Pre Prohibition Lager | Pressure Fermenting a Lager

[@Kaesekuchen002]

I think Norm is a really sympathic guest. Great to see a taster this pro-active during the tasting. Great video as always!

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Norm FTW!

[@mutantryeff]

I ferment all my beers in 5 gallon kegs using a custom made pressure relief valve to provide 13psi (I bought a bunch of red ones and had my son change the springs - tested with CO2 pressure). If I need a blow off top, I can do that also. That way I can use a kegerator to maintain temperatures. I try to brew either 3 distinct small batches that fit into a 5 gallon keg (4.2 to 4.5 gallons), or a large 14.2 gallon batch split into 3 kegs. Transfering from primary keg to secondary keg also eliminates beer hitting oxygen. This works as long as all three kegs are using yeasts at the same temperature range. Never had issues with plugging of relief valve, as the blow off top setup can be used for the 1st day or 3.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Yes pressure fermenting in kegs is a winner for sure.

[@gregorywinters4697]

My Pre Prohibition Lager just finished up. I was able to get some Pre Prohibition 6 row from Sugar Creek Malts. Took about 3 hour mash for my gravity to finally plateau.

[@banyantree8618]

If concerned about spunging blockage - I would extend with a sight glass.

[@duncanbayne3078]

Well done, I'm doing all my "lagers" under pressure and warmer at the moment. The old spike lid with one small hole just needs a four way ( like a + ) on the single hole. Then prv on right, different spunding valve on left and the top vertical can be used for sight glass with butterfly valve for dry hopping. Just as safe and versatile without buying a new lid. Ideal to have a fermenter that can take more pressure then at end of ferment raise to 25 psi at 22celsius and then cold crash and it will be conditioned without extra gas. Saves time and work as well.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Cool idea with the four way. Could do something like that with my other lid.

[@TheBruSho]

The only thing this was missing was some smoked malt! Haha Kidding! Great vid Martin.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

😆 I think smoked malt and I are going to be spending some time apart.

[@Peter-Southern-Victoria-Aust]

For years I have been wanting to brew lagers but didn't have a fermentation temperature setup, since I found out about pressure fermentation I have been brewing lagers in corny kegs, I do a gravity closed transfer and I'm getting better results than store bought macro Lagers, I'm in South East Australia, Beer is very expensive here, I can not believe how good pressure fermentation lagers turn out

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Yeah, it’s really convenient for lagers and seems to work really well. Great to hear your process.

[@denverrobinson4445]

Ah, there it is! The awesome pressure fermentation video😁. The spike brewing setup looks amazing, I wish we had kit like that here in South Africa. I will personally be doing my first ever pressure fermentation shortly, so I thank you for your example in this video. It is very encouraging, and as always thanks for a great video and recipe

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Good luck!

[@normlang1994]

Who let that joker on set?!

[@LaurenCutthroat]

You were so good, Norm! I'm definitely fired that's for sure. 😅

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

You never know who you're gonna find on the internet.. LOL!

[@JohnGaltJeep]

@@LaurenCutthroat Please answer the age old question that's been driving us viewers crazy ....is Lauren Martins daughter??!

[@LaurenCutthroat]

@@JohnGaltJeep 🤔 maybe we need to do a q&a video to answer all these questions like what's our relation, where we are from etc. 😂

[@freshcleanair]

Great job, Martin! Will have to add this one to my next brew day.

[@wedomusic9451]

Add some roast malt for flavor/color and you have a kentucky common!

[@oldcrispiboi]

i have one in fermentation, it'll be ready in 4 more weeks 🤙🏼

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Maybe even a week or so less

[@torfinnsrnes6232]

The metric system rules. 😀

[@ElementaryBrewingCo]

Great video! That beer looks and sounds delicious! Wondering if you wished you made a 5 gallon batch? :)

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Yes it’s nearly gone...

[@Jango1989]

Lager lager lager, shouting! Hope you're having a rave of a time 😉 Cheers to being able to meet in pubs again.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

I think I may still have my Born Slippy CD single someplace.... :D

[@nikostaz8803]

Gr8 video Martin, cheers! Have you ever tried sparging grains with fresh hot water (not from the mash), i found out it increases my efficiency quite a bit!

[@TheScotttP]

Hi there! New subscriber and a new home brewer. I just set myself up with the ability to ferment under pressure, so I’m excited to try this recipe. Can you tell me what the OG and FG I should be shooting for in this recipe. Thanks in advance. Keep the content coming!

[@TheScotttP]

Oops, just got it from the video. All good! Thanks

[@sergei7502]

Love your work. Thank you for all the information.

[@Will-jd2br]

It’s funny that Spike tells people not to use blowtie spunding valves because the krausen can clog them. Yet so many people are successful doing it from a keg. I think they are just trying to sell their high priced accessories. Besides, how much Krausen actually gets formed under pressure? The whole point is to stress the yeast out and prevent replication.

[@NikitaVorontsov]

Have you tried comparison fermentations with different levels of PSI by any chance? I usually use 15 PSI for Lagers, noticed others also using 5. Great video, cheers!

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

I’ve not.. would be curious to learn about this too

[@Baruch05]

You have a Stainless Steel power strip for your setup that looks awesome. Can you tell me where you got that?

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Hmm, not sure what you’re referring to?

[@JstnMoyer]

So no noticeable affects from the warmish pressure fermentation using this yeast and did the 6-row barley leave an impression?

[@rogerschulz8721]

Martin, What was the fermentation timeline ( total time grain to glass)? Did you do a diacetyl rest or lager age the beer? This might go up on my list to try soon.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

4 weeks. After about 10 days I cold crashed and beer stayed cold from there

[@adammyren8279]

Love your channel! It made me take the fi al step to start Brewing at home. Can I ask a personal question if you dont mind? How come your Dad lives in the U.S as well? 🙂

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Great to hear you've joined the hobby! My Dad lives in Australia - he was in some of the early episodes and looking forward to bringing him back on post pandemic

[@jeromekeet6809]

Hello Martin, I am adding ultra moss ( irish moss) powder at 10min before flame out to have more flaked deposits while cooling with a spiral so the beer is more clear when it goed to the fermenter. At botteling ( adding sugar 5 to 7 grams per liter and then cap them of) I add some fome enhancer this is protien on yeast basis. What do you think about this and do you have any experiance with this way of working?

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

That's a great process. I got out of the habit of using Irish Moss for clarity but I hear it helps.

[@1TheLord1]

Norm really has a nose for beer, great guest. This does seem extremely crushable. How does it compare with a commercial mass market lager these days?

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Crushable is the word. Honestly it’s been a while since I’d had a commercial equivalent to compare this to.

[@normlang1994]

Thanks. You pick up a few things after almost 3K unique check-ins on UNTAPPD 😉

[@jeffcarsello1725]

Hey another great video! I been wanting to make a larger too with pressure, so this has been very helpful. Did you add gelatin for the clarity. The beer looks really clear. Also I noticed that you never show any sparging for any of your batches. I know you basically brew in a bag but do you Sparge at all. Thanks again for posting.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Thanks. Yes I did add gelatin and I never sparge with my brew system.

[@jeffcarsello1725]

Cool thank you for the reply

[@youmbgtube]

I'm new to fermenting under pressure. I want to brew a lager in reduced time like you did. Your video was very detailed but I heard you say you started fermentation in the mid 60'sF? Did you use a heater or try to control fermentation temperature? - Thanks

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

In my case I did control ferm temperature but fermenting under pressure means the beer is less sensitive to temperature in general. Room temp is generally fine under pressure.

[@youmbgtube]

@@TheHomebrewChallenge Sorry for more questions but you used a low temperature lager yeast at room temperature with pressure. How does this compare to fermenting with Kveik yeast at even higher temperature? (Do you ferment Kveik with pressure too or just elevated temperature?)

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Kveik will burn through the sugars faster at higher temps. I’ve done both pressure and no-pressure Fermentations with it, but always keep the temp quite high.

[@iamteddy87]

isn't pressure bad for that type of yeast? I've seen pressure fermentation for 34/70 but not for true lager yeast

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

It didn’t seem to mind 😀 That said I didn’t go crazy with something like 30 psi of pressure

[@dimash244]

nice video!

[@TheFloaterjoe]

I have the same prv and the gas input post keeps leaking and I can't figure it out. And suggestions? Thank you!

