JackB8 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Hi all, Been brewing a Coopers European Lager with the recommended BE's and dry malts in primary for just on 14 days now, and its FG is sitting at 1.020 with no change. The OG was 1.041 and I brewed it in my thermostat controlled fridge, pitching using the kit yeast at about 28\xba (I'm yet to fine tune my ability with pitching temperatures) and then gradually bringing it down to 13\xba over 2 days. My reason for brewing so low was the fact that the EU lager is, by word of mouth at least - a lager strain, which therefore should be able to handle that temperature, especially given the time I took to lower it down to that temperature, but, obviously it hasn't and an FG of 1.020 certainly isn't correct. So, I gave the fermenter a shake and have put my thermostat to 15\xba in the hope to reactivate the yeast. I've read there's a LOT of different things you can do in this situation, (This is only my third brew - so I am inexperienced as anything. Haha) but I can't really figure out which way is the best way to go. Should I just have shaken it and upped the temp a bit? Should I put it through a diacetyl rest? Should I re-pitch? ... or am I reading too far into it and should I have just left it at 13\xba as it might just be taking a longer time than 14 days to ferment to it's FG I've been through a LOT of the posts regarding the Euro lager and I didn't seem to find any answers, (hence the question) so if anyone can give me some advice or point me in the right direction to a post that i've missed, many thanks are due. Cheers, Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Welcome to the forum Jack! For how many days has it been at 1020? Lager yeasts generally take longer to ferment than ale yeasts and can sometimes take a couple of weeks to finish. But it also could be a stalled ferment. The kit yeast (7g) isn't really enough to pitch into a lager. Starting it at higher temps for a couple of days would help but if you happen to be using a yeast packet with low viability then it is a massive underpitch. Let us know your extact recipe so we can work out an expected FG. Also, are you bottling into glass or PETs or are you kegging? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 The OG was 1.041 and I brewed it in my thermostat controlled fridge, pitching using the kit yeast at about 28\xba (I'm yet to fine tune my ability with pitching temperatures) I was gonna say to just throw it in the brewing fridge overnight to bring it down before pitching the yeast (I will be doing that with my cubes) - but then I remembered it's a kit brew. [lol] In which case, have about 5-10 litres of fridge cold water on hand, that should help bring it down further than 28. Nice work getting a temp controlled fridge so soon too. I've been brewing for a year without one, finally set one up last week so looking forward to my first brew in it![biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB8 Posted January 25, 2013 Author Share Posted January 25, 2013 Thanks for the reply guys. Hairy - it's been at 1020 for 2, almost three days (just checked it again then) Though, that said, when I just checked it there was a noticeable foam layer and a distinctive sulphur smell that was not present before I shook it and upped the temp this morning. A good sign perhaps? And my recipe was as follows: - 1.7kg Coopers Euro Lager - 500g light dried malt extract - about 600-700g of a "Head and Body" supplement from Aussiebrewmakers.com... I couldn't find a thing on the sugars included in the supplement. But here's the link if any of you guys have used it/can make out what might be in there: http://www.aussiebrewmakers.com.au/retail_catalogue/20350_item.html ... and that was it. All filled to the 20L mark with 2L boiling water to dissolve the fermentables and the rest, cold tap water. And I will be bottling into 375ml glass bottles. Otto - thanks, I'll try that next time... I sort of tried that this time, but with only 2-3L of fridge water... better to have too much then too less in this situation though I guess. Haha. And yeah - they're great. I did only my first brew without it, and upon tasting the results of that brew, I figured if I want to continue doing it, i'm going to need temperature control. Then naturally of course, my second brew done in the fridge was much better. You'll love it [cool] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Jack, if you have noticed some activity since you shook it and raise the temp then it is probably best to give it a couple of days more to see if the SG is dropping. After that it may be time to add some more yeast. I checked out the link but it doesn't help much. I hate it when they don't list the contents of these brew mixes. And I saw one called Beer Improver. What is it an improvement of? If I am making great beer with malt and grains, will it be an improvement if I change to the Beer Improver? Rant over; let us know how everything goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 No problem mate [joyful] Yeah you're right, better to have too much than not enough when it comes to that. That way you'll always have enough to suffice. I did use primitive temp control (wet towels, FV in a tub with frozen bottles etc), and those beers turned out nice, but there would have been fluctuation with temps. Dad offered me the old disused fridge in the laundry/brewery area so of course I jumped at the chance. I brew all grain now so once I finish the hop boil I transfer to a plastic cube (jerry can type thing), squeeze as much air out as I can and let it cool to room temp naturally. But yes, along with giving me optimum control over ferment temps, I can also use the fridge to bring the wort down to pitching temps, so I'm glad I was able to make use of it. I'd also say to leave your brew for another 2 or 3 days and see if the SG drops, as it sounds like the agitation and raised temp has done something to it. A "Head and Body Supplement" could just be maltodextrin mixed with some malt extract. Maltodextrin doesn't ferment so results in a higher FG - however 1020 does sound too high. Good luck with it mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamB8 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 The kit yeast (7g) isn't really enough to pitch into a lager. which is bordering on criminal when you think about it, the Euro lager never stood a chance [sad] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB8 Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 Well, shit. [annoyed] Here's what happened: I live in Brisbane but have been staying and working for 5-6 days a week up on the Sunshine Coast, and I had to leave to the coast the day I shook up my brew and upped the temp. I trusted that when I came back, all would be well, and even if there hadn't been much progress with the fermentation, then at least I still had a workable wort that had been kept at nothing higher than 15\xba in my fridge. But of course, (If you don't know) Brisbane experienced immense wind, flooding and consequently - massive power outages of 3-4 days across the whole damned greater area. So. my 15\xba would have turned into AT LEAST 24\xba, if not higher (On the hot, 31\xba sunny days that followed the flooding and power outages) and would have remained at that temperature for 3 days before my power was switched back on yesterday. And I was on the Sunshine Coast the whole time, (Until today) unable to do a thing about it. *Sigh* Though, could have been much worse... So I did a hydrometer reading today and it's at 1011. (Which is what the Brewcraft calculator says it should be) But it smells quite estery and sulphury (And I don't want to get the probable disappointment of having to try it to confirm that) - very much UNLIKE how it smelt before the power out. So, new question - is there any way to salvage it/remove the intensity of the ester population? Would clarity finings like gelatine or PVPP help at all? Are there any extra ingredients (Was thinking possibly cinnamon and vanilla) that I can add to mask the taste a little and make it drinkable? Any help now would be muchly appreciated. Thanks guys, Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Don't worry Jack, the increased temp at the end of fermentation was just your diacetyl rest [biggrin] The sulphury smell is often produced by lager yeast. It should dissipate with time in the bottle. I don't think there is any magic ingredient to fix it oter than time. I don't think your beer is a disaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamH1525226084 Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 If it's a Lager you can "Lager" it too - wack it down to 2 degrees for a couple of weeks before you bottle [biggrin] I'm glad you're beer is ok and didn't get flooded Jack! Crazy weather. But climate change doesn't exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.