fermenting ?

[andrewk5]

so the story goes.....

 

1 week ago i put down a batch of coopers EL, 1kg BE#1, 500g LDM. kit yeast was pitched at aprox 24'c then let the temp drop to a steady 14 - 16'c. things were going fine for about 5 days but we had a really cold night & wort droped to about 10'c - with no airlock activity. so out came the heat mat, initialy i got it up to about 18'c & airlock activity kicked off again so by turning heat mat on / off i have kept between 14' - 18'c.

by the end of day 7 & into day 8 there has been no airlock activity. OG was 1045 SG today was 1022 aprox. now the kit yeast being a lager strain i was ready for it to take at least 2 weeks to ferment, could it have finished early? or do i need to got to LHBS & buy some extra yeast?

i wasnt sure if it was the right thing to do but i picked up the fermenter & gave it a few swishs to see if this would kick start the yeast - with no luck?

 

does anyone have any suggestions please? i hope i have included enough info om my situation

 

CHEERS [happy]

[JohnS]

I have a similar issue. Using a true lager yeast for the first time and Brew Enhancer 1.

SG: 1042

Current: 1020

 

Temp has been a constant 14degrees throughout and the fermentation seems to have finished.

Just that now I have worked out the rough alcohol content to be ~3.4% which seems quite a bit lower than I expected.

 

I guess any help for Andrew would probably apply to me as well so any info would be appreciated. I have another sachet of yeast I can pitch if needed.

[Kearnage]

Andrew, I made roughly the same brew at roughly the same time.

I did the 'green neck' recipe (half the BE1 of yours) but I put in the kit yeast and a Saflager 34/70 yeast.

I pitched at about 24 deg and got it down to 15 deg in 24 hours, and it has sat at 12 - 14 deg since. The first few days it went crazy, lots of foam and airlock bubbling which I wasn't expecting. The OG was 1045. It has seemed to do nothing for the last few days, but yesterday the SG was 1013, so quite a bit lower than yours. Mine still has a small bit of foam and bubble on the surface even though the airlock is silent, so I'm leaving it a few more days before checking the SG again.

I don't know if that actually helped in any way, but there it is!

 

Cheers

 

Dan

[Muddy Waters]

The airlock doesn't really mean anything Andrew. A lager will take longer to ferment (Sometimes 2-3 weeks) so you have to be patient.

 

Sounds like you have been brewing at higher than recommended temps with a lot of fluctuations - I'd be more worried about the higher temps than the lower ones.

 

Patience and time should be your friends on this occasion.

 

[cool]

[andrewk5]

hey muddy......once it got down to 10'c i thought id bump it back up a little ( 18'c ) just to get the yeast kicking again, i try & keep it as close to 15'c as possible.

 

it has that eggy smell that from what ive read is a good thing during fermentation so not worried there, mostly wondering if it is still fermenting even when no co2 escapes, or might i have a bad pack of yeast & might have to pitch some more? i know that the airlock is not the best indication but it does let you know early on the things a kicking along. as im only new ( this being my 2nd batch ( 1st with a lager yeast )....still not to familar with normal signs & symptons [lol]

 

but thx muddy [happy]

[Muddy Waters]

I think the temp range of the yeast would be around 9C - 15C with 12C being the ideal. The temp dropping to 10C is fine.

[PB2]

If you are worried about the yeast not getting the job done, elevate the temp' a bit, 15C or higher. Fermentation activity slows with a drop in temp'.

 

Did you record the BB date on the European Lager can?

[andrewk5]

cool ill keep it around the lower temps [happy] which is easy where i live.

 

hey PB2......BB date of the EL was 12 JAN 2012

[PB2]

That was supposed to read 15C, not -15C...

 

The yeast should be healthy enough, then.

[andrewk5]

kool [happy] ill let it keep doing its thing......thx everyone for input, as a new HB'r it really helps getting advice when im not really sure what to expect. so this brew im expecting to take another 1 - 2 weeks fermenting then ill bottle.

 

next im thinking about doing a canadian blond with 1kg BE#1 750 - 1kg of honey ( im going to a specalty honey store to pick somthing really nice ) made to 23L .......but i want to buy some yeast from a HBS to go with it ( the kit yeast i believe is an ale strain ) does anyone have any suggestions on what type i should buy & quantity?

 

CHEERS [biggrin]

[JohnS]

Hi again guys.

