Pilsner Fermentation

[Jase]

Hi All,

Just a quick question.

Put on a Fresh wort Pilsner, my first Pilsner, with WLP802 yeast two Sundays ago. SG 1050.

I have manage to keep the temp to 12-14 degrees.

I decided to check the gravity today to see how it's travelling. The gravity reading is 1026-1028.

Does this seems right? What sort of gravity readings would I have if I had a stuck fermenter? I'm not concerned, just curious.

Cheers,
Jase

 

[Jovial_Monk]

Rule of thumb should be FG=1/4 of OG (dark ales and stouts will finish higher, high sugar beers will finish lower)

I would have thought that at the fairly high ferment temp you are using the ferment would be finished in two weeks, depends I guess on the age of the WLP802 and whether you made a starter and what temperature you pitched at.

Give it another week, if not much lower try the usual trick of rousing the yeast

Jovial Monk

 

[Bobby]

if thats your first gravity check, chances are that you checked some of the wort trapped inside the tap which hasnt been fermented. maybe try and test it again and you will get a reading that will better repersent the current gravity.
BTW i just kegged the exact same brew after 3 and a half weeks lagering, dry hopped with 12g of saaz. It is bloody nice, for the effort required to brew it (i.e almost no effort - pour pitch and ferment) it is awesome.

 

[Jovial_Monk]

Hmmmmmmm taps. . .

taps, should be spelled "t r a p s" for the bugs they nurture

I use a turkey baster (giant eyedropper kinda thingy) to draw a sample to test fermenting beer from the top of the beer. Some install a second tap into their fermenter for drawing SG samples while using the original tap for racking or bottling, not a bad idea, BTW.

But any wort in a tap is exposed to the yeast so I doubt it is unfermented wort. If you draw an SG sample from the tap, better not rack or bottle from that tap: dried wort/fermenting beer in the tap is a bug haven!


JM

 

[Darren]

Hey Jase,
Could be bubbles in your sample "floating" the hydrometer. Have you tried spinning the hydro in the sample to remove any dissolved gas?

just a thought
Darren

 

[Kai]

I take all my SG samples out of the bottling tap, then I give it a squirt with methylated spirits after wiping off any residual beer. Taking it out of the top sounds far more risky to me, there's no way of stopping the fall of any hair/skin/dirt or airborne particles into the fermenter while you do it.

 

[Jovial_Monk]

Hmmm you balding or suffering from dandruff?

JM

 

[chiller]

Hmmm you balding or suffering from dandruff?

JM

No JM,

He's doing a degree in Food Science and has an appreciation for sanitation.

Chiller

 

[Kai]

Everyone sheds sufficient particulate matter to transmit microbes, JM, and even without them coming from you they can enter from your surrounding environment. The chance might be small of one falling in, but it's a risk I'd rather not take by ensuring the surface of my beer is never exposed.

 

[Jase]

Have you tried spinning the hydro in the sample to remove any dissolved gas?

Darren,

Done that.

Does the reading seems too high?

Jase

 

[Darren]

Soory if this is posted twice,
Yep,
Seems high. Where are you fermenting the beer? How sure are you it is at 12-16?
If it under 10 it will be really slow.
It is worth gently giving the beer a swirl in the fermentor to try and get the yeast back into suspension. Try not to cause any splashing but rock it enough to create a whirlpool.
Having said that a 1.050 lager could easily take three weeeks. Especially if a starter was not made.
Don't give up on it yet!.
cheers
Darren

 

[Gulf Brewery]

Hi Jase

If you haven't made a starter (you need twice as much yeast for a lager as that for an ale), then the ferment will be slow.

I would give the fermenter a swirl to mix up the wort/beer, then take another reading.

If it is still too high after 3 weeks, then warm it up to 15/16 to get it going again.

I have had lagers take 4 weeks because of insufficient starter to too low a temperature.

Cheers
Pedro

 

[wee stu]

Just as a point of comparison, I put down my first AG lager 8 days ago. I pitched about 1.5l of Wyeast Czech Pilsner starter at around 20c. OG was 1.051 and after a week at 10c it has dropped to 1.025, and is still bubbling s-l-o-w-l-y. Was looking at a 2-3 week ferment so feeling "cool" about this right now.

Middle of the night checks suggest the fridge is holding the temp within a 9-11 band quite consistently and the old digital thermometer on the fermenter says 10 consistently.

Let's hope it works out better than the partial mash Oktoberfest brewed on site at a certain HBS and subsequently consigned to the compost heap

 

[sosman]

taps, should be spelled "t r a p s" for the bugs they nurture

I use a turkey baster (giant eyedropper kinda thingy) to draw a sample to test fermenting beer from the top of the beer. Some install a second tap into their fermenter for drawing SG samples while using the original tap for racking or bottling, not a bad idea, BTW.

I use the tap for SG samples and I have never pulled apart the tap for cleaning.

After I take a sample (if I remember) I squirt some 2% phos acid I keep handy in a spray bottle up the tap.

As for your SG it sounds a little slow to me but if it is still heading south then it might not be stuck (yet).

 

[Jase]

I made a 2 litre starter and pitch around 16 degrees. I am constantly checking the temperature and managed to keep the temperature low with frozen bottles.

I gave the fermenter a shake, and will take a sample again tomorrow.

Cheers,
Jase

 

[Jovial_Monk]

Wow! living on the wild side there, Sosman? Do you take the tap off the fermenter at least?

Jovial Monk

 

[sosman]

Wow! living on the wild side there, Sosman? Do you take the tap off the fermenter at least?

Nup.

Of course if I ever get an infection I will turn into the tap nazi.

When not in use my fermenters have a litre or so of phos acid solution in them. Every now and then I shake them up.

 

[Gout]

I do as the SOS

but i take the tap out sometimes and make sure the thread is clean and soak the taps in bleack then phos , i cant pull mine apart, otherwise i would

 

[Jase]

Just an update.

I've just taken another sample and the reading is still 1024-1026. I gave the fermenter another big swirl. I'm trying not to be concerned. I'll check again on the weekend.

Cheers,
Jase

 

[Linz]

How goes it Jase???