Coopers European Lager Kit temperature differences.

[Chris_S]

On the weekend I plan to make up the Coopers European Lager Kit. The instructions tell you to do all the usual mixing stirring boiling water and topping up the FV to 23Litres and aim for a temp of 21C - 24C to pitch the yeast.

However the fermentation temp is advised at 13C - 15C.

So for the yeast to be productive the cooler temp is preferred, so why the initial higher temp at pitching, and how long should it be left between each step.

I shall be using my Series X (until I get a dedicated fridge) as the temp control on that is really good.

 

[crowcrow]

Higher temp will help them to be productive, the lower temp is to stop them giving 'off' flavours.

How ever long it take to get to 16c will be OK (well as long as it doesn't take more than a day or so) but if you are talking 24 hours then that will be fine. If it is going to take a week to cool it....

 

[Chris_S]

How ever long it take to get to 16c will be OK (well as long as it doesn't take more than a day or so)

Thanks Crowcrow, once in the fridge it’ll be down in hours. Tests have shown it’ll be chilled to the required temp in less than a day

 

[crowcrow]

Nice - they work slower at lower temps, so the warm at the start allows them to wake and get busy before the cold sets in and they work slowly (but cleanly) on your beer. Might be worth helping things along with a simple starter - though I used to just chuck in the dried yeast and for ales at least it seemed to be fine. But I always make a starter now to be sure.

 

[terrym]

@Chris_S
The Euro lager kit comes with a lager yeast. This gives you the option of fermenting 'warm' or fermenting at lower temperatures say about 13*C. If you opt to ferment cool you may need more lager yeast. Some manage to ferment out fully without extra yeast at low temperatures others, including me, don't.
But whatever you do at low temperature it is advisable to slowly warm up the brew to about 20*C towards the end of fermentation for the diactyl rest.
Finally as the instructions suggest this beer benefits from a long conditioning period, 12 weeks seems about right.
There is a long thread about this kit here
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/coopers-european-lager-review.17845/