Dave2307 Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 My Coopers lager (DIY beer kit) has been fermenting for 6 days and following the instructions I have tested the gravity reading which has come in at 1.019 which is a bit higher than I was hoping (it started at 1.039). I have had to brew at a slightly lower temperature (generally between 15.5-17.5 degrees) so understand (from what I have read on several forums) that primary fermentation can take longer, even though I do think 6 days can't be enough time anyway. Should I take another reading tomorrow to check that the gravity readings are in fact still dropping or just leave it for a few more days? Am I right in thinking that fermenting at a minimum of 15 degrees will still work (just longer)? Like other newbies I'm probably worrying about nothing - well I hope so anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Hey Dave Welcome to the forum and the home brewing obsession. There are two things that I will suggest: 1/ Check the calibration of your hydrometer, the Coopers unit always reads high. Fill the tube with water, 20 degrees, the hydrometer should read 1.000. If it doesn't you can either record the error or snip off a small piece of the red tip. Make sure they are small bits because you can't put them back on. 2/ Degass your sample before testing. I always pour the sample back and forwards between two glasses about 20 times to remove the CO2 bubbles. They will cause the hydrometer to float. The Coopers yeast will handle your temperature range ok, my first two brews were fermented at 16 degrees and were in the bottle10 days after I put them down. However the patience that you talk about will allow you to leave your brew in the FV for at least two weeks, 6 days to ferment out and the rest to allow the yeast to clean up the by products of fermentation. Cheers & Beers Scottie Valley Brew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristinaS1 Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 My Coopers lager (DIY beer kit) has been fermenting for 6 days and following the instructions I have tested the gravity reading which has come in at 1.019 which is a bit higher than I was hoping (it started at 1.039). I have had to brew at a slightly lower temperature (generally between 15.5-17.5 degrees) so understand (from what I have read on several forums) that primary fermentation can take longer' date=' even though I do think 6 days can't be enough time anyway. Should I take another reading tomorrow to check that the gravity readings are in fact still dropping or just leave it for a few more days? Am I right in thinking that fermenting at a minimum of 15 degrees will still work (just longer)? Like other newbies I'm probably worrying about nothing - well I hope so anyway![/quote'] Hi Dave, and congratulations on your first brew. Yeah, six days isn't enough time, especially at those temps. No point checking it until a couple of days after the krausen has fallen. It isn't a good idea to bottle until it is two weeks old anyway, even if the hydrometer readings are stable before that. Sitting on the yeast a little longer helps the beer clean up and mature more quickly. The "Lager" can that comes with the DIY kit actually contains Coopers dry ale yeast. Anyway, when you say your temps are 15.5-17.5C is that ambient? Actually, ambient temps of 16-18C are ideal, so you are not far off. The thing with ambient temps is that they often dip at night, so you have to be aware of that and maybe take protective measures like throwing a sleeping bag over it and putting the fermentor on a piece of carpet to get it off concrete or tile floor. If those are fermentation temps though, they are a bit on the low side, but might still work. Coopers yeast isn't fond of temps below 18C, although people do brew it as low as 16C, and I think I have even read some people have had success at 14C (fermentation temps that is), but that is risking it go dormant. Anyway, good luck. Cheers, Christina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farls Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Give it another week and don't even worry about any more readings. I always worried and fussed over my early brews, but once it's in the fv you may as well relax and give it 2 weeks to do its thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.