Franconian Beer Message Board

Bamberg visit - Mahr's & U
Posted by Mark Andersen on 2010-01-04 15:10:17
Barry, it's my understanding that the long lagering process primarily is to make the beer smoother and more stable. The yeast will mostly be done fermenting fairly early on in the lagering process and then due to the lack of fermentables left it will begin to reabsorb some of the esters and sulfurs from the beer thus making it smoother. Have you ever tasted a lager beer shortly after primary fermentation? It is quite sulfury. It's actually hard to believe at that point that the beer will someday be drinkable. When you go back to sample it after 3 months of lagering the sulfur and other off flavors are gone. As far as natural carbonation goes, I've personally found that as long as the secondary fermentation and lagering is airtight, which it definately should be unless you want to risk contaminated beer, then there will be some natural carbonation that has built up. My bitch with most American microbreweries that attempt to produce a lager is that they have clearly cut a corner somewhere either in the lagering or the mashing process and it shows. So I make it myself since I can't visit Franconia but once a year if I'm lucky. So admittedly I'm just a Yank homebrewer that has much to learn so my comments and opinions can be taken with a grain of salt. That being said I'm going down into my lagering room in the basement to pour a Seidla of naturally carbonated Bock that just came of it's 3 month lagering. Yum.
 
Followups:
                   Bamberg visit - Mahr's & U by Nick B. on  2010-01-05 01:40:22
                     Bamberg visit - Mahr's & U by Barry on  2010-01-05 03:47:49
                     Bamberg visit - Mahr's & U by Mark Andersen on  2010-01-05 06:16:41
                       Bamberg visit - Mahr's & U by Mark Andersen on  2010-01-05 07:02:19
                       Natural carbonation in beers by Uncle Jimbo on  2010-01-05 10:22:09
                       Buzzards Bay by Uncle Jimbo on  2010-01-05 10:31:31
                       Weyerman's Smoked Malt by Joelle on  2010-01-11 09:03:37
                         Weyerman's Smoked Malt by Mark Andersen on  2010-01-11 12:35:18
                           Weyerman's Smoked Malt by Joelle on  2010-01-11 13:10:47
                           Weyerman's Smoked Malt by Fred Waltman on  2010-01-11 14:17:07
                             Weyerman's Smoked Malt by Joelle on  2010-01-12 07:55:11
                               Weyerman's Smoked Malt by Uncle Jimbo on  2010-01-12 11:08:54
                             Weyerman's Smoked Malt by Nick B. on  2010-01-12 23:32:06
                               Weyerman's Smoked Malt by TreinJan on  2010-01-13 00:26:32
                                 Weyerman's Smoked Malt by Nick B. on  2010-01-13 02:08:48