Munich Helles

[dhempy]

Two weeks ago I brewed my "Return from Europe Munich Helles". OG was right at 1.050. Just took a sample and we're at 1.016. I've been fermenting at 52 degrees. Seems to me that the timing is right to raise the temp a few notches to see if I can get down closer to 1.010. So I just raised the controller to 55. I would guess that it will take until later afternoon or even tonight for the temp to get top that level, tomorrow I'll head up to 57 or 58 and stay there for the next week. Yeast is WLP-830. What are the collective thoughts of the other lagermeisters? Am I on the right path? What target would you shoot for?

Dan

[dhempy]

Since none of the lagermeisters chimed in, I went ahead with my d-rest. I took the temp all the way up to 62 for over night (2 degrees / day) and then back down. I noticed a significant uptick in the amount of yeast pulled from the conical AND as of today, the FG is 1.012 and it tastes pretty good (no diacetyl, no sulfur in the nose). Still a bit cloudy though but hopefully the lagering phase will solve that (could be yeast cloudiness too as I pulled from the bottom port on the conical, not the racking port on the side). As I type, the temp is at 47 on it's way to 40 where I will transfer to cornies and lager for a month.

BrewmasterBrad ... have you used your gelatin technique on light lagers and if so with what success? When would you add the gelatin (how soon before the end of lagering or even at the start of lagering)?

Dan

[BrewMasterBrad]

Hey Dan, sorry I didn't reply earlier, been a little busy. The d-rest is obviously a big debate point for many people. I usually don't do one and I have had pretty good success. I try to pitch plenty of yeast at a temp that is very close to my target fermentation temp which seems to limit diacetyl formation. The bottom line though, is that I don't think it hurts to do a d-rest, so you should be fine.

As far as the gelatin is concerned - here is my normal lager procedure. I leave the beer in the primary for a month. For most of my average gravity lagers, I leave the beer at fermentation temp for about 2 weeks then slowly start to lower the temp a couple degrees per day until I reach 35F. After the month is over, I transfer into my bright tanks and leave it there for a week at 35F before I add the gelatin. I leave it another 3 to 7 days before racking into my serving kegs. Some lagers are ready to drink right away and others benefit from additional aging time - it really depends on the yeast strain and personal taste. I use the gelatin on all my lagers - light and dark (even the Schwarzbier). With proper brewing processes, time, gravity, and gelatin it is possible to make a brilliantly clear light lager.

On a side note, I am doing a d-rest right now on my Crown Town Light since I want it to be as clean as possible and I wanted to make sure that it finishes as dry as possible. The OG was 1.064 and I am going to dilute it with distilled water at kegging time to make it a light beer. Should be a nice light beer to get me through the dog days of summer.