Hi,
Im a complete novice to all this so please bare with me!
I bought myself a starter kit on Friday 17/10/2008 and followed the instructions to the letter. I made sure all aparatus was sterilised completely and correctly before starting.
I finally added the yeast to my brew (17:00) and set it in a room with a variable temperature of between 18 - 21 degrees centigrade as the instruction recommended.
24 hours after I had added the yeast, I checked to see if fermentation was occurring. It was, much to my delight! The mix was bubbling nicely. 72 hours later and the fermentation that had started seems to have tapered off. I am not left with any major residue on top of the brew, which I was expecting to see. There are still bubbles on top of the mix, however.
Im concerned that come sort of contamination has occurred, thus halting the progress.
Is what Im experiencing normal? The instructions do state that fermentation should take 4-6 days.
Should I see a layer of crust on the top of the mix, even though its a lager mix?
Any help or advice would be really appreciated as I dont want to throw out my first mix!!
Thanks,
Chairman Maw
Brewing Lager 1st time. Problems?
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hoppingMad
Re: Brewing Lager 1st time. Problems?
Hi Chairman, being a complete novice is good. You are in the right place and asking questions.
What kind of kit was it ? a no boil kit in a can ? an extract kit that needed boiling ? a grain kit perhaps ? Just wanted to know where you are starting off from.
Firstly, lagers use a bottom fermenting yeast and these generally require cold fermentation temps of around 9-12 degrees C. I'm not suggesting the instructions were wrong, far be it from me to interpret this without even seeing the kit ! However your fermentation may have finished, or nearing being finished evenafter just 72 hours as you say.
Do you have an Hydrometer ? Taking a specific gravity reading is the best way to establish the current status of your fermentation and will tell you how far the fermentation has progressed.
The stated time of 4-6 days is only a guide and could take more or less time than this due to a number of factors. But I'm thinking that a temp of 18-21 degrees C for lager yeast is going to mean a pretty fast fermentation.
You have mentioned your novice status so I will venture some basic information for you, lager yeasts generally do not produce much in the way of "major residue on top of the brew" as do ale yeasts. So that part is normal. I doubt that you will have an infection. Also infections become less of a concern as fermentaion progresses and alcohol increases.
If you don't have an Hydrometer, its a good idea to buy one if you intend on brewing again, they are like a brewers right arm. Get yourself a graduated glass hydrometer 'flask thingy ( sorry dont even know what these are called, they are a very tall thin tubelike flask) If you don't have one now, leave the brew to settle down a bit more ie those bubbles you mention need to pretty much have ceased. After this, wait two more days and (using sanitary technique) draw off a sample and taste it. It should not be sweet but simply taste like flat beer. If you detect any sweetness, its not finished and you are safe to leave it a few days longer.
Its quite ok to leave femented beer several weeks in the fermeter without any problems.
Another good idea would be to place the fermenter of beer, once finished fermenting, in as cold a place as you can find for a week or two. Don't worry if you cant manage this. This will just help clear the beer. However your kit may have included finings, used to clear the beer. In this case just follow the instructions.
Let us know the type of kit you bought.
Cheers.
HM.
What kind of kit was it ? a no boil kit in a can ? an extract kit that needed boiling ? a grain kit perhaps ? Just wanted to know where you are starting off from.
Firstly, lagers use a bottom fermenting yeast and these generally require cold fermentation temps of around 9-12 degrees C. I'm not suggesting the instructions were wrong, far be it from me to interpret this without even seeing the kit ! However your fermentation may have finished, or nearing being finished evenafter just 72 hours as you say.
Do you have an Hydrometer ? Taking a specific gravity reading is the best way to establish the current status of your fermentation and will tell you how far the fermentation has progressed.
The stated time of 4-6 days is only a guide and could take more or less time than this due to a number of factors. But I'm thinking that a temp of 18-21 degrees C for lager yeast is going to mean a pretty fast fermentation.
You have mentioned your novice status so I will venture some basic information for you, lager yeasts generally do not produce much in the way of "major residue on top of the brew" as do ale yeasts. So that part is normal. I doubt that you will have an infection. Also infections become less of a concern as fermentaion progresses and alcohol increases.
If you don't have an Hydrometer, its a good idea to buy one if you intend on brewing again, they are like a brewers right arm. Get yourself a graduated glass hydrometer 'flask thingy ( sorry dont even know what these are called, they are a very tall thin tubelike flask) If you don't have one now, leave the brew to settle down a bit more ie those bubbles you mention need to pretty much have ceased. After this, wait two more days and (using sanitary technique) draw off a sample and taste it. It should not be sweet but simply taste like flat beer. If you detect any sweetness, its not finished and you are safe to leave it a few days longer.
Its quite ok to leave femented beer several weeks in the fermeter without any problems.
Another good idea would be to place the fermenter of beer, once finished fermenting, in as cold a place as you can find for a week or two. Don't worry if you cant manage this. This will just help clear the beer. However your kit may have included finings, used to clear the beer. In this case just follow the instructions.
Let us know the type of kit you bought.
Cheers.
HM.