Any lager experts out there? I put my first batch in the fridge and kept it at 60 degrees as the recipe says to do until it starts fermenting, which I assume means when I see the airlock start to bubble. The recipe says it should only take about a day, but it's been 2 days now and still nothing. Is that normal?

I am by no means an expert on lagering (see http://brewersroundtable.com/lager-issues-t1152.html ). I have learned a few things from my experiences, however.

First off, what yeast strain did you use? The Saf-Lager dry yeast seems to be pretty tolerant of different temps.

I'd do a yeast starter with lagers just to make sure you have a good solid colony going.

I'm sure I'll catch some heck for this, but ferment them a few degrees warmer than it says. My last batch, the yeast said "optimum" fermentation temp was 53*F, but it just wouldn't finish until I warmed it back up to 60*F for a week or so.

As far as getting yours going, is it in a plastic bucket, or a carboy? With the bucket, sometimes they don't quite seal and you'll think it never fermented when it actually did. You can peek in and tell if it's fermenting. If it's not fermenting at all (in a carboy or bucket), I'd pitch more yeast if you have it, and stir it up to get some oxygen in it again. I'm thinking I'll start aerating any lagers with an aquarium pump just to "super" oxygenate them.

The big thing with lagers is just hold on and be patient. You can see with my other post, I kind of "panicked" and worried too much.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

Thanks. Some answers:
I doubled the yeast at the recommendation of the brew store folks. Southern German Lager Yeast- White Labs

It's in a glass carboy with an airlock

I suppose there's no harm in waiting, right? I just don't want to keep it at 60 degrees longer than it needs, but I guess I'll see it start to bubble.

One more thing- the airlock is losing water, I assume because it's in the fridge. My current plan is to keep periodically topping it off with sterile water. Any other suggestions?

I would say that there is a problem if it hasn't started yet and you used a double batch of yeast. What was the temp when you pitched it? Was this all-grain, or extract? What was your starting SG? How old was the yeast you acquired from the brew shop? If it got frozen or too hot at some point you might have a problem to take up with your supplier... Sorry, it's a lot of questions, just thinking of anything that could have gone wrong.

This yeast shows 55*F as an "optimum" fermenting temp, so 60* seems a good jump-off point.

Unfortunately, the longer it takes to get going, the higher the risk of contamination, regardless of your careful sanitation routine. If it's possible, I'd get more yeast and pitch it ASAP. I've had a couple long lag times with lagers, but never more than 24 hours...

It finally started last night- about 48 hours after I pitched the yeast. I have it down to 50 degrees now, as per the recipe. We'll see how it turns out.

Good luck to you! Remember, it could take as much as 6 weeks to ferment (in my experiences anyway...). Some people do a diacetyl rest after fermentation where they bring it up to 65* for a couple days in order to avoid a buttery flavor, although I've never run into it.