Fast Lager Method

[Brody]

I did my last lager by raising it to room temp (mid 60s) at 50% EVG. I loved it but it was a bit too clean. Hoping a slower ferment will leave a bit more character.

I'm gonna try Nico's pitching at 5c, letting it rise to 9c, then start cooling at 45% instead of warming. When you transfer, you're just targeting enough extract to get your carbonation right?

Interesting that you're hitting full attenuation in about the same time the fast method predicts.

[Bryan R]

[pietro]

[Brandon]

Sulfur is one compound....very slight, hint of it though, and not always present in all German lagers. I call this 'tank' taste, kind of like the flavor profile of aged wine. In that case, not tannin or vanilla, but the flavor of aging - clarity along with depth of character. I wish I could pin down a specific compound for this. It must be related to yeast activity over time in some way.

[Techbrau]

Fusel alcohol production is significantly higher at fermentations above 8c. This is a fact. You probably won't make hot or solventy beer fermenting at 10c, but sub-threshold levels of fusels still impact taste.

Kunze shows higher residual levels of diacetyl and other byproducts at the end of a traditional lager fermentation vs. an accelerated schedule. We're talking about 0.05 vs 0.1 ppm here, with the taste threshold being somewhere around 0.15 ppm. Sub-threshold levels of these compounds can still effect the overall flavor impression without screaming "butter!"

Furthermore, Kunze also describes a host of yeast-produced proteins and other compounds which are slowly excreted during a cold lager cycle, but not a warm maturation. These compounds are said to be beneficial for flavor, body, and foam.

Of course, SO2 levels will be higher with a cold maturation vs a warm one. SO2 is a natural antioxidant which protects the finished beer, and a little hint of it in the aroma is desirable as well.

I'm not going to ever tell anybody that they will make bad beer with an accelerated fermentation, the lack of SO2 alone should be enough to convince anybody that a difference exists. In my opinion, having that bit of SO2 is quite important.

[ajk]

[Owenbräu]

SO2 will also be higher with Bavarian strains.

German flavor means everything, not just a single descriptor. Plenty of experts, like Bamforth and Fix, heading down single component and off flavor paths. Don't get me wrong, understanding and eliminating off-flavors is important, but the ultra reductionist approach misses the boat.

[Bryan R]

[Techbrau]

Yup. I used to assume 5 minutes of intense shaking and a fermenter full of foam got me 8ppm.

When I actually measured with a DO meter, I barely had 4.

[ajk]

I don't have a DO meter, so that could definitely be it.