beginners question

[stevo1968]

hi all,
im steve im new to forum & this is my first attempt at home brewing. i got a coopers kit for my xmas & mixed it up 2 days ago. its been in fermenting vessel for 2 days- hot/cold water, coopers lager kit, 1kg of brewing sugar & yeast. mixed it up & the temp was 26 c. since then the temp has dropped to 18 c. there has been no sign of bubbling through the bubbler on top of vessel. i;ve got it in boiler room cause its the hottest part of house, but temps still only 18c. my question is will it ferment ok or what can i do to get temps up a liitle ??? any advice welcome, cheers :wha:

 

[Cussword]

Welcome Steve : The temp is a little on the low side, the Coopers kits I've made like to be the range of 18C-32C so you should really try to warm things up a little. I guess your boiler goes on & off. When it's at it's warmest (& the temp of the beer is too), give it a stir & try wrapping some bubble wrap around the bucket. If the temp rises & it doesn't bubble don't worry, the buckets often are not airtight. You do need a hydrometer to be able to tell when the beer is finished.
You can buy heat mats, belts etc from the nearest Home Brew Shop :thumb: .

 

[stevo1968]

thanks cussword, i'll try what you said i kinda thought it was a little too low temp. i got a hydrometer with kit. cheers

 

[robsan77]

18c will give you a good beer if a little slower to ferment. definitely dont go lower tho. Whats most important is that you keep the temp constant. Put it somewhere where it will keep a stable temp and not fluctuate at all.

 

[stevo1968]

thanks bb/brewer, the temp has been pretty constant as the heating on constant in these cold temps so hopefully should be ok just take a little longer. i think i'll invest in a heater belt for next brew, cheers :thumb:

 

[Paulie Walnuts]

I'm not so sure that I'd agree with those above who state that 18 degrees is a little on the low side. Coopers lager kits come with a genuine lager yeast - I've always had great results brewing them at lower temperatures and currently have one bubbling away nicely at 11 degrees.

You say that you have nothing going through the airlock, but is the fermenting vessel actually airtight, and have you checked inside?

Giving it a stir would do no harm, and can you also confirm that you pitched the yeast at 26C, rather than pitching it at a hotter temperature and then adding cold water? If it's the former, you may have killed the yeast.

 

[Aleman]

Coopers lager kits come with a genuine lager yeast

Actually I believe that it is only the European Lager that comes with the genuine lager yeast, from what I remember of the last time I played with cooper kits, I don't think the situation has changed since then.

Still even an ale yeast will ferment at 11C . . . Just rather slowly

 

[Paulie Walnuts]

Coopers lager kits come with a genuine lager yeast

Actually I believe that it is only the European Lager that comes with the genuine lager yeast...........

The OP hasn't said which lager he is brewing - maybe it's the Aussie lager, which I'm unfamiliar with.

In front of me I have the instructions for both the European and the Brewmaster Pilsener. Both have the generic instructions that you find on all Coopers kits, but then there is a note directing the user to page 7 where it states that with both these kits a genuine lager yeast is suppled, and that these can be fermented as low as 13C.

 

[stevo1968]

thanks for the help guys, i can confirm that when i put in the yeast the temp was at 26c, i have given it a good stir, as already mentioned i dont think the vessel is airtght, still no bubbling in airlock. took another look today gave another stir, it has a head on it with orange stuff forming on top, smells & tastes like lager so hopefully ok. i think it is the aussie coopers, also its just a simple stick on temp gauge so dont know how accurate it is. will take a sample at 1 week with hydrometer, cheers :

 

[stevo1968]

hi all, checked my brew again today, has a good head on it with some orange stuff forming. not much going on apart from that, still no sign of any bubbling. can someone please advise if everything is ok. only been in fv for 6 days at 18c with strong smell. :wha: