Thomas Coopers Pilsner

[alasdair86]

guys, started my second ever brew yesterday...a thomas coopers pilsner, 500g light dry malt, 250g dextose and 250g of corn sugar and a sazz hopp bag....

once it was all mixed i put the yeast in and it was around 28 degrees....then i got it down to 20 degrees where its been sitting for the last 24 hours, between 20 and 22 degrees.....but nothing seem's to be happening...air lock isn't bubbling theres condensation on the inside of the lid but no foam, just seem's like nothing is happening .

Putting the yeast in at 28 degree's could that kill it??

Do some brews just take awhile to get going??

Or am i just bein too impatient??

cheers alasdair

 

[MarkMc]

she'll be right, dont worry about the airlock.

give it a few more days and check a nice cake has formed at the bottom. 28 wont kill the yeast.

 

[Dutchbrew76]

if you have concerns about temp in the future and want to get started make a block of ice in an old butter container (use filtered or boiled water). this is something i have found makes life easier (I get a bit impatient to get the brew going) but as mark said 28deg c is ok (though not so much for lager yeast) but if you have used the kit yeast it is a blend of ale and lager yeasts

 

[user 10246]

Hey alasdair,

Should be fine mate, the old airlock is not the only indication of fermentation. We have all had the same issues as you before & there are heaps of post here to back it up... h34r:

This link is a great place to get some info on how to use this website & get some good info about the usual stuff we face as new brewers.

This Airlock Link is a fixed article here too.

Your yeast should be fine BTW

Fermenter activity & hydro readings are the best guide to fermentation.

Hope this helps
Goldy

 

[AussieJosh]

Alisdair, putting your yeast in at 28 will be fine and will not hurt the brew to much, but the yeast that comes with that kit is a lager yeast so you should try to keep it below 18c try to aim for 16c if you can or even lower! it will take two or three weeks in the fermenter at them temps

 

[jivesucka]

everything should be fine. nothing happens until 18 hours after laying down all the ingredients and sealing the lid.

 

[jakub76]

+1 Check that you're lid's on tight.

everything should be fine. nothing happens until 18 hours after laying down all the ingredients and sealing the lid.

 

[alasdair86]

cheers for the feedback guys.... goldy thanks for the links, i had a good read.. its now been 4 days and things are looking better airlock is slowly bubbling and theres a thin layer of foam...ive kept it at 20 degree's is this ok for a pilsner?

 

[boingk]

20'C should turn out fine using the yest supplied with the kit. If you were using a more specialised lager yeast like Saflager S-23 then you would ideally want to be fermenting around 12'C.

I find the Coopers yeasts perform well down to around 17~18'C but thats as low as I'd take them. The lager yeasts supplied with some of their kits (Pilsner, Euro Lager, etc) will apparently ferment down to 'true' lager temps of under 15'C.

Cheers - boingk