Carboy

Next stop, Bavaria!

Helles on deck

I finally had a couple of nights free to brew my next batch of beer, only two months later than I had originally planned.
 
I had hoped that the Helles would make a good late spring/early summer beer. Instead, this Bavarian-style lager will be delicious in late summer. But why did I need two nights to make it? Because for this batch, I prepared a yeast starter.
 

From Carboy

 
The idea of the starter is get the yeast cells moving and riled up before unleashing them into the cold lager. Using the guidance of the ever-trusty Northern Brewer, I made a half-cup of DME in 650 ml of boiling water. Then I tossed the starter flask into an ice bath to cool this impromptu wort to a good pitching temperature.
 

From Carboy

 
After pitching, I let the yeast dance for about 24 hours in the flask at room temperature. By that point, the yeast was alive and kicking and ready for a big batch of beer.
 
I brewed this 3-gallon batch of Helles that next night. All went well, although you can see that I've just about hit the limits of my current system, and the sparging is a total mess.
 

From Carboy

 
Once the wort was chilled and put into the primary fermenter, I pitched the yeast that had gotten a one-day head start. This should help keep it moving as the temperatures drop in the lagering fridge.
 

From Carboy

 
After two weeks at about 52 degrees, it'll be ready to move to the secondary fermenter and the cold lagering phase.

By Tom on 06/19/2013

Stage: Brewing

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