Coopers Lager Bottled To Early?

[hellbent]

I put down a coopers heritage lager with their yeast and made with 500g dextrose and 500g LME. The initial reading was 1070 when I put it down, the fermenter was wrapped in a blanket with temp hovering about 18c during day and prob cooler during the night, in the last 2 days I have had 2 successive readings of 1015 and as it had stopped bubbllng and even though it was quite cloudy I believed it was ready to bottle, which I did.... now the bad part... on taking down details of the bottling on my brewing log I realised that it had only been brewing for 5.5 days and not the 8 days I thought it had. So guys break the news to me gently, whats going to happen now... what can I expect in the short term....and will the stubbies I bottled settle down over time? it's a bloody shame really as it tasted so nice in the testing ..... also I heard that coopers yeast is an ale yeast...yes or no....... thanks guys for any help or advice

 

[manticle]

Pretty sure your sample must have not been mixed properly in the tube becuase I can't see those ingredients getting to 1070 unless you made it up to a much smaller volume.

The cooper's heritage lager comes with a lager yeast and they recommend a 13 degree fermentation. However some beer styles are fermented at ale temps with lager yeasts -steam beer for example. The result will be a fruity, more estery beer than the lower temp would produce but it doesn't mean your beer is screwed.

Please forget about the airlock in future. It means next to nothing. With the LME in there I'd say 1015 is not ridiculous but I would expect it might have dropped a couple more points if left alone. This means you may get beer that's a little gassy. There is potential for exploding bottles but I wouldn't guess it's a huge one.

The cloudiness is likely yeast - this will settle down if you store them upright, undisturbed and chill them for a couple of days before drinking (once carbonated). In future, if you leave the brew a bit longer after primary fermentation it will start to clear itself as well as clean up various unwanted flavours it has produced during ferment.

 

[hellbent]

thanks mate for your help.... I thought it was mixed pretty good it seemed ok but I could well have been mistaken, I added the yeast at 22c as soon as I filled it to 23 litres then took initial reading which was 1070, do you think 13c is ok to ferment the lager or should I aim for higher? and at a rough estimate on average how long should it ferment for??
thanks again for your help mate greatly appreciated

 

[manticle]

For a lager yeast stick with 13 or lower. Higher will give you fruity esters that are generally unwelcome in a lager. There are exceptions to this but as a beginner it's better to keep it simple.

When you draw a hydrometer sample into your tube, draw off a little and either drink or discard then draw another. It seems like a waste but the tap can get malt stuck in it and give a higher than normal reading.

As for length - you should ferment it until it's finished. There is no exact time - only process and gravity. I know that sounds annoying but the beer will be better with patience - especially lager.

Ferment until around 1014 @ 13 degrees or less. This may take two to three weeks so no need to take gavity readings every day.

Allow to warm up to 18 degrees. This is called a diacetyl rest and helps gets rid of a potential butterscotch taste in the final beer. I have no idea if it's required for kit brews but it is good practice for any later step you may take and is easy enough to do.

When gravity is finished (for your recipe I would say between 1012 and 1008, stable for three days or more) you can either bottle or put the fermenter in the fridge for a week or more. As a newcomer, I realise you probably won't have a dedicated fridge so you can bottle, allow to carbonate and then refrigerate for a long time (a week minimum).

The above is to make the best beer you can with what you have but the most important thing is that the gravity is where you expect it and is stable over several days before being bottled. The rest is just extra.

 

[hellbent]

Manticle I thank you and appreciate the time and effort you have afforded me with your answers to my queries, you have supplied me with very thorough and detailed answers. I can now go forward in my want to make a pallatable lager over the winter months... thanks mate

 

[Hatchy]

Manticle is like that. He spent that much time helping me with 1 batch that it would've been quicker & easier for me to drive to Melbourne to pick him up, bring him to Adelaide so he could make the beer for me & then drop him home.

 

[hellbent]

1 more question..... how do I stop the missus from putting my beer pot into the soapy, greasy, dishwasher??

 

[SirDrinkalot]

Clean your glassware yourself and she won't do it...
Would you let your missus clean your gun... no.
Or if you know someone at the local pub you could try to get them to give you some of the glass wash they use when they scrub the glasses once a week then tell her to use that.

1 more question..... how do I stop the missus from putting my beer pot into the soapy, greasy, dishwasher??

 

[hellbent]

Clean your glassware yourself and she won't do it...
Would you let your missus clean your gun... no.
Or if you know someone at the local pub you could try to get them to give you some of the glass wash they use when they scrub the glasses once a week then tell her to use that.

she's bigger than me and might take umbrance... only joking,... axtually I buy the cheap beer glasses from the $2 shops and rough them up inside at the bottom and sides with sandpaper to scratch them and can guarantee if your beers ok you will always have a nice head on it!

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

Manticle is like that. He spent that much time helping me with 1 batch that it would've been quicker & easier for me to drive to Melbourne to pick him up, bring him to Adelaide so he could make the beer for me & then drop him home.

I have found his posts very helpful.
@ Manticle: Thanks for taking time to help others, you effort is appreciated. We should clone you.