I need some help with this recipe please. I do not yet have the equipment needed to brew a lager at the required fermentation temperatures. So, I would like to try and brew this Pilsner using the Omega OYL-071 Lutra Kveik Yeast. Everything I have read says that this is an ideal yeast to “simulate” a lager. Some questions: 1. When they say “first wort hopping” I assume they mean at the beginning of the 90 minute boil, correct? 2. For the Step Mash, how do I do that specifically? After holding for 10 minutes, how do I raise the mash temp to 144 degrees? Do I just start adding strike water until I hit 144 degrees? What temp should the strike water be? Then, again raising the mash temp from 144 to 160, same process? 3. For the decoction process, it says to remove a third of the mash and thin it. How thin? I’ve never done a decoction. What kind of consistency am I shooting for? 4. Since I am using the Kveik yeast, I am thinking I would ferment at 70 degrees? 68 degrees is the bottom temp for this yeast for fermenting. Your thoughts? 5. Since this is not a lager yeast, I should go ahead and bottle when fermentation has stopped for about 3 days, correct? Anything else I am missing or need to be concerned about? Thanks in advance!! Bierstadt Lagerhaus’ Slow Pour Pils clone (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain) OG = 1.047 FG = 1.012 IBU = 33 SRM = 3 ABV = 4.5 % Ingredients 9.0 lbs. (4.08 kg) German Pilsner malt 0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) acidulated malt 4 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (first wort hopping) (1 oz./30 g at 4% alpha acids) 4 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (70 min.) (1 oz./30 g at 4% alpha acids) Wyeast 2124 (Bohemian Lager) or White Labs WLP830 (German Lager) or Saflager W-34/70 yeast 3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming) Step by Step For authenticity, this all-grain recipe employs a step mash coupled with a single decoction. Mill the grains, then mix with 3.0 gallons (11.2 L) of 142 °F (61 °C) strike water to reach a protein rest of 131 °F (55 °C). Hold for 10 min before raising the mash temperature to 144 °F (62 °C). Hold this temperature for 30 minutes. Again, raise the mash temperature to 160 °F (71 °C) and hold there for 40 min. Finally, remove 1⁄3 of your mash, thin, and boil for 10 min before adding the decoction back to the main mash. Vorlauf until your runnings are clear, and lauter. Sparge the grains with 4.5 gallons (17 L) and top up as necessary to obtain 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated. After the boil is complete, perform a 5-minute whirlpool and then rapidly chill the wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, which is 47 °F (8.5 °C) for this beer. Pitch yeast. Maintain fermentation temperature of 47 °F (8.5 °C) for 3.5 weeks or until the completion of primary fermentation, whichever is later. Then, reduce temperature to 38 °F (3.5 °C) gradually by dropping the temperature one degree every 2 days and rest there for 1 week. Perform a similar drop in temperature until you reach 32 °F (0 °C) and lager for 3-4 weeks. Bottle or keg the beer and carbonate to approximately 2.5 volumes.
Permit me to strongly recommend that you use Fermentis W-34/70 and ferment warm (e.g., 68 degrees F). This yeast has been thoroughly studied and it can produce a beer with lager characteristics even when fermented in the 60's. Cheers!
First wort hopping just means adding a dose of hops to the kettle as the wort first flows into it, before it has ramped up to boiling temperature. So the hops are in there the whole time, not just the duration of the boil.
It looks to me as though this is designed for a brew-in-a-bag or similar process, where you can heat the wort directly on your stovetop (presumably using relatively gentle heat while stirring). I've never done this, I can't really advise on how to go about it.
1. FWH, what @Beer_Life said about it. Some say it adds a more balanced bitterness, whatever that means (maybe less harsh?) and more noticeable aroma from the hops. I FWH’d once, but can’t give a good comparison because it wasn’t in a brew that I’d done before without FWH 5. Are you basing “fermentation has stopped” on gravity readings and not just a lack of visible activity? Beer can be safely bottled when it’s reached final gravity, one indicator of which is stable gravity readings over a few days. If you have means to chill/cold crash the beer before bottling it will help to clear it but that raises concerns with introducing oxygen (another discussion in and of itself). Crash or not, you’ll still end up with some sediment after conditioning.
