Thu Jan 10, 2013 10:17 am
Writing as someone who has been brewing lagers for a couple of years now, I suggest you work out your technique on a less challenging beer. Brewing a doppelbock as your first lager is like brewing a barleywine as your first ale. I would try maybe a Vienna Lager or a Munich Helles first. You get the added benefit of building a big slug of yeast that you can subsequently pitch into a bigger beer like a doppelbock. My $0.02.
Technique tips:
Pitch about twice as much yeast as you normally would for an ale of similar OG.
Be generous when adding oxygen just before fermentation begins
Pitch cold and let the beer rise up to your fermentation temp (48-50 oF)
Be patient: I normally don't touch a lager until it has fermented for four weeks. FOr a bigger beer like a doppelbock I might let it ferment for 6-8 weeks.
Depending on the yeast strain you may need to raise the fermentation temp up by 10 oF for a diacetyl rest near the end of fermentation.
Lager the beer in a keg. That way you can taste the beer periodically to see when it is ready. I try to wait until the beer has lagered for 4 weeks before I taste the beer.
Brew lagers often that way you won't be tempted to drink them too early.
Sour/Brett Beer Fermenting: Lambic, Kreik, Flanders Red, Berliner Weisse, Orval, English Stock Ale
On Tap: nothing
Next on Tap: Belgian Pale Ale, American ESB and Sweet Cider
Next to Brew: Belgian Tripel and Dark Strong Ale
