Best lager kit

[micklupulo]

That's interesting. So it took 23 days.
The Mangrove Jack Gold that I have brewing is really taking its time. Gravity reading started out at a pitiful 1.040, and after 14 days was at 1.017. I've just tested again ( Day 17) and it is now 1.014. Instructions on the box say you should be looking to achieve an SG of 1.006, but I can't see that happening.

I suspect your kit is one of the boxed Brewer's Series of 1.7kg whereas I was talking about a 1.8kg pouch kit. As it happens I did a NZ Pale Ale in the Brewer's Series last year using 1kg of beer enhancer plus 200gms of sugar which had an OG of 1042 and FG of 1006 so my advice would be to wait and if you are removing the lid to test SG leave it entirely alone for a week to minimise chances of infection by over frequent inspection.

 

[Neil1987]

That's interesting. So it took 23 days.
The Mangrove Jack Gold that I have brewing is really taking its time. Gravity reading started out at a pitiful 1.040, and after 14 days was at 1.017. I've just tested again ( Day 17) and it is now 1.014. Instructions on the box say you should be looking to achieve an SG of 1.006, but I can't see that happening.

I just finished same kit it finished at 1.014 did u use spray malt?

 

[YouFUMS]

I just finished same kit it finished at 1.014 did u use spray malt?

No Neil, I used 1.2kg of light liquid malt.
I'm going to leave it another 3 days (21 in total) before testing again. How long did yours take to ferment out?

 

[Neil1987]

I think the malt will be stopping it going any lower as it dosnt completely ferment out unlike sugar apparently if it's still at 1.014 thatll be as low as it will go

 

[terrym]

No Neil, I used 1.2kg of light liquid malt.
I'm going to leave it another 3 days (21 in total) before testing again. How long did yours take to ferment out?

Give it a gentle stir so as to disturb the trub but not to get any air in it, and then put it in a warmer place than you have at present and that might encourage it to go down a few more points. Using malt extract rather than dextrose might make a small difference to the FG but not 8 points imo.

 

[bez]

Just brewed coopers european lager at quite a high temp got it down to 1006 from 1042. Only brewed 21litres. Took five days. Used a high temp 22degress. No bad smells and tasted nice. I’ve brewed it before at around 16degrees. Just put in keg with 150g dextrose. Also brewed bulldog black cat imperial red. Been brewing 10days and still going. Looks like a two week job at 22degrees.
Also just finishing a Solomon Grundy platinum merlot.Supposed to be a 7 day kit but we are on day 11 and it’s at1.000. I’ll leave it a tad longer

 

[micklupulo]

Just brewed coopers european lager at quite a high temp got it down to 1006 from 1042. Only brewed 21litres. Took five days. Used a high temp 22degress. No bad smells and tasted nice. I’ve brewed it before at around 16degrees. Just put in keg with 150g dextrose. Also brewed bulldog black cat imperial red. Been brewing 10days and still going. Looks like a two week job at 22degrees.
Also just finishing a Solomon Grundy platinum merlot.Supposed to be a 7 day kit but we are on day 11 and it’s at1.000. I’ll leave it a tad longer

That's interesting because I have shied away from that kit as I thought it used lager yeast which I assumed would need a low temperature I could not maintain indoors.

 

[Neil1987]

Just brewed coopers european lager at quite a high temp got it down to 1006 from 1042. Only brewed 21litres. Took five days. Used a high temp 22degress. No bad smells and tasted nice. I’ve brewed it before at around 16degrees. Just put in keg with 150g dextrose. Also brewed bulldog black cat imperial red. Been brewing 10days and still going. Looks like a two week job at 22degrees.
Also just finishing a Solomon Grundy platinum merlot.Supposed to be a 7 day kit but we are on day 11 and it’s at1.000. I’ll leave it a tad longer

would be interested in knowing how the taste differs from cold to hot fermentation guessing you dont have one of old batch to compare?

 

[bez]

would be interested in knowing how the taste differs from cold to hot fermentation guessing you dont have one of old batch to compare?

