[HoosierBrew]

Looks great  !


EDIT  -  Did your FG come down any ?

[69franx]

Thanks John. It came down a little to 1.015 and would not budge for 2.5 weeks. That puts it at 71%+ attenuation. It is tasty. Now I want to try a pilsner, but my chest freezer has parts of 6 different batches in bottles in it... I need another freezer... How do I explain that to SWMBO? Lol


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[hopfenundmalz]

It looks good. Congrats on your first lager.

They can be such gratifying beers to drink when they turn out as you plan.

Brew more so that you have some in the pipeline. A Doppelbock brewed now would be nice in 5 or 6 months.

We brew Pilsners in the winter so that we are drinking them in the summer. Mrs. R has no problems with having lagering space enough to get us through the summer months.

[HoosierBrew]

+1.  Nice work. You can explain how you need to brew some more after you get busy and empty out most of that stash !   

[69franx]

Yes, I thought we were having a tasting t the house this weekend so I've been hoarding a little if this and a little of that to have 6 batches available to taste(cider was not ready or it would have been 7) main problem is that I'm down to 7 12 oz bottles if my IPA with none I. The pipeline. Thankfully, my 15 gallon Bru-Gear kettle is supposed to be here tomorrow, only 3+ months late from Kickstarter


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[69franx]

I really hate IPhone auto correct as I read back over my post, sorry for the typos


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[HoosierBrew]

Thankfully, my 15 gallon Bru-Gear kettle is supposed to be here tomorrow, only 3+ months late from Kickstarter

Nice upgrade.  That'll help.

[69franx]

Yes, I cant wait to put it to use, but its likely more than a month away before I brew again

[Wort-H.O.G.]

I pitch at 45F, then set my temp controller to 50 and walk away for a week. Then I start bumping the temp by 3 degrees every 2-3 days. By the end of week 2 you should generally be ready to check for diacetyl, then crash and lager on a beer this size.

If you're bottle conditioning, you may be better off lagering in the bottles. Cold crash for 1-2 days, bottle, then let them sit warm for 2-3 weeks until fully carbonated. You can then lager them as cold as you can. This way you could drink some right away if you wanted, while the remaining bottles should continue to improve with some added cold-aging. I've done this several times, and it's a great option if you're not kegging.

I'm about to try something similar.  A guy I know on Facebook uses this schedule and people who have tried it have glowing reports....


    Chill wort to pitching temp (48°-53°F), pitch adequately sized starter (decanted), set regulator to initial fermentation temp (50°-55°F), and leave beer to ferment 5 days. (+5 days)
   
On the morning of the 5th day (beer should be over 50% attenuated), remove probe from side of fermentor so it measures ambient temp inside chamber and bump regulator up 3°-5°F; continue raising ambient temp 3°-5°F every 12 hours until you reach 65°F then leave it for 2-3 days to finish fermenting and cleaning up. (+5 days = 10 days)
   
On day 11, start ramping the ambient temp of the chamber down 5°F every 12 hours until it reaches 30°F and let it cold crash/lager for 3-4 more days. (+8 days = 18 days)
   
Rack cold (and usually very clear) beer to kegs, put kegs in kegerator/keezer on gas, leave for a week, serve! (+7 days = 24 days)

Full article at http://brulosophy.com/lager-method/

trying this schedule for my helles as we speak-let ya know how it turns out.