I'm brewing a Cooper's European lager (with 'proper' lager yeast), and after 9 days in the primary I racked it off into a secondary, but noticied that:
1) The beer was still very cloudy, and
2) As the beer was reaching the sediment, there was still bubbles rising from it
So I presume the primary fermentation was incomplete. Question is, have I buggered this batch or will the yeast in suspension re-establish and eat up the rest of the sugars?
Racking off too early
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sargie
Re: Racking off too early
9 days should have been long enough to complete primary. Did you take a hydrometer reading? It is the only way to really know for sure. Also if you primed your bottles then the beer will go through a secondary fermentation in the bottles. My youngs lager took a week to clear completly i tried one last night after a week in the bottles and it tasted spot on imo.
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Crundy
Re: Racking off too early
No, I didn't take a reading because I just assumed it would be done.
I didn't bottle it, just racked into another vessel to get it off the sediment.
I didn't bottle it, just racked into another vessel to get it off the sediment.
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Barm
Re: Racking off too early
It'll probably be fine!
Point 1) is normal. You're right about the cloudiness being yeast in suspension - you just have to hope there's enough of it left to finish the job off. Sometimes it takes a little time to get going again after racking - occasionally adding a little yeast vit helps things get restarted. Use your hydrometer to gauge progress and completion.
Point 2) is pretty normal as well.
IME "real" lagers using "real" lager yeast (which I believe the Coopers' is) take a LOT longer than cheap types that use an ale yeast (which I believe the youngs' is). So 9 days is probably plenty for Youngs' to reach completion: possibly not so for the Coopers' though - patience (and use of hydrometer) recommended!
Point 1) is normal. You're right about the cloudiness being yeast in suspension - you just have to hope there's enough of it left to finish the job off. Sometimes it takes a little time to get going again after racking - occasionally adding a little yeast vit helps things get restarted. Use your hydrometer to gauge progress and completion.
Point 2) is pretty normal as well.
IME "real" lagers using "real" lager yeast (which I believe the Coopers' is) take a LOT longer than cheap types that use an ale yeast (which I believe the youngs' is). So 9 days is probably plenty for Youngs' to reach completion: possibly not so for the Coopers' though - patience (and use of hydrometer) recommended!
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Crundy
Re: Racking off too early
Yeah, I think I'll leave future crap lagers in the primary for 9 days and proper lagers for 2 weeks.
I'm going to leave this batch in the secondary for at least three weeks now anyway, to disperse the eggyness (something I haven't yet experienced with other yeasts
)
I'm going to leave this batch in the secondary for at least three weeks now anyway, to disperse the eggyness (something I haven't yet experienced with other yeasts
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sargie
Re: Racking off too early
My youngs lager was finished in 4 daysBarm wrote:It'll probably be fine!
Point 1) is normal. You're right about the cloudiness being yeast in suspension - you just have to hope there's enough of it left to finish the job off. Sometimes it takes a little time to get going again after racking - occasionally adding a little yeast vit helps things get restarted. Use your hydrometer to gauge progress and completion.
Point 2) is pretty normal as well.
IME "real" lagers using "real" lager yeast (which I believe the Coopers' is) take a LOT longer than cheap types that use an ale yeast (which I believe the youngs' is). So 9 days is probably plenty for Youngs' to reach completion: possibly not so for the Coopers' though - patience (and use of hydrometer) recommended!
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Barm
Re: Racking off too early
@sargie - less than a week is not unusual for an 'ale' yeast. What did you think of the flavour: I tried doing Young's ages ago - thought it was more "light ale" than "lager" - it didn't have the dry crisp thing happenning at all. Massively improved by using beer enhancer, some Saaz hops, and of course 'real' lager yeast.
@crundy - rather than simply set a time limit, you need to determine when the brew has reached its final gravity by use of a hydrometer - looking for steady readings of less than about 1010 on say 3 consecutive days. Otherwise you run the risk of making 'bottle grenades' by filling a brew that has not completely fermented out. Watching for bubbles etc isn't a good indicator, since the progress can be very slow and not at all obvious. The eggy thing seems characteristic for 'real' lager yeasts - I'm sure a chemist will be along shortly to tell us what causes it! No need to leave the brew simply for the pong to disperse, though: again, bottling/kegging time is best indicated by testing with a hydrometer.
@crundy - rather than simply set a time limit, you need to determine when the brew has reached its final gravity by use of a hydrometer - looking for steady readings of less than about 1010 on say 3 consecutive days. Otherwise you run the risk of making 'bottle grenades' by filling a brew that has not completely fermented out. Watching for bubbles etc isn't a good indicator, since the progress can be very slow and not at all obvious. The eggy thing seems characteristic for 'real' lager yeasts - I'm sure a chemist will be along shortly to tell us what causes it! No need to leave the brew simply for the pong to disperse, though: again, bottling/kegging time is best indicated by testing with a hydrometer.