PeterMac59 Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 I added 1.5 boxes of Brew Enhancer 2 to increase the alcohol %, into the European Lager. On day two, there is no noticeable fermentation. The temp is around 21 c. There is no foamy top. The yeast has settled to the bottom. Did I do something to cause this non activity? [crying] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Is there any condensation? Has the gravity dropped? These are good signs of fermentaiton. You wont always have much foam. Also, as the Euro lager comes with a lager yeast so you might want to try to get your temps dwon to around 13C (check your gravity first to see if it has dropped first). Let us know what you find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMac59 Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 Thanks for the reply! There is condensation but the gravity has remained the same at 40. I have just lowered the temp down to 13c. I'll check the gravity tomorrow, which would be day 4. Is there a chance of contamination if it sits for more than 4 days? Thanks again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryF1 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Good point Muddy. Euro Lager is a brew that likes it cold, i.e. a good winter beer. The yeast provided operates best around 13C and less, also takes maybe 2 weeks to ferment fully, rather than the expected 1 week. If you still have no activity (which will be unusual), immediately get down to your local bottle shop, purchase a bottle of Coopers Ale, pour yourself a glass (of course), and pour the remaining, cloudy contents into your brew. Bring the temps back up to the 20's, and it will ferment. Keep in touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David B5 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 We've done four Euro Lagers now but have only tasted one. I can verify PB2's advice which is to pitch the yeast at 24c and bring the temps back down to the mid teens over night. I pitched one a little cold and it didn't start to fire up for days. It tasted as it should at bottling (3 weeks) but I'm still a bit worried that it wont be as good as our first. We're drinking the first batch at the moment and it's up there with the best homebrews I've tasted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMac59 Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 [biggrin] Thanks for the advice. I've placed the brew bucket in a cold bath, 12c - 13c. I took another gavity sample and it's dropped from 40 to 20 so we're cook'n. No pun intended. In the future I'll brew the European Ale in January. I'll save on ice. Thanks again, Mates! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 PeterMac59, if you are struggling to maintain the low temps then just make an effort to do it during the initial stage of fermentation where most of the fermentation takes place. Don't worry if your temps creep up a bit in the later stage of fermentation; this will probably help clean up the beer a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMac59 Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 Hairy, how many days should I maintain the 12c to 13c? Is the gravity reading the indicator? Keeping it at 20c to 21c is no problem. I'm just not sure when the initial stage ends. This is only my 2nd batch of brew. Thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 I would try keep it at low temps for as long as you possibly can. The longer, the better imo. Hairy is correct though, the important stage is at the beginning until the krausen collapses. Lagers will take longer than ales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakersAle Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 When i made my euro lager i kept it at 13-14c for 3weeks then i took my readings after the 21st day make sure i got same fg reading on 22nd day. Dont stress about it as it do what suppose to do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterM40 Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Allan, that's good to know. Fortunately, there's a cold front moving through and the temp should come down a little. We're offically in Autumn so the temps will become lower. I open for all contributions of ideas. This is only my 2nd try. Hmmmm, am I the only Yank on the forum? [wink] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterM40 Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Forgot my password and had to rejoin. That's the reason for the name change from PeterMac59 to PeterM40..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryF1 Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Hey PeterM40, funny how you say - "In the future I'll brew the European Ale in January. I'll save on ice. Thanks again, Mates!" Here in the 'Land Down Under', I brew my European Lager in June/July, and brew my Ales in January. Cheers Mate, Gaz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterM40 Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 GaryF, The last three January's had so much snow, I could keep anything cold! What I should do, is go to the Land Down Under, during the months of Dec., Jan, Feb & march! [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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