Asahi Kit Pitch Temp

[brettule]

Moments ago I pitched my yeast for the Brewcraft Asahi kit at 25 degrees. Optimum temp for fermenting is 10 degrees correct? I've got my fridge mate set up to keep 10 degrees but I'm wondering if I should be whacking the fermentor in the fridge now which will work on getting the temp down to 10 degrees now or if I should be leaving it - say, overnight? - and letting ambient Melbourne winters night bring the temp down naturally before maintaining it in the fridge?

My reasoning is to allow the yeast time to fully activate at a warmer temp but not too long so it ruins the flavour. WHats the top tip?

 

[pokolbinguy]

Personally I would leave it for a little while. I would assume that the ambient temp will bring it down over night. Its not going to get any hotter thats for sure. And maybe let your fridge get down to temp over night and then put fermenter in in the morning.


Your assumptions is a good one because you don't want to shock the yeasties too much. Ferementing a little warmer say 14-16 deg would be fine as well but depends on yeast.

Pok

 

[brettule]

Saflager S23 is the yeast in the Brewcrafts Asahi kit. I rang the bloke in the shop a few days back and he reccomended 10 degrees as the constant fermenting temp. I'll be using my fridge mate to lock in the temp and forget about it so that's why I wanted the ideal ferminting temp for this kit/yeast.

What do you think is the ideal temp to maintain?

 

[tazman1967]

I ferment at 11d C ...works for me....nice crisp lagers. Two weeks primary, rack off, lager at 4D or less for at lest a month..
Welcome to the world of Lager brewing...
Saflager S23 is a good because it can handle temp. variations quiet well. A bit too high in temp it gets a bit eastery.

Cheers
Hope all goes well

 

[brettule]

Thanks.

What do you reccomend my final gravity to be before bottling? I won't be racking.

 

[brettule]

Beer shoppe man says between 1006 to 1000 will be ok to bottle and it might take 3 weeks to achieve this if I've maintained 10 degrees. I don't want it sitting on the yeast cake for too long do I?

 

[scootadog]

Hi,

I have done the Asahi clone a little while ago at similar temps. Had it on the primary fermenter for approx 3 weeks and then racked to secondary for another 2. Came up fantastic. I wouldnt be worried having it on the yeast cake for 3 weeks but probably wouldnt leave it for much longer.

Thanks.

 

[afromaiko]

I made this kit a while back but would recommend getting a better lager yeast such as S189 (aka Swiss Lager), it's more forgiving in temperature and is so much cleaner and crisper.

The S23 was a horrid yeast for this style, all fruity and had an awful sulphur smell that never really went away. This was even when fermented at a temperature controlled constant 10C and then lagered for a month.

I recently brewed a Kirin clone using the S189 and my temps fluctuated between 12 - 16C but it turned out great. I even accidentally raised the temp too high into the 20's for a couple of days for the diacetyl rest at the end and it didn't harm it at all.

 

[brettule]

Gravity was 1046 when I pitched, day 12 was 1020, today is day 18 and my gravity is 1017. At this rate it will be another 3 weeks before I hit 1006-1000, that's too long in the same fermentor isn't it? I'm not sure what to do now. I rang another beer shop man who says Saflager S23 has minimum temp of 10, in fact he suggested I sit more around 13-14 degrees because the yeast has gotten stuck. He's suggested getting a second packet of S23 and repitch it to try bring the gravity right down to 1000.

Does anyone have any advice on this? I feel like I'm getting conflicting advice from the beer shop. By the way, I don't have a second fermentor but if you all swear that I should rack then I'll go purchase one.

 

[daemon]

I just put this kit on recently and bottled it on the weekend. FG for me was 1005, I had it in the primary for 3 weeks (took just over two with the dry enzyme and at ~12C). I transferred to a secondary at the same temp (I don't have my own beer fridge....yet!) and then chilled down to 4C for 3 days while I had an empty chest freezer. I know longer would be ideal, but I figured this would be better than nothing.

There's the very distinct odour from the S23, but otherwise the taste is quite clean (I can taste the hops more than anything else).

brettule: How much sediment has formed at the bottom? It can sometimes be hard to get a "clean" sample to accurately measure the gravity. If there's a fair amount of trub visible, it could be just bad readings.

Otherwise, try just gently swirling the fermenter to see if it awakens the yeast.

 

[brettule]

Ok, seems like racking to a secondary fermentor is my best option now. *15 mins later*. Bought a second tub and some clear hose, steralising now.

When should I rack, tomorrow (grav is 1017 at 18 days)?
I've got 21 litres in the primary now, after transfer I guess I'll have... around 18 litres? Do I bulk prime at that point?
How much white sugar do I use to bulk prime this kit?

 

[brettule]

Ok, read the racking guide on here and followed the advice so I'm all racked up now.

I've also read about bulk priming, that happens just before you bottle and the calculation is based on some tables which I can find in the wiki here.

Question: If I'm racking to secondary because I'm fermenting over a long time at a low temp and wish to get it off the yeast cake, what are my choices in bulk priming and what's the best advice? Do I rack a 3rd time onto the sugar or do I mix it into the secondary at the time of bottling or what?

Also, how do I get my user status rest from Kit Master to Kit noob!

 

[brettule]

Today (following the previous days racking) the airlock is bubbling away again. It would seem that it got stuck and the mixing up involved in racking has activated the yeast again.

 

[daemon]

You may have awakened the yeast with a swirling of the fermenter rather than racking, but if it's worked then that's the main thing.

I don't always rack my beer as I'm still not convinced it makes a big difference. I just leave it in the primary for 2-3 weeks and find the beer clear enough and no odd flavours.

Typically though you ferment in the primary, rack to secondary and then use the original primary fermenter for bulk priming.