After leaving my brew sitting around 16-17degrees for almost a week it is still stuck at 1020. that means it's been sitting there for about a week and a half, maybe 2 weeks.

 

any ideas? I don't think waiting will do much more given the apparent lack of fermenting for so long. If I can't get it going again I might just try another brew with a yeast starter and keep it at a slightly higher temp than before.

[PB2]

If the taste is okay it's still worth persisting with it.

 

Raise the temp' another 2 deg or so then gently stir the brew to rouse the yeast. Check the SG again in a couple of days.

[andrewk5]

hi, was wondering if the addition of honey to a brew ( say about 500-800g ) would this increase the fermenting time much? if so is it worth pitching a little extra yeast to assist fermenting.

[MatR1]

Raise the temp' another 2 deg or so then gently stir the brew to rouse the yeast. Check the SG again in a couple of days.

 

Yikes... I hope he doesn't lift the lid and stick a spoon in it...

 

I would gently roll the fermenter to rouse the yeast. Or if your santitation is good enough rack into another fermenter

[THIRSTY MATT]

thats a hell of alot of honey for a 23 litre brew mate,might wanna cut that back to 300-400g, no real need to pitch extra yeast if you havent got it, but.... extra yeast helps when your pitching at a lower temp or making like a "full noise beer" with like 2kg of fermentables etc

toss ya recipe up n see what the ladies in here think??

if your putting it on tonight then cut the honey back to 400g max...even in a stout recipe!

cheers

matt

[THIRSTY MATT]

hi matr1,

as long as the spoon is sanitized its all good...... taking the lid off wont hurt and you just gently stir it...... paul tipped me on this a coupla years ago, it works!

cheers

matt

[andrewk5]

the recipie i was thinking was:

 

1.7kg coopers original draught

1kg BE#1

500g LDM

500-800g special honey

i have some extra ale yeast to pitch if need'd, the reason i was thinking of that much honey was because i want to leave a nice amount of honey flavour aswell as bump the ABV up enough to the strong beer class ( 6% + ) but with tht much honey will ferment time be a LOT longer? & will the pitching extra yeast counteract the increased ferment time?

[PB2]

Plenty of simple sugars in honey so fermentaion shouldn't be extended - maybe add a day or two - trust the hydro readings.

[andrewk5]

kool thx for the input.....i want a nice honey flavour because im trying to brew a beer my wife likes ( considering see hardly drinks beer ) but also wanted a strong beer..... when my EL is finished fermenting ill do the above recipie & post the results [happy]

[Robbo]

Hi there, I have a brew that has been fermenting for 5 days and the SG seems to have stalled at 1020.

 

This is my first home brew attempt, as I have just got a Coopers micro-brew kit, and so I followed the instructions completely (however on a recommendation I used 1 kg of BE2 with the can of original lager instead of the brewing sugar that came with the kit).

 

I pitched in the yeast at 26 deg and it has been steady at around 20-22deg for 5 days. The OG was 1044 and dropped steadily until 2 days ago when it reached 1020. It was still 1020 yesterday when I checked it. Is there anything to worry about? Is there anything I should do or should I just leave it and check it again tomorrow for changes?

 

(Also as a nit-picking question I noted that Coopers Original Lager uses ale yeast. If it is top fermenting, does that actually make it an ale rather than a lager? I not too worried about the technicalities, just a thought that I had. To be honest if my first brew has alcohol and is drinkable, then I'm happy)

 

I look forward to any advice you guys may have.

[PB2]

Give it some more days yet (3 to 9). Using BE2, it should finish at around 1008.

 

What was the BB on the can?

 

Yes it has ale yeast but the description (Lager) is more to do with the colour and bitterness level. "Top Fermenting" is a misleading term, during the height of activity all beer yeast strains ferment evenly throughout the brew.

[Robbo]

Hi, just an update.

 

The Final Gravity settled at around 1008 and it was bottled on 20/07/2010. Just enjoying a bottle now as I write and it is not half bad (although there is a slight astringent flavour to it).

 

I thought I had found the perfect spot for my fermenter I noticed on the third day that it was sitting in near full sunlight.... opps! The bloke at my local HBS concurred that the astringent flavour could be from that. It seems to be reducing with time.

 

Anyway, still drinkable, and perfect for after mowing the lawn. Have a Coopers IPA made with a kilo of brewing sugar and 500gms LDME made to 23l on the go now. I think I have learnt from my mistakes last time around.

 

This forum has been great, thanks for all the inspiration.