps? I still gotta put together a return care package for you, BTW. Your porters weren't oxidized in the least, actually - and very good, too! Just for fun I'll add them in to the porter thread when I get a chance.

[HogieWan]

I had a couple that weren't very good for some reason but the rest were great.

I meant to type 22 - those damn keys are really close together!

[HarkJohnny]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
Waitaminnit - Gnasvhlle was a 24 hour drive for us! Just where in the world are you, anyway? (or maybe you just drive that fast.... )

We made it home to Cincinnati from Breckenridge CO in just 18 hours :)

[fretlessman71]

Originally posted by HarkJohnny
We made it home to Cincinnati from Breckenridge CO in just 18 hours :) Well, with at least 2 drivers you can do that. This boy requires sleep, and he's also a bit of a "tiny tank," if you know what I mean....

Don't forget that you were driving downhill, too!

[HogieWan]

A friend and I drove to Chicago a few years ago - 17 hours on the way up, 14 on the way back!

[HogieWan]

Wow, this thread has been sufficiently hijacked.

[Grog]

Originally posted by HogieWan
I'm not sure if you have caught it yet, but I've said many times that Conniston's Bluebird Bitter is my favorite...

I see that you have mentioned it several times, but unfortunately I have no frame of reference. It seems like most commercial brewers miss the mark for creating a flavorful lager (Victory and North Coast being exceptions in my mind) and I am not exectly sure why they tend toward the bland side.

[Spicoli]

Originally posted by HogieWan
I like the fruity esters involved with ales. I'm not sure if you have caught it yet, but I've said many times that Conniston's Bluebird Bitter is my favorite. I love malty beers with fruity esters and hop aroma. It's just my preference. I do like some lagers, but I tend to favor the ales.

I'm with you Hogie all the way. The lager thing is just another avenue to explore. What would brewing be if we didn't try something new? I started off brewing extracts 6 years ago as a broke arse kid and now I finally have the capital to kick it up a couple notches. I never thought brewing would come this far in my life.

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by Spicoli
I never thought brewing would come this far in my life.

My fiancee doesn't quite get it yet. I've only been brewig since christmas, but I'm in it for good. I really enjoy making things - things that I like, you know. I like making bread from scratch - I'm about to build a djembe (an african drum) - we're getting a bbq pit for a wedding gift and I'm trying to get some equiptment to make charcoal. I just like to understand and try and tweak the process for these things - to take things I like and make them exactly like I want them.

That's a lot of ranting - I think these porters are getting to me. I might need to reread that hangover thread.

[Spicoli]

Looks like we may have a lot in common. I am the cook in my house and about 75% of the time it's on the grill. I have an offset smoker that I've puchase about two years ago that I love. I can grill and smoke whenever I want. My daughter calls it dad's choo-choo train. Anyway I gotta take a wiz.