Slow Fermentation With Temp Control

[elec]

Colleagues, I'm wondering if you could confirm I'm on the right track with my first temperature controlled fermentation. Supposed to be a light lager style.
Recipe and method thus far:

500g LDME
500g Maltodextrin
1 tin lager goo
Halletauer 15g Hop bag boiled for 10mins with 100g malt and 3L water, then bag added to wort.
OG 1035
Pitched Saflager S23 @ 20 degC
Ferment @ 12-13 degC
FG @ 7 days 1030

Is this a bit slow , or an acceptable reading at this stage?

All thoughts and comments appreciated.

Regards
dan

 

[seemax]

Are those SG readings correct? FG seems too high... it's hardly fermented at all !

Pitched at 20C it should have taken off pretty quick...

 

[pdilley]

Did you dry pitch or rehydrate or build it up before pitching?

Problem with dry pitches is you don't know if you got a dud packet of yeast which rehydration and or building it up will show you. You may have 40% viable cells and then 60% of those can be killed off in a dry pitch because until rehydrated and cellular walls strengthen yeast will take in toxins that kill them from the environmen as readily as nutrients that sustains them.

You may simply have to wait with the pitch to let it build iup he numbers of cells again.

Also your primary if leaking (mine has rubber seal and it still leaks) may not show activity but because you are taking gravity readings you are bypassing all that.

 

[buttersd70]

lagers do as lagers will. They can be as slow as my ex wife, or as fast and loose as her sister.....they are a patient persons game.

Also bear in mind....what temperature was the sample at? temperature effects SG....

 

[rclemmett]

lagers do as lagers will. They can be as slow as my ex wife, or as fast and loose as her sister.....they are a patient persons game.

Also bear in mind....what temperature was the sample at? temperature effects SG....

And their not always dry either, some can be as fruity as...........

 

[clean brewer]

:icon_offtopic: They can be as slow as my ex wife, or as fast and loose as her sister.....

Sounds like a good story...

 

[RdeVjun]

lagers do as lagers will. They can be as slow as my ex wife, or as fast and loose as her sister.....they are a patient persons game.

Begorrah! :blink: Crikey.. Butters, perhaps there is something we don't need to know? :lol:

Also bear in mind....what temperature was the sample at? temperature effects SG....

Absolutely. But even then, even at 12degC maybe 1.028 @ 7 days. Allowing for measurement error & tempurature correction, I'd be leaving it for a wee while, for sure, not that I'm big on lagers. I just know that the few I did in the logger- fridge were at least a fortnight in primary before I wanted to do anything with them. Jeez it was boring. At least with ales there's something to write home about.

 

[asis]

Is it just me or does an OG of 1035 seem a bit low for a kit and 1.1kg of fermentables? I'd have thought it should be closer to 1044 or so depending of volume?

1030 after 7 days with s23 would be ok if the OG was actually higher than measured.

 

[buttersd70]

Is it just me or does an OG of 1035 seem a bit low for a kit and 1.1kg of fermentables? I'd have thought it should be closer to 1044 or so depending of volume?

1030 after 7 days with s23 would be ok if the OG was actually higher than measured.

I just worked off the assumption that the OG was wrong....as you, kit + fermentable in volume = OG......without even working it out, I would make it ~1041 off the top of my head. certainly not 1035...

 

[elec]

Dry pitched the yeast as per packet instructions into 23L, never used the Fermentis stuff before ( or any good yeast for that matter). Started to fire at between 36-48 hours and seems to have settled right down.
Could have a unreliable hydrometer. Brand new, but I didn't take the time to calibrate it against water. Temp would have been under 20degC when tested. I'm happy to let it sit for a good while yet .
This rehydrating the yeast caper? Is there a link somewhere to bone me up on the way to go about it?

Thanks to all for the advice.

Regards
dan

 

[elec]

Re-sampled, 1024 @ 20degC. Water was 1000 @ 20degC.
My sample technique may have been suspect. I used a alcometer sample tube and probalbly had too small a sample and the hydrometer may have been fouling on the side of the tube, and giving a false reading to the low side.

Sorry for the fuss. Anyone got a good Blonde Ale K@B recipe.......

Regards

dan

 

[pdilley]

dry yeast start the clock, you only have 30 minutes to pitch before yeast run out of stored energy.
20 minutes is optimum pitch time
Rehydrate in water that is NOT distilled only with no nutrients at all with goferm as the only additive. Temperature 104 F -- that stuck in my mind since I spent time over there so convert to C unless you have dual readings on your thermometer. No stirring the yeast so you need surface area so a cake tin is better than a jar.

When done you'll get 100% survival of the rehydration process by all the remaining living yeast in the sachet and their cellular membranes will be strong enough to not allow toxins to pass into the yeast cell and kill it.

That's the way you get the most out of yeast in dry form. Otherwise you can just chuck it in and wait longer for the survivors to build up the same numbers as doing it the optimum way gets you to right at the start.

Google trick -- type
104F in C
Then click search

 

[loikar]

This rehydrating the yeast caper? Is there a link somewhere to bone me up on the way to go about it?

Sig expansion Butters?