Comments on: Narziss Fermentation

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 17:19:20 +0000

I found this in an old Brewing Techniques article by George Fix on Diacetyl reduction:

“One alternative is the so-called Narziss fermentation. In this procedure the first two-thirds of the fermentation is done at 8-10 degrees C (46-50 degrees F). During the final third of fermentation, the temperature is allowed to increase to 20 degrees C (68 degrees F), after which the beer is transferred to cold storage.”

By: Stephen

Stephen — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:40:56 +0000

Thanks John. Got it. 2 weeks into fermenting my first lager. Will report back when done! Using the Narziss process.

By: John

John — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:36:42 +0000

Hi Stephen,

No need to call yourself a dolt. You do want to rack the beer off the sludge/trub/cold break material from your kettle into your fermenter. The wort will have enough food for the yeast to do their thing.

You are encouraged to do this to help with clarity. Now, if you get a little sludge in your fermenter - it's not the end of the world. I think you should try to get as little as possible into your fermenter.

I think maybe you were confused with the timing of this step. This step would come in right after the boil is done and your wort is cooled to fermentation temperature. This racking is from kettle to fermenter and not fermenter to lagering vessel.

Hope that helps.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 22:12:02 +0000

Appreciate your comments here. I googled this having read Brewing Classic Styles too. I must admit, I am novice at homebrewing and am a little lost on the comment, “It’s also encouraged to rack the beer off of the cold break before pitching yeast.” What does this mean? I know what racking is, siphoning to another container for clarity. I am going to use a 2 stage fermentation process so planning on doing this anyway, but prior to pitching the yeast? I’m lost. Once I chill my wort down to 44-45, I don’t want to rack it off the trub/sludge, do I? Doesn’t this contain all of the “food” for the yeast? Can someone break this down for me in step by step detail since I seem to not be able to conjure up what the authors are recommending? Sorry for being a dolt. Appreciate the assist.

By: Ted

Ted — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:47:12 +0000

I do try to get the wort to about 45*F at pitching. Then as the fermentation picks up, it naturally raises to about 50*F. And then holding it there or a few below is good. I still will raise the temp in towards the end of the 2-3rd week closer to 60 to finish it off before racking.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:53:31 +0000

I’ve only brewed 2 lagers, and am doing my 3rd this weekend. The first time, I chilled my wort to 70 F and pitched my yeast, just like I do for ales, then stuck the carboy in the lagering fridge. That one needed 3 days for a diacetyl rest, and still was a little rough tasting after 6 weeks lagering. My second one, I chilled down to fermentation temp then pitched my yeast. No diacetyl rest needed but a little fruity ester was present after 4 weeks lagering. This time I plan on using the Narziss Fermentation procedure and will let you know how it goes. Oh, and huge starters are a must.

By: dan

dan — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:07:51 +0000

That’s sort of how I do it….I’ve tried pitching above fermentation temp twice and had bad results…pitched 56-60 and ferment 50-52. Now, I usually don’t get down to 44, but I do get to 46-48 and ferment 48-50. This has worked quite well & produced super clean beers. Big starters and lots of 02 helps too.

By: JSKC

JSKC — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:37:03 +0000

It’s also encouraged to rack the beer off of the cold break before pitching yeast.