Coopers Draught No More?

[Otto Von Blotto]

I would agree that the yeast pitching is probably the main cause behind the issues you've experienced on this particular brew. ~100 billion cells, which is what's in those smack packs, I don't think is anywhere near enough for a good healthy lager fermentation, even if it grows a bit when the inner pouch is smacked. The 11.5g dry packs contain more like 200 billion cells, so you have a bit more lee-way there. My usual process for lagers involves making a 4 litre starter, and I've always had good fermentations doing this. Just threw some harvested 3rd gen Urquell yeast into one in prep to pitch into a batch some time next week.

 

I tend to agree about it being "only a lager" in this case, and probably being a good batch to have these issues with, given the style. That's not having a dig at Coopers either, but an Aussie lager bittered with PoR style... If it was something like Czech Pilsner, you'd want everything to go right because, well, IMHO it's a far superior style of lager and would be a bigger disappointment if it failed.

[porschemad911]

Sorry to hear this brew caused you a bit of trouble Lusty. I bet it will be very tasty after a couple of months in the bottle.

 

I'm about near the end of my first lager fermentation and it has taken a fair bit more patience than the typical ale fermentation. I too just pitched a Wyeast smack pack (2206 Bavarian Lager in my case), but I guess the main difference is that my volume in the fermenter was only 10.5 litres. Even with half the wort volume of your batch it's taken nearly 4 weeks to get down to 1.010 (from 1.054) at about 10C. I moved it into a warmer part of the house yesterday and will give it another week to clean up and then bottle.

 

I think I'll do one more lager over the month of August and then it's back to ales for me too! I might start off with some cooler fermenting ones, looking forward to brewing a nice Kolsch and Altbier.

 

One thing I am happy with - last year I just had my heat belt / pad running through winter brewing ales. This year I feel I've managed to harness the seasonal conditions a bit better and use them in my favour

[Otto Von Blotto]

Bloody hell, you clowns with your 4 week lager fermentations! Mine are done in about 10 days. Mind you, I do raise it up to 19 after about 5-6 days, which is mainly for a D-rest but does obviously help speed up the fermentation and encourage the yeast to fully attenuate the wort.

 

I'm only having a light hearted dig though I wouldn't have the patience to wait that long for it to hit FG. I hope it turns out for you John, although I reckon it will from the recipe you posted at the time.

[porschemad911]

Haha Kelsey, I am zen-ing this one out, allowing it to become one with nature as it sees fit. Feels nice and relaxed, though it helps that I was away for a couple of weeks ... am getting the itch to brew my Oktoberfest though. A couple of large clumps of Aggies to dig out this weekend will temporarily cure that.

 

You have the advantage of (safe) temperature control. Every time I thought about hooking up the heat pad to kick in the accelerated lager schedule I remembered the crazy little cat that now lives in my brewery and her never-ending desire to hunt things, especially any kind of electrical cord.

 

My pilsner is tasting very nice, but interestingly considering the recipe and 1.010 SG reading it's quite rich and malty. Not sweet though, hard to describe ... must just be what Wyeast 2206 does to a beer. Bodes well for my Oktoberfest to come I guess!

[Otto Von Blotto]

Oh god, you are turning it into a hippie beer!

 

Yeah, that's true and if your cat likes to chew cords and things it is probably better off left alone.

 

This is from the Wyeast website regarding 2206:

Used by many German breweries to produce rich, full-bodied, malty beers, this strain is a good choice for bocks and doppelbocks. A thorough diacetyl rest is recommended after fermentation is complete.

 

Sounds as if it's done what it should be doing. It's great to hear that it is tasting good though. I've said a million times Bo pils is one of my favourite styles but it's probably a little more difficult to do well, compared to a pale ale or whatever. It's good to see others having success with it too.

[Beerlust]

You have the advantage of (safe) temperature control. Every time I thought about hooking up the heat pad to kick in the accelerated lager schedule I remembered the crazy little cat that now lives in my brewery and her never-ending desire to hunt things' date=' especially any kind of electrical cord.[/quote']

Place a circle of chook wire around your fermenter, & hook it up to a car battery or since it's your own cat, an Eveready 6V battery. After a first brief encounter, no more cat problem.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

[Beerlust]

Just an update on this beer. Before work today I put one into the fridge to sample when I got home. It's approx. 4 weeks bottled now. The Wyeast 2042 has done a good job flavour-wise with the malt bill. I reckon PB2 was spot on with that call. Thanks Paul.

 

It's a real easy drinker like you'd expect from an Aussie Draught style beer. Nothing offensive about it at all. It still needs another 6 weeks or so conditioning time, lacks some head development & retention, but has a nice persistent bead already.

 

It's the sort of beer I know those who drink & enjoy the megaswill type beers would relate to & probably enjoy.

 

I may give this brew another crack leading into the warmer months. It drinks well @ 25 IBU but I'd like to tweak the late addition of PoR as the ferment seems to have scrubbed most of it's influence out there. For the malt bill, I'll probably do a partial mash to control a little more of the malt character & head development aspects of the beer. I also botched my initial yeast pitching rate, so would like to atone for that next time.

 

For those interested, there was no harm done to the beer or it's flavours by me pitching the extra packets of yeast after I felt the ferment had stalled at a point a little too high.

 

As part of my learning curve, I'm really glad I brewed this beer.

 

Cheers & good brewing,

 

Lusty.