Bavarian Beer

[Ricemachine]

Hi everyone.

 

 

 

Im new to brewing and i recently mixed up a batch of bavarian beer.

 

 

 

I added the 1 Bavarian can and 1 bag of Brew enhancer 1, 23 litres of water, yeast and i let her brew. i kept the brewer cool by wrapping it in a wet towel as i have read it brews better at a lower temp, er 21 degrees celcius. i have kept it that temp or so for 2 weeks.

 

 

 

It bubbles here and then. but im not sure if i did everything right. did i add the right contents into the mixure.

 

 

 

Also using the hydrometer that came with the kit. where should i know when to bottle. As in what reading

 

 

 

There is not much froth on top of the brew and not much bottling ever since i started the brewing. But there is a eggy smell coming out of the air tight cap

 

 

 

Could someone please help me.

 

 

 

Nick

[Ricemachine]

The hydrometer reading is 1.014

[kieran]

nothing is amiss mate, bottle it.

 

 

 

Check your starting gravity, if you put your extract and brew enhancer 1 in, it would probably sit somewhere like 1045-1050 I am guessing.. so if its got down to 1.014, that's probably at about 4.8% alcohol I reckon - so she's ready for bottling.

 

 

 

Checking the specific gravity is the best way you can tell if its brewing. sometimes lids don't get sealed correctly, so your fermenter airlock won't bubble - and people get worried about that.. but its unnecessary, if you check your gravity and that is going down, then you know for sure that everything is A-okay.

[Ricemachine]

Thanks Kieran

 

 

 

I just measured the SG and its 1012 so i bottled it this afternoon.

 

 

 

Leaving it for about 4 to 6 months to Lager

 

 

 

Cheers man

[PB2]

Generally, Final Gravity FG is achieved when you get two SG readings the same over two clear days (FG can vary from brew to brew). Once you have FG you can bottle the brew.

 

 

 

An eggy smell is normal for the Bavarian - page 7 of the under-lid instructions.

 

 

 

Open a bottle after a month - it may have cleaned up sufficiently by then?? If not, wait a month and try another one, and so on. :wink:

[Jaeger]

I've just bought a Bavarian Lager kit, too.

 

 

 

I've read that it has a lager yeast (hence the low brewing temperature), but the gold yeast sachet looks identical to those in the ale kits! Is there a way to tell what kind of yeast is in sachet e.g. barcode number?

[PB2]

It has a code number and the letter "P" ink jetted on the back.

[Jaeger]

It has a code number and the letter "P" ink jetted on the back.

 

 

 

Cheers, Paul; as expected, the yeast does have the "P", and the smell and behaviour confirms it's a lager yeast. :)

 

 

 

Out of curiosity, are there different code letters for other varieties of yeasts, or are the only options lager or ale yeast?

[PB2]

We use our own ale strain (not the liquid yeast in our ales as this cannot survive the drying process), plus various commercially sourced ale and lager strains and combinations.

 

 

 

Development work continues on improving strains and developing hybrids.

 

 

 

We are not prepared to disclose the specific codes of the yeast in the sachet.

 

 

 

Original Series:- A

 

 

 

International Series:-

 

Australian Pale Ale A+L

 

Mexican Cerveza A+L

 

Bavarian Lager L

 

Canadian Blonde A

 

 

 

Brewmaster Selection:-

 

Wheat A

 

IPA A

 

Irish Stout A

 

Pilsener L

 

 

 

Premium Selection:- A+L

[Tipsy]

plus various commercially sourced ale and lager strains and combinations.

 

 

 

Does having a combination of strains mean it is possible for one strain to do all the work depending on temperature?

[PB2]

Both ale and lager strains have a role to play. Above 37.5C and the lager strain would perish. Below 16C and the ale strain will slow towards dormancy.

 

 

 

So you could say that the normal 21-27C range would see both strains contributing but as the ferment temp is dropped down through 16C the lager strain becomes the dominant yeast.

[Jaeger]

[Lager yeast] has a code number and the letter "P" ink jetted on the back.

 

 

 

I understand Coopers not wanting to disclose the specifics of the yeasts used, but being able to distinguish between ale (no letter) and lager ("P") is very useful to know to avoid putting ale yeast in a lager brew and vice versa.

 

 

 

Based on the sample I have to hand, the last two digits appear to be the year of manufacture (two that I've stored in the fridge were 06, and two from recently purchased kits are 07.)

 

 

 

One with a different code letter: "Thomas Coopers Yeast 7g", white sachet. It has a "W" letter code (19806 W) - is it ale, lager or a specialty yeast? I think it's either from a Premium Selection Sparkling Ale kit, or a Brewmaster Selection Wheat Beer - the latter would make sense if it's a special wheat beer yeast.

 

 

 

Cheers.

[PB2]

So to extend the inital listing to include yeast sachet codes if they were packaged today being the 268th day of 2007:

 

 

 

Original Series:- A (26807)

 

 

 

International Series:-

 

Australian Pale Ale - A+L (26807 PA)

 

Mexican Cerveza - A+L (26807 MC)

 

Bavarian Lager - L (26807 P)

 

Canadian Blonde - A (26807)

 

 

 

Brewmaster Selection:-

 

Wheat - A (26807 W)

 

IPA - A (26807 IPA)

 

Irish Stout - A (26807 IS)

 

Pilsener - L (26807 P)

 

 

 

Premium Selection:- A+L (26807 PS)

 

 

 

Note: A = ale yeast and L = lager yeast

[Jaeger]

So to extend the inital listing to include yeast sachet codes if they were packaged today being the 268th day of 2007: [snip]

 

 

 

Brilliant! Cheers Paul.