Any advise on this lager kit appreciated!

[scruffy_77]

Hi All,

firstly I am new to the home brew and also this forum so hello!

My first attempt at home brew was some woodfords wherry which turned out amazing! Recently I was in my homebrew shop and saw a lager kit on sale, it was coopers Mexican cervza which seemed pretty easy to make. As my wherry is still in keg and not finished I thought I best buy a new keg for this lager, they also sold me a can of c02 for 25 quid for fiz. So now 75 quid down and my lager tonight is now fermenting nicely, I have been looking on forums and can see putting lager in a keg is not normal procedure.

So my question is, can I be successful with my keg and can of c02 for the lager kit? Or will it go terribly wrong? I am worried as my first attempt at home brew with woodfords wherry had been such a success with me and everyone I have offered to try.

Thanks...

 

[rpt]

The only problem is that plastic kegs don't allow you to make the beer very fizzy. With ale this isn't a problem but lager is usually served fizzier. This is why bottles or corny kegs are usually used, because they can hold greater pressure.

 

[Will12283]

+1 on this and I learnt this the hard way. I can tell you 40 pints of flat lager is no fun.

Got a coopers cerveza bottled and drinking it now a nice and easy drink.

 

[Dave1970]

The lager won't go well in a keg, as already said it'll not be fizzy enough. Your £75 quid isn't wasted though, get another Wherry or any other ale/stout kit o and you keg + gas will be suited very nicely to that

 

[Stu]

Cheap Sodastream is the way forward, and whilst it's not perfect, you can get some decent forced carb fizz (I actually over fizzed mine last weekend which kept making me burp)

 

[scruffy_77]

Thanks all for your responses, really appreciated... That does all make a lot of sense so since your answers I have now ordered 48 500 ml bottles with crowns and a crowning machine... I guess this will be the best place for it.

I have started to read a lot and the instructions with the coopers cerveza is to keep temps between 21 - 27C which is the same as what my Wherry said, so fourth I have done as the instructions said and I think the fermentation is now complete in 5 days as there are no more bubbles, guess ill take a reading soon. Only reason I am putting this is I seem to have read it should ferments at a lower temp for lager elsewhere on the net... I guess ill learn as I go.

Also, as Dave1970 said - the extra I bought will come in handy as I plan to try out a St Peters Ruby Red next - if it goes down like the Wherry I am onto a winner!!

Thanks again.

 

[RobWalker]

if you want an easy solution, you can bottle into 2L pop bottles. you need to pour the whole 2L (4 pints) off at once, which is fine if you're drinking with someone, not so good on your own.

when you first start your beer is rarely conditioned properly anyway. if you carbonate with sugar in the warm for a week then leave it in the cool for 2 weeks and serve about the right temp, the lack of fizz won't be too bad at all. certainly not enough to ruin your beer. it's fermented at the same temp as ale as it actually uses an ale yeast, it just resembles lager - its a great kit, very clean tasting, your mates won't tell the difference! lager is fermented at lower temps when actual lager yeast is used :thumb:

and be careful what you pay for s30 replacements! They can be £15 in some places, my local charges £6!

 

[scruffy_77]

Thanks you... I did start to save up on the pop bottles and then found 24 box of 500 ml bottles for £4.50 so bought 2.. This seemed a deal not to miss up, when I looked at competition on the bottles this seemed incredibly cheap.. they are still to arrive yet.

Thanks for the info on the yeast and fermentation temps... I literally followed the instructions and because it said 21 - 27 I sat the FV in the same place as the Wherry next to our Aga - 1) because the Wherry came out amazing and 2) because the temp sits at a perfect 23 in position.

Since then I have read so much and started to worry my temps was way to high, and for sanity checked the instructions over and over and looks all good.

Would you think I am safe to leave it there, or move somewhere colder until the bottles arrive?

Thanks!!

 

[Ian...]

where did you get your bottles please?

 

[scruffy_77]

I got them from beermerchants

24 Brown Bottles 500ml

 

[Will12283]

Temp will be fine as most lager kits come with ale yeast. I would leave in the fv as long as you can, mine stay in there for 14 days.

That's really cheap for bottles, I'm lucky I have friends Thant drink a lot = loads of free bottled :party:

 

[scruffy_77]

thanks mate! that's put my mind at ease... everything is going well with it but as this is my second attempt I am nurturing like my first born and worrying about it constantly!

haha, good shout - I have just started to put word out to save bottles, the amount I have thrown away in the past makes me regret it now.

 

[Will12283]

I'm I know the feeling I think I worried more about my first few brews then the bambino in her first few weeks :whistle:

 

[bottler]

Thanks all for your responses, really appreciated... That does all make a lot of sense so since your answers I have now ordered 48 500 ml bottles with crowns and a crowning machine... I guess this will be the best place for it.

I have started to read a lot and the instructions with the coopers cerveza is to keep temps between 21 - 27C which is the same as what my Wherry said, so fourth I have done as the instructions said and I think the fermentation is now complete in 5 days as there are no more bubbles, guess ill take a reading soon. Only reason I am putting this is I seem to have read it should ferments at a lower temp for lager elsewhere on the net... I guess ill learn as I go.

Also, as Dave1970 said - the extra I bought will come in handy as I plan to try out a St Peters Ruby Red next - if it goes down like the Wherry I am onto a winner!!

Thanks again.

You will be onto a winner with the ruby red a smashing pint. Takes a while to clear, but well worth the effort :thumb: