I'm pretty excited about my first lager

Sounds like you will have a tasty lager beer in a couple of months.

Cheers!

 

Sounds good to me as well! Brewing lagers, to me at least, is addicting, and more exciting than a simple old ale any day.

 

I recently brewed a very similar beer as my first lager--same OG, IBUs, and hops. The only difference is that I used 10% Munich malt in addition to the Vienna and 34/70 for my yeast. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, but If I were going to do it again, I'd probably use another hop in addition to the Perle for a little more depth of flavor.

I used the brulosopher quick lager method, and while the beer was clear from the keg right away I found it got significantly better after a few weeks lagering. I think it's still improving as it sits, too.

 

So what are your thoughts about the "quick lager method"? Do you think that lagers can genuinely be produced in a short timeframe?

Cheers!

 

I have read that a lot of people swear by it, but in my personal experience they still seem to need more time. This is still the only lager I've done, though, so it's hard for me to make any sweeping conclusions. It was crystal clear and drinkable, but not particularly good after gelatin fining and carbonating. It is MUCH better now, after about 4 weeks in the keg, and seems to be getting better still the longer it sits.

 

FWIW it seems to me that the brulosophy folks 'sell' the clarification aspect of the quick lagering method but IMO there is more to what happens during lagering than just a clarification process. Your experience with your lager seems to bear that out.

Cheers!

 

I would try really hard not to drink that keg too quickly. A one month lager is the beginning of potential greatness vs. the end.

 

Sit back and drink a beer

 

Did you rehydrate the yeast?

Some other homebrewers have discussed that they got slow starts with this yeast: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=433263

Cheers!

 

Too soon for that.

 

I use dry yeast a lot but only for ales. My consistent experience is signs of fermentation in less than 24 hours (typically much less than 24).

I have no familiarity with Mangrove Jack yeast or dry lager yeast.

Hopefully you will see signs of fermentation soon.

Cheers!

 

I have no experience with that yeast, but, the last 2-3 lagers I brewed had diacetyl issues. With future lagers, I'm going to start the diacetyl rest sooner, when the yeast are more active, and use a diacetyl force test to help evaluate whether it is time for moving to the keg.

 

It appears like you are seeing some yeast activity.

FWIW it just sounds like this yeast suffers from slow starts. As long as your conducted proper sanitation hopefully this batch will turn out OK.

Maybe use a different lager yeast strain next time?

Cheers!

 

Whoa, lager yeast are bottom fermenters... you sure you didn't get ale yeast by mistake?

 

Sounds more like infection to me.