Toucan- Lager- high temp- no frills yeast... ?

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shea

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Hi all, I have trawled the forum for a few things that I have come up as potential issues with my first brew in 5 years...

I have just put down my first brew using some stuff around the house. I was a bit rusty but don't think I went too off the show. I found an out of date by 2 years COLES lager so I headed down the local Brew shop and grabbed a Coopers Lager and an extra no name yeast. Threw them together with a Kg of white sugar. I didn't get too fancy and just mixed the dry yeasts in.

I had forgotten a few things...

Temp... I pitched (is that what its called if its still dry?) the yeast at 34c. Yeh ... too hot.. didn't have ice avail either.
SG... got it after pitching... froth etc pain in the arse... think it was about 1.055/1.060.... forgot that I should have taken a sample from the tap ... Hydrometer bobbing around in the keg...lol A bitch to see with all the foam.
I sealed her up with finger crossed and took it out the shed. She was bubbling +++ away within an hour (I did consider trying to cool it but left her go). tonight she has slowed down to no bubbling at all even after a little shaking to stir up the yeast with the SG at 1.020 (3 days). Big drop I thought.

So a few things here to pick some brains...
1. Does a Lager cease to be a Lager once toucanned? Im thinking it now more Pilsner/imperial/foreign stout???? for OG FG IBU etc.
2. The 2 year Out of date Coles Lager (which was definitely darker) - is it still a lager?
3. I hear that the Coopers yeast is not a Lager yeast so its a moot point? (cant remember the other one... was a cheapy from the brew shop).
4. The rapid fermentation in the first two days... will that mean a big build-up of ***hyde??? and now need sitting for months before palatable?
5. Should I have put it in the fridge at the initial stages. ambient temp here is about 23C.
6. If she doesn't drop much further... the SG. should I throw in another yeast? I'm thinking I should.
7. Should I wait a few days even if it is at 1.020 just to be sure?

Could be over thinking it... but there's always something to learn from every brew.

Thoughts?
 
1. Does a Lager cease to be a Lager once toucanned? Still a lager if toucanned but lager is more about the yeast and ferment temp then ingredients.
2. The 2 year Out of date Coles Lager (which was definitely darker) - is it still a lager? Yes, just darker; see above
3. I hear that the Coopers yeast is not a Lager yeast so its a moot point? The basic lager has an ale yeast, again see above and look into getting better yeast.
4. The rapid fermentation in the first two days... will that mean a big build-up of ***hyde??? and now need sitting for months before palatable? Probable something like this, possible it won't be palatable.
5. Should I have put it in the fridge at the initial stages. ambient temp here is about 23C. Short answer yes, some sort of temp control is very important to achieving good results.
6. If she doesn't drop much further... the SG. should I throw in another yeast? I'm thinking I should. With two cans and a kg of white sugar(try to replace with LDM) 1020 could be as far as it will go.
7. Should I wait a few days even if it is at 1.020 just to be sure? Swirl and leave 4 or 5 days.

Maybe think about doing a little more refreshing before your next batch, you've made a few mistakes, although small ones they will most likely add up to a beer that you don't want to drink.
Get your temps in a better range, 18-20 for ale yeast and 10-12 for lager, get pitching temp down, use LDM or mixed enhancers and get better yeast-US-05 for ale, S-23/S-189/W34/70 for lager. Thats your start point to better tasting beer.
 
Ack all the above points bar one... is there such thing as a beer you don't want to drink? comparatively yes but when its all you have my palette has put up with a fair bit of crap ... lol.
On the serious side... I am still wondering about the lager status of beer... I understand - lager LME/lager yeasts/lager temp/laagering... but if one of these is out is it still a lager that's just poorly done, or would it be classed as a different style. ie I take a lager LME but throw in an ale yeast and ferment it at 18 degrees... is it still a lager? If not, what is it? If I take an Ale LME and use lager yeast and temp etc...??
In my case i took a lager LME used potentially an ale and a lager yeast and fermented it at ale temps therefore its a lager? a potentially shite lager or is it now an ale of unknown species...?

From here I was planning to leave this brew in the tub for a week or so. Throw it in the fridge for another week then bottle it and I'm expecting to have to leave it hidden till xmas. Maybe it will be right by then... call me a pessimist.
 
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