2nd Brew - Off To A "great" Start

[milligan]

I bought myelf another fermenter so I could get started on my next batch. I am attempting a coopers mexican cerveza with brew enhancer 2 and the kit yeast.

I pitched at 28o (I was more nervous about leaving it open whilst I cooled it. OG was about 1036 (I didnt record it, whoops) at 28o. I then placed it into the fridge with my first attempt at temperature control with a timer (I will be investing in the fridemate or similar I think).

Anyway I didnt have time to frig around with the timer so I just made some guesses like running it every 3 or 4 hours for an hour or so. I came home from a few days away to find the temp at around 10o and I hadn't filled the airlock The gravity is 1030 at 10o. I doesnt taste or smell off (but I guess it wouldnt yet). It just taste really sweet still.

I dont know what the temp would have been doing but I would guess it wouldn't have got much over about 15o since pitching (except for when I first pitched the yeast however.

Any ideas???

 

[PostModern]

Well you have some fermentation going on. I think the kit yeast in the Cervesa is a blend of lager and ale, which is why fermentation is still going on. I'd let it warm up to about 17 or 18, give the fermenter a gentle swirl to get the yeast back up without splashing the surface and let it start again. Shouldn't be bad.

 

[milligan]

Thanks PostModern, will do.

 

[buttersd70]

Yeah, don't worry about it, PoMo is spot on with what he says. It would have taken quite some time for such a large mass to cool from 28 down to 10, anyway, so the yeast obvioulsy started in this time period.

FYI, your hydro readings (assuming your hydro is a 20C one) convert to 1038 OG, and 1028 for the second reading when taking temperatur into account. (according to beersmith).

 

[milligan]

Thanks Butters. I was going to convert these readings using one of those online calc's but you saved me.

So the fact that the fermentation started should minimise the chance of an infection. Also, Im guessing the low temps should assist in this regard. Would/Should this be right?

 

[buttersd70]

The chances of infection occuring are mainly in relation to sanitation. If your sanitation is excellent, the chance of infection is slight...most (not all) infections require oxygen, and most oxygen in the wort is consumed by the yeast in the first stages of fermentation (which is why, when there is an excessive lag time for the start of fermentation, brewers get a bit edgy.) So it does reduce the risk...also, it was cold, which further reduces the risk. And theres nothing to say indicate that fermentation necessarily stopped fully when cold.....most of that gravity drop may have occured in the time when it was still warm, and was cooling down, but some of it may have occured (just very slowly) when cold - so the ferment may still have been active.

However, given the situation as it occured, infection was the last thing in my mind...I didn't even consider it as an issue, myself.

 

[flattop]

+1 Postmodern, the ferment is slow due to temps, just bring it up to around 18-20 and let it do its thing, all will be good. May need to agitate slightly without splashing.

 

[milligan]

OK. With some fiddling I got my timer setup fairly good, although it was cold for a long time.

Now the issue is that today (26th) some 7 days into the brew I find the gravity is at 1.012 at 19o even after all the cold spells in the fridge and not really getting back above 20o after it had cooled.

Is 7 days enough to get this low at these colder temps in the fridge? Whats sort of FG should I expect for the coopers mex cerveza and brew enhancer 2 with the standard kit yeast?

BTW, my temp ills are forever gone as I received my Fridgemate yesterday, wired it last night and didnt blow up up burn down the house overnight.

 

[buttersd70]

be2 is 250g malt, 250g maltodextrin, 500g dex....I would expect somewhere in the region of 1010 ish, so 1012 isn't a big stretch. Just leave it for a few more days to make sure the reading is stable, 3 days running.

 

[milligan]

Will do. Thanks Butters.