Cedar Rapids Brewing Society

How much fermentation activity should I get out of a lager? I made one on Friday. On Monday it had a kausen on top, but not the bubble activity of the ales I've done. It's a 1.090 doppelbock at 48 degrees. I pitched a 1 1/2 liter starter into each 5 gallons.

Tom: It has been a long time since we brewed a lager. I believe there was some activity coming from the air lock. But it never moved like an ale.

Here is what John Palmer has to say about lager, http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter10-5.html

He mentions that it is nice to ferment them in glass carboy, so you can see that the yeast is doing it thing. Hope this helps.

Dave

The lagers I have done have all seemed like they were fermenting slow, but all finished in the end. They are a lot "quieter" than ales.

Good to hear they are a mellower ferment. I wasn't sure if the colder temp had them off to a slow start. Now I just wait a couple weeks.

I've heard that some brewers pitch at around 70 degrees, then bring the temp down once the ferment gets going. Others pitch a healthy starter (which it sounds like you did) at 55-60 degrees. I agree with the others that the ferment should be slower than an ale, mainly because you're at a colder temp. Patience is a virtue when it comes to lagers. Can't wait to see how it comes out. Good luck.

I have one going right now. I didn't pitch a big starter like you, so it took several days, almost a week actually, to really start up. I am keeping it around 50F. It did bubble through the airlock for a few days, but not like an ale. At the peak, it blup'ed about every 20 - 30 secs. The krausen was only about 3/4 inch high, too. It's been in the primary since New Years weekend. I am going to check it to see if I can rack it to the secondary this weekend, as the krausen has collapsed earlier this week. Hope to have it ready for the March meeting, even though it's a Pilsner Urquell clone, not a porter/stout. Have a Milk Stout to bring for the competition.