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Did you try spraying with Starsan to pinpoint the leak?

[@TheFloaterjoe]

@@TheHomebrewChallengeI for sure need to give it another shot but yes. The gauge and the 15psi blow off don't leak. . It's the rubber grommet below the air in post. I've used Teflon tape and tried tightening it to the point the grommet deformed. I might have an earlier production run from 2018 or 19

[@allfatherodin-officiallyun1107]

Would pressure fermentation also work if you let the fermentation itself do the pressurizing for you?

[@garyeurice8867]

In this case, I think the main purpose of the pressure fermentation is to allow for a warmer fermentation temp without the loss of the clean flavor profile you'd expect from a lager. If you were to start fermenting at ale temps without the aid of additional pressure, you'd already have introduced some of those undesirable flavors before your vessel had a chance to pressurize naturally. This is just my assumption though.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Right. That being said I could have let the pressure build from CO2 generated during fermentation and kept that in the fermenter. Starting under pressure just gave it a head start. I'd be surprised if I generated too much in the way of undesirable flavors from that initial period of building pressure, but who knows?

[@allfatherodin-officiallyun1107]

@@TheHomebrewChallenge would the beer be carbonated enough to bottle it without extra sugar for a secondary fermentation on the bottle? And what are you gonna do when you finished the challenge? Like, is it end of the road or are you going to write your own recipes?

[@Grandpa6696]

Nice 👍🏼

[@atomictyler]

I do that with my spunding valve EVERY SINGLE TIME hahaha.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

😆

[@sergei7502]

Question, do you keep the co2 the whole time you do pressurized fermentation? Or just at the beginning?

[@providencebrewing]

Just at the beginning. The fermentation activity going on IN the fermenter keeps it at continuous pressure. The PRV spunding valve is set to release any pressure above the initial 10 psi, and the PRV is there just in case it goes above 15 psi.

[@TheAlchemistsBrewery]

Before the prohibition all lagers were fermented warm and under pressure in spike fermenters :)

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

True story!

[@fivefingerfullprice3403]

So is this like a typical American Lager or is it a bit stronger?

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Tasted very much like an American lager to me.

[@LaurenCutthroat]

Personally, I thought it tasted a little lighter. 🤷‍♀️ It had a subtle lager taste and was really easy on the palate.

[@fivefingerfullprice3403]

@@LaurenCutthroat Sounds pretty good to me then.

[@glajeunesse]

@@LaurenCutthroat If you had to compare it to a macrobrew, what would you say it tasted like? (If it's comparable)

[@CMS_Mail]

I jumped!

[@mutantryeff]

Roughly 10 bottles of beer from a gallon.

[@GingerGames]

Not first!

[@simonboughton4705]

Looks a nice lager and I will try it, thank you. I have to say that the fermenting system you use looks terribly overcomplicated and expensive. You no longer really seem to be home brewing, more semi-professional. Why not use something that will do the job for a fraction of the price, like the Allrounder, and be like us normal mortals?

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

I brewed my Peanut Butter beer in the All Rounder recently.

[@ml.2770]

Pressure fermenting is lame. Yeast doesn't like it. Just ferment cool and wait, your beer will taste better.

[@LaurenCutthroat]

First 😂

[@Unsub-Me-Now]

When are you starting your homebrew challenge channel?

[@LaurenCutthroat]

@@Unsub-Me-Now oh, I am not sure! Martin is the brains behind the camera with all the editing, brewing and such. I would love to do something more with my beer tasting talent though. I have a few ideas. Haha.

[@Unsub-Me-Now]

@@LaurenCutthroat you'd have an auto subscribe from me.

[@LaurenCutthroat]

@@Unsub-Me-Now thank you! ❤️

[@nikostaz8803]

Gr8 video Martin, cheers! Have you ever tried sparging grains with fresh hot water (not from the mash), i found out it increases my efficiency quite a bit!

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

I’ve never done that with this system. I do think it would be interesting to try and see what difference it makes

[@nikostaz8803]

@@TheHomebrewChallenge I use heated water of about 70-77 °C (158-170 °F), the extra heat also increases extraction, however it is not recommended to go 80 °C (176 °F) or above not to extract any tanins from the grains.