I'm not sure if my experience conditioning beers on a 8.5 bb system translates to the 5 gal scale, but I feel that if you need to get the beer out the door after 2 weeks of lagering, it will still be very tasty, but if you can wait the 4-5 weeks, then do it.

My Dortmunder Export (1.050) takes two weeks from flame to glass. I raise the temperature in response to the level of fermentation I see in the blow-off. A typical regimen would be 50F for about three days, 52F for another two days, 55F for two days, 60F for two days, 70F for 3 days. Then I rack and crash on day 12, filter and carbonate on day 14. I use WLP833.

Tasty

Hey Mike,

I did JZ Schwarzbier on Tuesday night and pitched an appropriate starter of 830. I followed your fermentation schedule all the way so far. It is now Sunday and my fermentation is finishing. My krausen has fallen and the beer is starting to clear. I am a bit freaked out by this. It seems to be fermenting more like an ale than a lager. I will continue to follow the regimen the rest of the way, but do I need to be rousing the fermentor since it is starting to clear? Is this what your lagers do when you follow that fermentation line up?

Mills

tasty,

i am convinced that the success with the lager fermentation that you are doing is with the pitch of yeast. So, i have a few questions about what to do.

how many yeast packages and at what volume of starter do you make for X gallon batch?
>For 11 gallons, I make a 1.5 gallon starter on a stirplate using two vials of yeast. (I think Mr Malty recommends 3 vials).

what temperature do you do the starter at?
>Room temperature.

how long do you let it go?
>Until it's completely fermented.

how do you chill it down to pour off the liquid?
>I put it in my kegerator for two days.

when you pour in the new wort, do you just keep that in the same place as the beer wort?
>Not clear on the question. I pitch when the wort is two degrees below my primary fermentation temperature, typically 50F.