Cooper's Euro Lager - Couple of Questions

[Aaron]

Hi All

I'm currently having a go at a Cooper's European Lager. It's been in the FV for about 4 days in a cupboard where the temperature is a stable 19 degrees. I don't have anywhere else cooler and as stable so my first question is, is this an okay temperature?

Second question is, how long would I expect to wait before transferring it to second fermentation? I know I should work to the SG but I was looking for a general time frame if anyone knows. Also, what SG should I look for before transferring to the second stage?

Last question, and again, I'm just looking for a general time frame, but how long should I leave it in second fermentation before bottling? Should I work to the SG again (I'm not sure how I would test it once it's in the carboy, any suggestions)?

Any other general advice with this kit would be appreciated.

Cheers Guys!

 

[Archtronics]

Hey

Fermentation ideally should be lower around 13 degrees for a lager, But at 19 you should be fine as its a kit I don't imagine the manufactures expect you to have fermentation cooling etc.

I would wait till you have a stable FG of around 1010 or near to that, Usual takes 7-10 days then rack off into the secondary.

I secondary ferment my beers to help them clear so its really up to you how long you leave it, but I leave mine for 7 days then bottle or keg.

A quick note is the more you handle the beer the more likely it is you will have sanitation issues, Patience is the hardest yet the best lesson to learn in this hobby. :thumb:

 

[Titch]

hi ive brewed this one

as arch says, 7 to 10 days then i racked for a week and did not drink any till around 8 weeks, it was ok but it says 12 weeks

so i left it and you know what its not bad for a none larger drinker

 

[Brendan124]

I've brewed 7 or 8 of these and my temperature was pretty similar to yours. I found it took ten days then I went straight to the bottles with it at a SG of 1.010, leave around five weeks and its good to go.

A mate of mine primed one of these with syrup and it came up very well as I had found this a nice beer but just something missing from the taste and the syrup seemed to do the trick

 

[Hollow Legs]

Hi

Done quite a few Euro lagers (drinking one now) and always kept them at or around 16 - 18 degrees C thermostatically controlled, and they turned out fine :drink:

good luck

Colin.

 

[RobWalker]

Is there any reason you're using a secondary particularly? Secondary fermentation usually has an aim - if you're just gonna let it clear out and then bottle it, the only reason to secondary would probably be a bottling bucket to ease the process. It should clear up fine in primary.

Lagering as ;a process is designed to be fermented much cooler than most beer and then the temperature turned up slightly to get rid of as many flavours and smells as possible. Like people have said, it's not likely you'll be doing this, but I'd imagine 19 is a decent temperature - don't fret, lager kits are pretty good.

 

[Aaron]

Thanks for the advice chaps.

I had two main reasons for racking, first, to clear the lager and second, for the practice and experience of doing it. I'm fairly new to homebrewing so I'm just 'learning through doing' and experimenting. I kind of have the attitude that I'll do everything properly but if something doesn't work it doesn't really matter, I'll pour it away, learn from it and try again

Brendan - How do you mean, 'primed with syrup'?

I was planning on using a priming solution and a bottling bucket rather than the priming pellets or sugar in the bottle. Any advice on what product to use, how to do it, etc?

Cheers.

 

[Hollow Legs]

I was planning on using a priming solution and a bottling bucket rather than the priming pellets or sugar in the bottle. Any advice on what product to use, how to do it, etc?

Personally I batch prime, add the amount of sugar, dissolved in boiling water (I use 1 tsp per 500ml bottle as I like my lager fizzy) to another sterilised FV and rack the beer into that FV stirring (not splashing) to dissolve the sugar into the brew, then syphon into the bottles/keg

good luck

Colin