No but the old batch was lovely. Bit like becks I added a bit of Saaz the end never come though. I’ll see how this one ends. It promotes low temp as I heard you get eggy smells and the lager yeast forms strange esters. Anyway I’ll let you know next week or so

 

[bez]

That's interesting because I have shied away from that kit as I thought it used lager yeast which I assumed would need a low temperature I could not maintain indoors.

Yes. It says between 14-17. This looks fine. Bubbles after 2 hours after pitch. See what the taste is.

 

[micklupulo]

Yes. It says between 14-17. This looks fine. Bubbles after 2 hours after pitch. See what the taste is.

Hope it turns out well and I would be interested to hear about it in a few weeks time though reviews seem to indicate this one particularly benefits from lengthy conditioning.

 

[Neil1987]

I've just orderd festival red vienna lager anyone tryed it yet? Cant find reviews

 

[bez]

I've just orderd festival red vienna lager anyone tryed it yet? Cant find reviews

Havnt head of that one but loved the festival ipa and Weiss beer.

 

[Geoffinthewilds]

That's interesting. So it took 23 days.
The Mangrove Jack Gold that I have brewing is really taking its time. Gravity reading started out at a pitiful 1.040, and after 14 days was at 1.017. I've just tested again ( Day 17) and it is now 1.014. Instructions on the box say you should be looking to achieve an SG of 1.006, but I can't see that happening.

Are you regulating the fermenting temp?, I do and mine started at 1040 and bang on a week down to 1006, but when it used to go cold overnight in the front room (My brew place) all brews were a minimium of 2 weeks as it was going to sleep overnight, since regulating the temp with aquarium heater and water bath its really improved things

 

[bez]

I don't tend to do many straight lager kits much, as I'm more of an IPA man these days, but I always had really good results with Cooper's European Lager and it is a lovely pint and similar to Becks (although Becks is brewed in the UK now though and isn't as good now though). I picked up a Wilko's Artisan larger kit a few months ago when they had their sale on which I'll be putting on soon.

Anyway, back to the European lager, I remember the once finding a couple of bottles in my stash in my garage that were 12 months or so old and it was excellent.

I was also a fan of the Mexican Cooper's Cerveza with a slice of lime.

It depends on the styles you like but hopefully a couple of good pointers for you.

Agreed the coopers euro lager is very good.

 

[Will B]

Hi there, apologies for adding to this thread. I am a novice and am not v technical - but have a Q about Festival IPA and wondered if anyone could help. I kegged the beer after 10 days after primary fermentation (as per instructions). It looked (and smelt) promising then. The instructions then say the the beer should be clear after a further 2 weeks - however it has now been another 2 weeks after this and it is still not clear. I am wondering whether this is something gone wrong, or whether I just need more patience! I have had a sip, and it tastes good but does not look that great! Grateful for any advice!! Thanks, Will

 

[BrewMeHappy]

Don't panic it will be fine. I'm guessing you have bottled or put it into a pressure barrel? If not, you should.

Sometimes things clear quickly others take a while. My current IPA is still a bit cloudy and I bottles it a few weeks ago now and left it in the fermentation bucket for about 3 weeks.

 

[Will B]

Thank you! I much appreciate it. It is not bottled but it is in a pressure barrel. I will have to learn the art of patience. By all accounts it should hopefully be rewarded...

 

[YouFUMS]

Thank you! I much appreciate it. It is not bottled but it is in a pressure barrel. I will have to learn the art of patience. By all accounts it should hopefully be rewarded...

Hi Will, I too am very much a novice, but have learnt that patience is key in brewing. You ideally need 6 weeks from start of brewing, to reach a point where beer is ready to drink, 2 weeks primary fermentation, 2 weeks secondary fermentation (in your bottles/pressure barrel), then finally 2 weeks in a cooler place to condition your beer. The final 2 weeks is where the brew will become clearer.
So, with the above in mind, you should now have your PB in a cool place.
hope this helps

 

[Will B]

Thank you - the temp might be the issue. It is between 18/20 - but I am not sure we have anywhere that is cooler. Do you think it might be worth bottling some up and putting it in the fridge to clear, while the rest of it continues, so we can drink some sooner, whilst the other beer continues to finish off at a slower pace? Or do I keep the keg outside? Only thing is that temp will not be constant then I suppose. Thank you so much for thoughts...!