Oktoberfest Beer Started

I have started my first attempt of a lager. I brewed a Märzen style Oktoberfest on Saturday. The beer was brewed in Cincinnati, since it will need to stay in a fridge until September. In this previous post I talked about the fridge and temperature gauge that will allow me to lager. I was joined by Jordan and Nate for the mashing process. As was the case with the Scotch Ale, I had trouble initially with the lauter tun. The milled grain collected at the bottom of the lauter tun and blocked the manifold. This was corrected by pouring the water and grist back into the mash tun and returned to the lauter tun. The boiling wort had a great copper color and smell. The Hersbrucker hops had a very interesting smell, quite different any hops I have ever used. It was pungent smell, almost like cheese, but it seemed to go well with the sweet smell of the grain.

After the boil I had close to five gallons of wort. I incorrectly assumed that the wort could chill in my fridge and after a couple hours I finally used the wort chiller. I was only able to get the temperature down to 80 degrees, so re-sealed the container and put it back into the fridge. Overnight the beer was down to 65 degrees. I pitched the yeast and placed it back into the fridge. Within 12 hours it was 55 degrees and after 24 hours it was 51 degrees and it should stay at that temperature. After 24 hours there still is no activity. I have read that the lager yeast is slower than ale yeast, so it may take a few days to start. There are a few different ways to pitch yeast for a lager, and I felt this was the best method. I will be more comfortable with my decision when it starts to bubble and show fermentation.