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Have I ruined my lager


Pished_up_Cockney

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Recently brewed my first coopers lager. Fementation was quick just over a week. Bottled all forty pints and left to condition. Then my mate tells me "mate u have to lager the beer stick somewhere cold as hell" so i stickem in my garage which currently is at between 1 and 10c.

 

Should i have conditioned them at room temp for a while first then stored em somewhere cold.im worried now that the cold has killed the yeast and no more condition can take place. Or can i bring em into the warm????

 

Pls help

 

Cheers

 

 

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The Coopers Lager, if it's the one that comes in the start up kit, actually comes with an ale yeast, so unfortunately your mate is wrong about the need to store it somewhere cold. It won't do it any harm, but it's not a necessity either. How long were the bottles sitting at the warmer temp before you moved them?

 

The yeast won't be dead, they'll just have gone dormant. If you bring them back into a warmer location, and gently invert them a few times to re-suspend the yeast, they should carbonate fine. Then you can move them into the colder area again if you wish.

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The Coopers Lager' date=' if it's the one that comes in the start up kit, actually comes with an ale yeast, so unfortunately your mate is wrong about the need to store it somewhere cold. It won't do it any harm, but it's not a necessity either. How long were the bottles sitting at the warmer temp before you moved them?

 

The yeast won't be dead, they'll just have gone dormant. If you bring them back into a warmer location, and gently invert them a few times to re-suspend the yeast, they should carbonate fine. Then you can move them into the colder area again if you wish. [/quote']

 

+1

I have to say though the expression cold as hell seems a bit ironic; usually I'd say hot as hell, & cold as the grave (or as cold as my ex wife's feelings towards me).

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Your mate is correct that normally it's preferred to lager/condition them somewhere nice and cold. And your garage sounds a pretty good place to do that. But yeh you'll need to let them carbonate first for 2-3 weeks at room (warmer) temps. And like the others have mentioned using the Ale yeast from the kit makes storing them at 0-10 a little bit pointless in a conditioning sense I think. But wont hurt them, you're pretty much doing the same as putting them in the fridge.

 

Get yourself a nice lager yeast next time. The beer will come out a LOT better.

 

Cheers Jay

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by the way... being an English geezer that I assume you to be and being the depths of winter over there, watch your temps don't drop to way below freezing. You don't want beer iced lollies!

 

cheers Jay

 

 

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I have to say though the expression cold as hell seems a bit ironic; usually I'd say hot as hell' date=' & cold as the grave (or as cold as my ex wife's feelings towards me).[/quote']

 

FWIW, I've always attributed that expression to Dante's depiction of the innermost circle of Hell: a lake and chamber of ice.

 

If they have any beer there, I'm sure it's all Coors Light. sick

 

R

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I have to say though the expression cold as hell seems a bit ironic; usually I'd say hot as hell' date=' & cold as the grave (or as cold as my ex wife's feelings towards me).[/quote']

 

FWIW, I've always attributed that expression to Dante's depiction of the innermost circle of Hell: a lake and chamber of ice.

 

If they have any beer there, I'm sure it's all Coors Light. sick

 

R

 

I haven't read Dante, so I wasn't aware of that.

I assume you're referring to Dante's Inferno, which I guess I'll have to put on my reading list now?!

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NO way have you ruined the batch!

Ive done heaps as you just mentioned bottle conditioning @ cellar temp!

 

5-10degrees will be ok they will just take a lot longer to bottle condition,

 

Forget about em in a dark place at cellar temp...

Leave your bottles for 3-4 months/ 12 weeks min then you should have throffies!

 

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You seem to be forgetting that this beer is done with an ALE yeast, and as such doesn't need all this extended 3 or 4 months conditioning at low temps in order to taste good. If a true lager yeast was being used then fair enough, but it isn't, and even then, I never found any great benefit in leaving them sit for months, they always tasted better fresh to me. Storing this batch at 5-10C will see no carbonation because it's too cold. If desired they can be stored at this temp AFTER carbonation has occurred with obviously no problem, but not before.

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You seem to be forgetting that this beer is done with an ALE yeast' date=' and as such doesn't need all this extended 3 or 4 months conditioning at low temps in order to taste good. If a true lager yeast was being used then fair enough, but it isn't, and even then, I never found any great benefit in leaving them sit for months, they always tasted better fresh to me. Storing this batch at 5-10C will see no carbonation because it's too cold. If desired they can be stored at this temp AFTER carbonation has occurred with obviously no problem, but not before. [/quote']

 

+1

100% correct.

You can't make an ale yeast behave like a lager yeast.

Just because the OS series contains a brew can called lager, doesn't mean it's a lager.

It's meant to be an ale representation of a lager flavour, not a true lager brew, unless you use a different yeast to what comes with the can.

All the OS series have the same yeast, which is ale yeast.

The only way you can make an OS brew carbonate other than at 18c + is force carbonation if using the yeast that comes with the can.

Simple as that.

 

https://www.coopers.com.au/coopers-forum/topic/14826/

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  • 2 weeks later...
I haven't read Dante' date=' so I wasn't aware of that.

I assume you're referring to Dante's Inferno, which I guess I'll have to put on my reading list now?![/quote']

 

It's a challenging read, not the least because he constantly refers to people that were known in his time but are largely forgotten now. Lots of footnotes.

 

I read it because it's a "classic"; part of the Great Western Canon, eh? Most of the books of like kind that I've read haven't been especially enjoyable from a story sense, so I try to glean something else from them; some kind of edification, or understanding as a writer. I don't regret the time spent on it at all, but it isn't a lark.

 

If I'm reading for enjoyment, I'll grab some beer and some popcorn, and something sci-fi, fantasy - maybe King or the like.

 

The Inferno is not a beer-and-popcorn book. wink

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