Just have to point out here that the "thorough study" on 34/70 done by Fermentis compared certain measured beer characteristics for several fermentation temperatures between 12C and 20C (54F to 68F). What's missing here? Truly cold fermentation, like 48-50. Kind of odd, considering this is a lager yeast. (And yes, 34/70 can be used at proper, cold lager fermentation temps, in spite of any manufacturer's updated recommended range.) In my opinion, the study should have concluded that beers fermented very warm were comparable to beers fermented fairly warm. That said, I've tasted some pretty good 34/70 beers fermented at about 60F. Given the choice, I would certainly use 34/70 warm-ish rather than any Kviek strain.
Yes, basing fermentation stopped by taking gravity readings and seeing no activity for 3 days. For chill/cold crash, could it be as simple as moving the finished wort into my garage which would be at about 35-40 degrees this time of year? Perhaps move it out to the garage the night before bottling and let it crash overnight? How much time would it take for a 5 gallon bucket of wort at approx. 68 degrees to cool down enough for a cold crash? What is the temperature desired for cold crashing?
Nope, I’d stay away from Lutra. Instead I would recommend S-189 all day long. Or maybe Diamond. And yes, even at room temperature. Both of these have turned out great for me at room temperature. 1. First wort hopping means you add the hops during runoff from the mash, at mash temperature, prior to the boil. That being said… it will give you the same results as if you add them at the beginning of the boil. I do not find FWH method to be beneficial in any way shape or form. AFAIC, it’s just another bittering hop addition. There’s no other magic going on. 2. There are dozens of ways to increase temperature. Figure out a way that you think you might like. Decoction is one way that works well but there are others. 3. Usually for decoction, you will remove a portion of the thick mash (I use a colander and typically would remove 2/3 of the thick mash) and boil the thick mash for X number of minutes. As little as a 10-15 minute boil can be sufficient, or you can boil longer if you want it to darken on purpose. Then you add this back into the “main mash” (i.e., the thin part). You usually will not add any more water to thin out the thick mash, although you might thin it with just a small amount of the thin mash or main mash if desired. Just not too much, because the enzymes tend to hang out in the liquid portion (the “main mash”), and that’s the most important part of the process, the conversion of starches into simple sugars. All that being said… Decoction is complicated. If it seems too complicated, it’s because yes, it’s complicated. Fortunately, you can safely skip decoction entirely if you so choose, and just do a single infusion mash at say 150 F for 90 minutes and call it a day. AND, I’ll bet you wouldn’t be able to taste a difference at the end anyway. I don’t think I could. 4. With kveik, it doesn’t much matter, you could go hotter, or not, it’s up to you. But again, I’d recommend S-189 or Diamond, even at room temperature. 5. Bottle when it’s done. It won’t be done in 3 days, if that's what you've asked (but I don't know that it was). Best advice I can give: Wait until you are pretty sure it’s done fermenting. Then measure specific gravity. Then wait another 3-4 days. Then measure specific gravity again. If the SG decreases by just 1-2 points, it’s not done yet. So then wait another 3-4 days, then measure again. Repeat the process until it doesn’t decrease by even just 1 single gravity point. THEN it’s done and you can bottle. This should typically take a good 7-10 days, sometimes longer. Don’t rush it. Patience is key to great beer. And over-complication of a recipe is NOT key to great beer. Fresh ingredients, consistent process, and patience are all far more important. Good luck, enjoy, cheers.
I have personally not conducted a decoction but from my various readings they always seem to discuss removing about 1/3rd of the thick mash for boiling. For example, Kai Troester discusses: “The portion removed, which can often be as much as a third of the grist, is called the decoction.” http://www.braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php/Decoction_Mashing Why do you remove more than a third (i.e., 2/3rds) when you conduct a decoction? Amen to that! Cheers!
I've tried smaller decoctions, but found that the temperatures don't rise enough, for ME, with MY own process, to hit the next desired step temperature. YMMV
Firstly, thanks for your prompt response. Yes, we all have our own unique homebrewery which will influence things. I too will 'tailor' a published recipe to best suit my homebrewery and chosen brewing processes. Cheers!
Short answer to the first question is, “Yes, but….” One “but” is the risk/inevitability of O2 getting in your beer if not in a closed system. As the beer cools its volume will shrink, drawing air and the contents of your airlock into the fermentor. Without a way to crash without letting oxygen in, I'd forego it. Considering @dmtaylor's over-complication comment, it might have been better if I hadn’t mentioned cold crashing.
