What Should I Do

[gundaroo]

need some advice.i have a 23 litre brew of wander munich lager with a 1kg bag coopers BE2 cruising along at around 12-14deg for the last 3 weeks,og was 1040.the last 4 days it seems steady at 1020.
my question is,should i be more patient or should i keg?
p.s... i used a morgans blue mountain lager yeast.
cheers gundaroo

 

[ale_snail]

if its steady its ready to bottle/keg

2 weeks is plenty of time

 

[matti]

What final gravity did the can say?
You can add 2 or 3 point with the enhancer.
(A tip from another brewer just the other day.
Do sg readings at room temp to get a accurate read.)

I think you would expect a final gravity around 1.010-1.014 so I would suggest you leave it a bit longer.


Has the beer cleared at all?

matti

 

[boingk]

If you're still worried, rack to secondary or just give a gentle stir with a long spoon. This will recirculate some of the yeast and get them to work on some of the sugars they have missed - hopefully solving the problem.

EDIT: One thing I'm a fan of is leaving a test jar with the hydrometer in it to ferment seperate from the fermenter itself. This way it arrives at the FG [or very close to] ahead of the main batch and gives you a good idea of when your beer is ready. Eg: Heineken batch in my sig will be ready at SG 1.014 :beerbang:

 

[gundaroo]

What final gravity did the can say?
You can add 2 or 3 point with the enhancer.
(A tip from another brewer just the other day.
Do sg readings at room temp to get a accurate read.)

I think you would expect a final gravity around 1.010-1.014 so I would suggest you leave it a bit longer.
Has the beer cleared at all?

matti

it is still bubling every now and then,and through the lid it looks like there is very little froth,(hard to tell).
will do a reading at room temp.

 

[matti]

I'm with boingk boing boingboing...

Probably a stuck ferment.
Avoid aeration. rocking/rolling the fermenter work too...

 

[gundaroo]

so by the sound of things,the temperature is fine for this kit with the lager yeast,will give it a shake today and how long after that should i take another reading?

 

[pickledkiwi2]

so by the sound of things,the temperature is fine for this kit with the lager yeast,will give it a shake today and how long after that should i take another reading?

Shake/swerl the fermenter gently then leave for a couple of days and see if the airlock works any harder than it is at the moment. if no further movement then keg it.

PS you should have listened the first time I told you this :angry:

 

[matti]

A week.

I cannot remember what thread but look through the lagering threads and there are some good tips.
From memory the lager yeast are weaker yeast and rather lazy.
They chew up all the easy sugar first then they get into the harder stuff.

To help the yeast along, it is highly advisable to rack into a second fermenter to remove the dead yeast and help the healthy yeast to finnish the job.

If you havent got a second fermenter, it is safe to leave for several weeks. From my own experiences, I wouldn't leave it there past 4 weeks. I have read it may be safe to leave it up to six week providing the temp is not too high.

(You can keg it not fully fermented out, and it will carb up without gassing, though you will have sedimentation in bottom of keg)

Disclaimer not for beginner.

 

[gundaroo]

thanks matti,then after racking ,leave at same temp(12-14deg)?

 

[bonj]

This happened to me with my schwarzbier. I rocked the fermenter and upped the temperature to 18 degrees. It dropped to 1.017 and stayed there. Ross told me his standard procedure for lagers is in the fridge until 1.020, then out of the fridge at ambient.

If you're using a highly flocculant yeast (like W34/70), it seems to help to rock the yeast back into suspension.

 

[matti]

Give it a diacetyl rest at around 16-20 degrees at some stage.
Usually before racking.
Ther are some who does it after.
Like me if i've forgot. lol.
Then allow to ferment out at 12-14 degrees.

 

[wildschwein]

1020 sounds about right for Wander Munich and BE2 mix. Wander kits have caramel in them which I guess is not really fermentable and BE2 has maltodextrin which is only about 30% fermentable. So the brew is probably about right.

 

[gundaroo]

thanks wildschwin,will keg this arvo after work,and give it a go next weekend
cheers

 

[Adamt]

50% (apparent) attenuation is definitely not done.

As with all lager yeasts do a diacetyl rest (18-20C) for a couple of days, this not only gets rid of most diacetyl, it also assists kicking the yeast in to finish off the ferment. Do not bottle at this SG, they will likely explode if you store the bottles at room temperature.

 

[gundaroo]

i will not do any damage if i leave it any longer?,without being rude not sure who to follow on this one.

 

[Adamt]

You can leave it on the yeast cake under 20ishC for a week or so after fermentation without any hassle. If anything it will aid with conditioning. Patience is a virtue.

 

[matti]

1.7 kgs kit
1 kgs brew enhancer with 300g maltodextrine.

Roughly you should have a fg around 1.015
check this outFG calculator

hope the link works

:excl:

 

[mika]

Agree with Adam, up to a month not a drama in this kinda weather either.

 

[gundaroo]

great link matti,
i heard a rumour that muntons own brewcraft?