georgeky Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 bought the European lager kit with the supplyed yeast it's says 12 weeks to mature ! holy sheep shet i can't wait that long i'm almost out of the Canadian blonde ! so can i use a different yeast to speed things up and still have a good beer ? it's brewing now but very slow activity in the air lock...i guess thats common with this strain of yeast ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Hi George. The Euro Lager kit contains a true lager yeast, so yes you won't see as explosive activity during fermentation, and it does take longer than an ale. If you've already got it underway, there isn't much point adding a different yeast. At the end of the day, it's up to you when you drink the beer. Lagers are traditionally stored at low temperatures for months before they're consumed. Most of us don't have the capacity to store a whole batch in a fridge for 3 months. I use a different process for brewing lagers, they get stored in the fermenter after fermentation is done, for about 5 weeks at 0C before I bottle them. On a final note, ignore the airlock. They would have to be the most unreliable piece of equipment, at least in regard to indicating ferment activity, in all of brewing. Handy for keeping the brew sealed from the outside elements, but that's about it. Neither of the ones I used ever bubbled at all, but the brews still fermented (gas escaped through a leaky lid or leaky airlock grommet). Use your hydrometer to monitor fermentation progress; how long ago did you make up this brew and pitch the yeast? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiphile Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Hi G OtBlot knows a lot. I'm just wondering, from your question, what temp you are fermenting the beer? I hope you are aware that lager yeasts usually give the best results at lower temperatures than ale yeasts (commonly under 15C)? Just thought I should check, because fermenting a Euro Lager at 18 degrees or above is just not (World Cup) cricket! Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeky Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 how long ago did you make up this brew and pitch the yeast? just been 24 hours...so i'll go ahead as planed and sample in 3 weeks see where it's at. i have another can i could start today ...but i only have distillers yeast and bread yeast on hand . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeky Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 Hi G OtBlot knows a lot. I'm just wondering' date=' from your question, what temp you are fermenting the beer? I hope you are aware that lager yeasts usually give the best results at lower temperatures than ale yeasts (commonly under 15C)? Just thought I should check, because fermenting a Euro Lager at 18 degrees or above is just not (World Cup) cricket! Cheers[/quote'] looks like 17C i'm in the US so i googled a C TO F CHART LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Ok fair enough. I think that sounds like the plan. Fermenting a beer with distillers or bread yeast could be interesting. I wouldn't do it, it would probably turn out less than desirable. If you can get it down around 13-15C you'll probably find it tastes a bit better. That's somewhere around 56-60F I think. (I have a few American friends so I've had to know the conversions ) Antiphile is right, most of the time lagers are fermented between 10 and 12C. (50-54F) This is generally most easily achieved with a temperature controlled fridge, though. Anyway good luck with the brew, I'm sure it will turn out fine! Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnaman Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 G'day georgeky, you may have unintentionally made a basic "Steam Beer", look at method here, Steam Beer. Good luck. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeky Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 thanks for all the help guys i've left it alone its 6 days in so i took a reading and it needs a few more days to ferment. i had to have a taste and man o man this is going to be good ! one thing i did not mention was i used light brown sugar 2lbs to one can of UPL with the supplied yeast 6 us gallons of water....just from what i seeing and tasting the next batch will be done the same way ! heck it even had a good head already ! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Tasting gravity samples is a good idea. It gives you an idea of what the beer will end up like, and is one way of checking for possible infection, so keep that up. Using that much sugar is not. In almost all cases this leads to a very thin, watery beer that doesn't hold a head. It can also lead to cidery flavors if fermented at too high a temperature. The gravity samples often foam up and appear to have a good head, but if you leave it sit for a few minutes, it quickly disappears, which is what will happen in the glass most likely. If you ditch the sugar and replace it with the same amount of malt extract, you'll most likely find your beers will be much better. And they'll hold a better head in the glass too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeky Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 If you ditch the sugar and replace it with the same amount of malt extract' date=' you'll most likely find your beers will be much better. And they'll hold a better head in the glass too. [img']wink[/img] you mite be right it did taste good but a little watery and the head did not last long..hopfully it will be better over the next few weeks . i used BE2 on the blonde and it came out super ..i'll try the malt extract on the next batch ! i'm hooked on this coopers stuff ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headmaster Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 ]Reading a PB2 post, the reason the instructions for the Euro Lager say wait 12 weeks is to get rid of the rotten egg gas flavour that the customers were complaining about. I suspect that this was from fermenting at higher temps than textbook lager temps. So if you can lower ferment temps you should be able to drink much sooner than 12 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 It will get better with time in the bottles definitely. Easy way to look at it is, things like table sugar, brown sugar, dextrose etc will produce a thin, watery beer. Using malt extract will produce a beer with a fuller body and better flavour. From my experience brewing lagers, it doesn't take anywhere near 12 weeks to get rid of the eggy smell, and lager yeast will produce it even at proper lager fermenting temperatures. I have looked inside my brew fridge during lager ferments and been hit with the smell a few times. The 12 weeks would be derived from the tradition of lagering, or storing, these batches for months in cold temperatures before they were consumed. As I understand it these days, this process is shortened but also happens before packaging. To replicate this in the bottle you'd need a fridge you could store all the bottles in and leave them in it for the 12 weeks (after carbonation of course). I do my low temp lagering in the FV before bottling, for 5 weeks usually, so there's no real use me leaving them in the bottles for another 3 months. In fact I've found they seem to better around the 4-5 week mark than they are at 3 months. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeky Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 just going to bottle a few the rest is going in a cornykeg ..my first kegging any tips ? ps its winter here so the keg will sit in my garage witch stay's around 35-40f this time of year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 I will leave the kegging advice for someone else, that isn't something I know about yet. That's a good storage temperature for it though, I'm guessing you are force carbing? It will need to be kept warmer if you are naturally carbing i.e. secondary fermentation like you would in bottles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeky Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 I will leave the kegging advice for someone else' date=' that isn't something I know about yet. That's a good storage temperature for it though, I'm guessing you are force carbing? It will need to be kept warmer if you are naturally carbing i.e. secondary fermentation like you would in bottles.[/quote'] yes force carbing ...i really do appreciate all the advise ...looks like a user friendly forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brownsworthy Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 With my last lager I left it in the keg at -2C for only 2 weeks force carbed over a week and it was fine maybe a little yeasty though still good. I only have 2 kegs so need a quick turn around probably not the best way to go about it though it has produced a couple of good brews. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeky Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 10 days in....it's still not done fermenting the watery taste turned into a bitter yeast taste. should i do a secondary ferment in a carboy ? or just keg it a forget it a few weeks ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 No need for a secondary ferment. Lagers often take longer than ales to fully ferment out. Just leave it in the primary for another couple of weeks. At least, let it ferment out before you keg it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeky Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 will do ! ....but i'm out of beer in the next few days think i'll order some brew enhancer 2 and just start the other can of UPL with the distiller yest next week ..not sure what i'll do . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 I wouldn't use distillers yeast. I mean, it'll ferment fine, but who knows whether the beer would taste any good? It takes a little while to build a stockpile of brews when you first start out. I know it's tempting to just chuck whatever you've got together to do it quickly but patience prevails in the end, knowing you've got decent beer each batch. Even if you do have to go without for a few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeky Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 yeah i'm just going to wait it out...that bucket fart'n like and old man eat'n pickled eggs today ! lol order some powdered malt extract i'll start the other can next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeky Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 did a reading got 1.100 start was 1.410 if i'm doing it right that is...like i said 'm new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I think you may have some zeros in the wrong place. It is probably: OG - 1.041 SG - 1.010 Sounds like it is working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeky Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 I think you may have some zeros in the wrong place. It is probably: OG - 1.041 SG - 1.010 Sounds like it is working. yes my bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeky Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 i kegged after 20 days of primary ..ABV was 5% clear as it could be darker color than i expected smelled just a little eggy taste just a bit off (no carb) but still good i think in 30 more days carbonating 20psi in the keg it will be killer ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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