Brewing at a lower temp - does it affect the fermentation period?

[lagerfeld]

Hi
I have had a Wilko Light Golden Lager in the FV for just over a week now and when I took the first hydro reading (since OG) I was a bit disappointed to see that the beer was nowhere near as clear as I had experienced in my previous 2 brews. Also, there where lots of little brown floaters, which I am hoping is the yeast.

I am fermenting this at a temp of just about 18 degrees, is that too low (the instructions says 18-20)? Will it just take longer due to the low temp?

Any advise welcome.
Oh and the OG of 1.042 had dropped to 1.010

Cheers

 

[Covrich]

18 is fine, I often brew at 18-20 , it may take longer but that is not to the detriment of the brew.. Just leave it another week and see how it is then

 

[lagerfeld]

Thanks Covrich

Do yours normally take 2 weeks or more?

 

[Covrich]

Well I don't use an air lock since the gas seems to escape from a gap somewhere in my fermenter lid so I cannot see any visual of fermentation stopping but I usually take a hydrometer test after 1-2 weeks to make sure it has hit a finished gravity... I like to leave it longer anyway so I do not normally bottle until 2 weeks minimum.

 

[GrizzlyKolsch]

What kind of yeast are you using? 1.010 is pretty low FG if you test again in 2 days and it is still 1.010 then it's finished. How low were you expecting it to go? My money is on that it is finished fermenting and it is time to bottle.

 

[lagerfeld]

Hi GrizzlyKolsch

I had an FV of between 1006 & 1008 in mind to get an abv around 4.5+
My main concern with this brew was that it is nowhere near as clear as previous ones and I suspect that is down to temp. Also, with previous brews I would bottle after 2 weeks (and constant FG levels) but I was thinking I would leave this for 3 weeks to clear up.

cheers

 

[Covrich]

No brews are the same, just leave it , test again in a few days if its the same it is done but you can leave it to condition a bit.. If you can leave it to crash cool somewhere that would help..

I left my FV in my conservatory last night while it was very cold.. it will help but it isn't essential by any means as for a lot of people it is a difficult thing to practically do.

 

[GrizzlyKolsch]

Hi GrizzlyKolsch



I had an FV of between 1006 & 1008 in mind to get an abv around 4.5+

My main concern with this brew was that it is nowhere near as clear as previous ones and I suspect that is down to temp. Also, with previous brews I would bottle after 2 weeks (and constant FG levels) but I was thinking I would leave this for 3 weeks to clear up.



cheers

There are a number of reasons your brew didn't make it down that low. Yeast strain, pitch rate, whether a starter was used are the most important in my opinion.

Your beer will clear even in the bottle. So if you decide to bottle it now time will still help.

I don't think the temp you fermented at is the culprit. Many people, including myself ferment at those temperature and get a clear beer. Are you brewing all grain or extract?

 

[lagerfeld]

Thanks for the advice guys.

Might try a crash cool before I bottle - what temp and how long are 2 questions that spring to mind :wha:

GK this is a Wilko lager kit, I have only done kits so far. I'm going to take the second reading tonight and see where to go from there.

Will let you know.

 

[Twostage]

As above depends on yeast strain. 75% attenuation is not unusual so 1.040 to 1.010 is spot on.

 

[Sandimas]

Might try a crash cool before I bottle - what temp and how long are 2 questions that spring to mind :wha:

I always do that now, results in much less stuff at the bottom of the bottles. Move it to another FV and leave it in the coolest place you can, which for me is a ground floor north-facing room that's around 12C - normally leave mine a minimum of 5 days. If it's not clear at bottling time, I don't bottle, but 5-7 days should be plenty for all the yeast to drop out.

 

[alarmsparks]

Sorry if this is a silly question I am a bit new to this, if you cool it to 12c will the secondary fermantation work ok?

 

[Covrich]

Sorry if this is a silly question I am a bit new to this, if you cool it to 12c will the secondary fermantation work ok?

Yes, , may take a little longer and you obviously:thumb: have to bring it back up to room temp for a couple of weeks while it does that