Coopers Australian Lager Kit - possible issues. Help pleeeasssseee

[rohrhys]

Hi all,
Just going to first run the through the gear and kit I used.

Starter kit with fermentation bucket
Tap at the bottom of the bucket. Fitted, tested and sterilised.
Bottling tube/wand. Tested and sterilised.
Some steriliser in a silver packet included with the kit. Cleaned FV and everything which came into contact with the brew and ingredients.
PET bottles with screw caps. Not sterilised yet.
1kg of general wine and beer making sugar from Amazon
1 x Coopers Australian Lager kit
Airlock ring and hold with plastic airlock, also in the starter kit.
Dried yeast including with the lager kit which from researching is ale yeast?

Hoping anyone at all could help me a little with my first brew. Im currently 5 days into the process after pitching at around 23/24 c. I've had no real krausen or pancake floating on top, but just some what looks like yeast stuck to the side of the fermentation bucket/tank. <<< which is my main worry at this time.

The brew has been at a consistent 20-22c almost the entire time except for the pitch. The yeast used was dried from the coopers kit and I just sprinkled it in evenly without a further stir (I read that aeration is good etc etc)

3 days after pitching, I was slightly impatient so I took a look at the beer, had a good sniff and took a gravity reading. I also scraped the dead yeast down from the side back into the brew. It definitely looked like yeast and the correct colour which had rehydrated and stuck which probably happened after I moved the brew into my lounge. It smelt like beer and I had a little taste too. The gravity reading came in at around 1.017/18 and there was a considerable amount of gas. The airlock activity though, has been non existent. :-(

I'm probably worrying over nothing i really wanted to hear some opinions. After the gravity reading and visible co2 coming off the brew, I figured the yeast is in action and producing some tasty beer.

Im planning to clear the beer using some 'finings' (is it??) after day 7 and then priming some bottles on day 9 ready for the big fill using my syphening wand. All providing the gravity has stopped dropping after two readings?

My real question is whether this lack of activity and pancake/krausen is normal as I know airlocks are not really a good indication? Secondly, I used tap water, surely the amount of cleaners in there wouldn't kill the brew? And lastly, cleanliness... Wouldn't this generally effect the taste instead of the primary fermentation?

I am a total amateur and was hoping for some advice from the experts

Many many thanks and sorry for the essay!!

Rhys

 

[terrym]

It all sounds OK to me.
Sometimes you don't get a massive krausen, this is nothing to get concerned about.
Tap water is fine, so long as its direct from the mains supply not your hot water system, which is not sterile.
No airlock activity is probably down to the lid not sealing properly allowing CO2 to bypass the airlock. Many FVs do this, mine included.
Coopers yeast is fine. It is reliable and attenuates to about 70+%. You should get an FG of somewhere around 1.011.
If you have followed all sensible sanitising measures you are extremely unlikely to get an infection.
Now leave your brew alone for a minimum of 10 days in the FV (that means no peeking).
Then take some gravity readings. If the readings are the same on two or three consecutive days its finished. Leaving it a day or two longer will not do any harm.
Then bottle and prime and leave for one to two weeks in a warm place.
Then a further two weeks minimum in the coolest place you have before you try a sample bottle. If its not cleared by then leave it alone, until it has.
Look at the review of this beer in the Beer Kit Review A - Z section on this forum to find out what others have said about this kit. For example it may be best drunk young or it may be best left conditioning for a while longer.

 

[strange-steve]

What ^he^ said. Also I wouldn't scrape the stuff of the sides back I to the beer, that's just stuff left from the krausen and it doesn't taste good.
I'd only bother with fining if you're really concerned with clarity, it doesn't affect the flavour in any way. I have never used finings and never intend to. If you've ever been to Belgium you'll notice that very few of the beers are clear yet they are some of the best in the world.
Don't be in a hurry to get it bottled, even when fermentation has finished the yeast are still at work, and your beer will be much better if you leave it in the fv for 2 or 3 weeks before bottling.

 

[Leon103]

Sounds like it's working. Don't panic, most fv aren't air tight so little air lock activity is found. I would leave it for a full two weeks before you think of bottling. I think fining a only work when put it during the boiling stage.

 

[rohrhys]

Thanks guys! Looking forward to tasting now :)