Brewing a lager over the winter? Suggestions for best taste?

[Bootcutboy]

Hi all

I have a couple of empty FVs so i thought i would make a wine and a lager from kit for next years supping but have never done either before. I have found a cerveza style lager at Wilkinsons for £10 and it got some cracking reviews so I am going to try this as my missus drinks Corona. My question is will i be ok brewing this in the current cold weather,especially with freezing temps expected soon? The FV would be in my office anyway so it would probably not ever get too cold. I have a fleece blanket i could wrap vessel in.

Also any suggestions for getting the best from this particular kit? Reading the reviews i will probably only fill to 20lts to get more fuller taste, but a lot of people suggest brewing enhancer and other additives, I am a total beginner so would be very interested in any thoughts you guys have on the matter? Anyone brewed similar and had good results?

Thanks a lot everyone, loving this forum and am totally hooked on homebrewing!

 

[PD]

I've made this in the distant past and it went down well. I remember just brewing it as the kit instructed with no additions ( although as normal take no notice of the times in the instructions. Work on 10 days in a fermenter rack to a secondary for 7 days then bottle if clear.

Normal room temps will suffice, perhaps with a blanket over the fermenter if temps vary alot.

If its your first attempt, brew it as stated. any alterations can be done on sudsequent brews.
I found the addition of lime was best left for juice to be added direct into the glass on serving not incorporated into the brew itself.

 

[itbrvilla]

I've just bottled this kit. I brewed at 20C for 16 days before putting in the cold to help clearing for 2 days. The kit comes with an Ale yeast rather than a lager yeast. I had a taste whilst bottling and have to admit it does taste rather lagery instead of the expected ale flavors. If you plan to do it at 10C I would suggest getting a lager yeast. If you can keep it 18-20C then use the kit yeast.

 

[Bootcutboy]

Thanks piddle and itbrvilla, i will just try it as per instructions the first time. Can i also ask after racking off into demijohns for secondary fermentation are these then ok in the garage for a while (which will be pretty cold)? And how long can they stay in secondary fermentation? Does it harm the lager if they stay in secondary fermentation for too long? I am just thinking it might take me a month or 2 to get the 40 bottles collected from friends and family.

Much appreciated chaps :

 

[PD]

when racked off the primary trub into a secondary the beer needs to be cool. winter garage is fine, as long as the brew dont freeze.
Sealed up it can stay there for several weeks.

 

[GavH]

The Coopers European Lager and Pilsner kits come with Lager yeast strains which are considered good to ferment down to 13C. You can always buy a proper Lager yeast like Saflager S-23 which I think is good down to about 9C. Allow about 3-4 weeks as the lower temps will require a longer ferment, bring it back in to the warm for a Diacetyl rest for a couple of days, then bottle and Lager for a good few weeks in the cold. This last bit is probably the key part from what I gather.

 

[rpt]

I think you will need to keep the demijohns in the dark to prevent light skunking the hops in the beer.

 

[Bootcutboy]

Hi All

Bought the kit and plan on making it today, I will need to go out and buy some brewing sugar as I only just read not to use cane sugar. I am just wondering 2 things, can I increase the alcohol content by simply adding more sugar as per with cider? Also once it has fermented and the SG is under 1008 and I am going to bottle it up into pint bottles will the simple addition of 1/2 tsp of sugar be enough to give it a proper fizz and a head? I cannot bare flat lager.

:party: Thanks all!

 

[NickW]

Of you're after the best taste, try and get some light malt extract, either liquid or dried as this will add to the flavour and body of the lager.

Adding sugar, whether sucrose of brewing sugar, will not add any taste, it'll just provide alcohol. You'll end up with a thinner, blander beer.

 

[itbrvilla]

Hi All

Bought the kit and plan on making it today, I will need to go out and buy some brewing sugar as I only just read not to use cane sugar. I am just wondering 2 things, can I increase the alcohol content by simply adding more sugar as per with cider? Also once it has fermented and the SG is under 1008 and I am going to bottle it up into pint bottles will the simple addition of 1/2 tsp of sugar be enough to give it a proper fizz and a head? I cannot bare flat lager.

:party: Thanks all!

Sorry I should of said, I added 500g of light DME and 1kg of brewers sugar. I then added 1 teaspoon to 500ml bottles and 2 teaspoon in 1L bottles. I used 1/2teaspoon for the Youngs harvest bitter and it has barely any fizz.

 

[Ceejay]

Shoot for around 2.5 vols of CO2 - so prime with 6.4g of table sugar per litre. That's about 3/4 tsp per 500ml isn't it? I find it much easier to batch prime with boiled & cooled sugar water, but I have a bottling bucket.

1 tsp per bottle will give you just over 3 vols of CO2 at room temp, so you're on course for a nicely fizzy lager.

 

[Bootcutboy]

Thanks Ceejay, NickW and itbrvilla for great answers again. I am actually making this lager as my girlfriend will only drink Corona when we are out so it is more for her than me (however I do drink about 10 times as much as her so it is probably more for me but you know what I mean!) so it needs to be light and not too heavy body wise so I am just going to go with the kg of brewing sugar this time, make it up to around 20 or 21ltrs instead of 23 for flavour, add 1tsp of sugar per 500ml for fizz when bottling and see what it turns out like!

Cheers All, I shall report back in a couple of weeks with my opinion on the lager.

 

[NickW]

Cheers All, I shall report back in a couple of weeks with my opinion on the lager.

Your opinion on the lager will be a lot worse after 2 weeks than it will be after 2 months :thumb:

 

[Bootcutboy]

Cheers All, I shall report back in a couple of weeks with my opinion on the lager.

Your opinion on the lager will be a lot worse after 2 weeks than it will be after 2 months :thumb:

Hi NickW, yes I am actually brewing this to drink at Crimbo and New Year so that is a good month away. I will try a bottle or 2 along the way to taste the difference as this is my first attempt at a lager so it will be interesting to taste the changes.

Cheers

 

[Bootcutboy]

I just finished making the lager to 21ltrs, I added a tiny bit of golden syrup (probably not enough to make a difference) just because I have read a few pages saying this helps. The SG was 1.042 does that sound about right? The instructions say FG should be under 1008, do you guys agree?

I am really into this homebrewing, I just hope some of my booze turns out drinkable haha!

Thanks.

 

[Bootcutboy]

Back again, I made the lager up yesterday avo going by the instructions (pouring and stirring in yeast, not making a yeast starter) and the kit has been at around 16 degrees overnight and today but no sign of the lid bulging or any bubbles through the airlock yet, is this normal? Should I be worried or just forget about it for a bit?

Cheers All

 

[Ceejay]

Just forget about it for a couple of days. Lager ferments take longer than ales, and with a kit yeast, you're probably under pitching too (lagers need more yeast, due to the lower temp). Nothing to worry about, but with lagers you just have to be very patient. That's why I don't brew them very often! :lol:

 

[Bootcutboy]

Thanks ceejay that has given me some peace of mind. I will just leave it do it's thang but I do have a couple of sachets of cider yeast if adding any of that will help fermentation? I did only fill FV to 21ltrs mind so that should mean more yeast in the mix, if you know what i mean. :hmm:

 

[Ceejay]

No, please don't do that! You'll spoil your lager. Cider yeast is for cider.

 

[Bootcutboy]

Hi Ceejay and everyone else, I have not disturbed the lager at all and it has been at around 20-22 degrees now for a couple of days. The lid of the FV has been swollen up for a couple of days but as yet no bubbling through airlock, do some brew kits not actually bubble much through the airlock? or at all? I only ask because this is my first lager and both my ciders bubbled profusely. Maybe I should check the SG just to make sure it is decreasing?

Cheers all!