First attempt at bottling lager - does this look normal??

[seamus]

First brew in 20 years so please bear with me!!

Today I tested my harvest lager with the hydrometer and it was bang on 1.000 so we decided to bottle a small batch

we tried a small glass before bottling and the lager tastes ok if a little "thin" if that makes sense

anyway, we put half a teaspoon of sugar in the bottles and added the lager and capped the bottles

this is the result - is it ok - it doesnt look like it would have any head but maybe after a few days the head develops - should we add a touch more sugar?

any advice would be great before we bottle the rest of the batch tomorrow night - thanks!

J...

 

[RobWalker]

1.000 is not right for lager, that means almost no residual sugar, are you sure it wasnt at 1.010?

1/2tsp is fine, you need a few weeks.at room temp to develop a good head :-)

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

To much empty head space in the bottle, no more than a inch.
Was it a kit or AG ? :hmm:
BB

 

[seamus]

cheers for the quick replies chaps most appreciated

it was a one can kit "youngs harvest lager" and 100% positive it is 1.000

the instructions say to bottle when "the specific gravity is between 1.000 - 1.006

the room they are in is 20 degrees - is that warm enough?

thanks for the tip about the level - next batch we'll fill up a touch more :thumb:

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

20c a for good lager yeast would be a bit high, you've probably got GP ale yeast..

One can kits with sugar are crap,(thin beer, poor taste) if you do 1 can kits use beer enhancer instead of sugar or pay more for a quality 2 can kit.. :thumb:
Not brewed a kit for 20 years so I'm just relaying what I read so if I'm wrong I apologize.

BB

 

[seamus]

no mate I think you could be right - this was a cheapo trial run so i'm not too fussed if most gets dumped

i've ordered a decent wheat beer kit and 500g of light hopped spraymalt for the next attempt so the results should be better ... any tips for the next batch??

it's this one ...

together with this ...

 

[seamus]

forgot to ask; what's gp ale yeast?

 

[Mark1964]

general purpose i would think

 

[pittsy]

no mate I think you could be right - this was a cheapo trial run so i'm not too fussed if most gets dumped

i've ordered a decent wheat beer kit and 500g of light hopped spraymalt for the next attempt so the results should be better ... any tips for the next batch??

it's this one ...

together with this ...

if i was you first i would deff order some safbrew wb-06 yeast the yeast that comes with your kit is crap and ferment at 18oC and 2nd i would add 1kg of malt and no sugar , ferment for around 10 days before checking (just leave it be ) for easy brewing extract is the way to go for future beers there 10 times better than kits (until you go AG maybe) :

 

[seamus]

brilliant - thanks for the advice - just ordered another 500g of malt designed for wheat beer and 2 packets of the wb yeast!

anything else worth adding to the mix?? :

 

[jonnymorris]

if i was you first i would deff order some safbrew wb-06 yeast the yeast that comes with your kit is crap and ferment at 18oC and 2nd i would add 1kg of malt and no sugar

Pittsy, I assume you'd recommend the 'better' yeast and malt for all kit brews? If so, can you answer the following, 1. Why is wb-06 better and 2. Is malt a 1-for-1 swap for sugar?

 

[RobWalker]

made a good choice I reakon mate. there's a lot to learn on your first brewing run so going for something inexpensive and simple is always a good idea. you are indeed very likely to have GP ale yeast and beer will benefit from a better yeast - safale us-05 and s-04 are both good and you can use them in basically anything, s-04 is even recommended for cider! but that's for next time.

my only advice, keep doing what you're doing and posting about it. and shop around for spraymalt, i've seen prices up to £4 for 500g whereas places like the worcester hop shop sell it for £3.99 a kg!

 

[seamus]

thanks rob and cheers for the recommendation as I have just paid £8 for a kilo!!

next time i'll take a look at that online shop :thumb:

 

[anthonyUK]

if i was you first i would deff order some safbrew wb-06 yeast the yeast that comes with your kit is crap and ferment at 18oC and 2nd i would add 1kg of malt and no sugar

Pittsy, I assume you'd recommend the 'better' yeast and malt for all kit brews? If so, can you answer the following, 1. Why is wb-06 better and 2. Is malt a 1-for-1 swap for sugar?

I'll jump in until Pittsy replies.
Specific yeasts define the taste profile for the style of beer. I'm no expert but I would guess wb-06 being a specific wheat beer yeast would suit the style better.
I would always prefer to add malt over sugar but whether 1:1 replacement I don't know. You just add it until you have a sufficient OG.
The benefit for me when adding malt over sugar is that you can also add more hops to balance out the flavour
It does add to the cost but for me it really is a case of quality over quantity.

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

s-04 is even recommended for cider! but that's for next time.

I once did a TC with S-04, fermented great but I always got an underlying ale taste that was out of place. :?

BB

 

[graysalchemy]

s-04 is even recommended for cider! but that's for next time.

I once did a TC with S-04, fermented great but I always got an underlying ale taste that was out of place. :?

BB

Cider yeast for cider, ale yeast for ale, wine yeast for wine, bakers yeast for bread. The clue is in the name :lol: :lol:

Not having a dig at you BB

 

[Double_Maxim]

made a good choice I reakon mate. there's a lot to learn on your first brewing run so going for something inexpensive and simple is always a good idea. you are indeed very likely to have GP ale yeast and beer will benefit from a better yeast - safale us-05 and s-04 are both good and you can use them in basically anything, s-04 is even recommended for cider! but that's for next time.

my only advice, keep doing what you're doing and posting about it. and shop around for spraymalt, i've seen prices up to £4 for 500g whereas places like the worcester hop shop sell it for £3.99 a kg!

them hops are half the price of what I've just paid :shock: still happy to know of that place for the future though!

cheap as chips!

EDIT: is it just me or do they not have any dme or lme on that site though?

 

[pittsy]

if i was you first i would deff order some safbrew wb-06 yeast the yeast that comes with your kit is crap and ferment at 18oC and 2nd i would add 1kg of malt and no sugar

Pittsy, I assume you'd recommend the 'better' yeast and malt for all kit brews? If so, can you answer the following, 1. Why is wb-06 better and 2. Is malt a 1-for-1 swap for sugar?

I'll jump in until Pittsy replies.
Specific yeasts define the taste profile for the style of beer. I'm no expert but I would guess wb-06 being a specific wheat beer yeast would suit the style better.
I would always prefer to add malt over sugar but whether 1:1 replacement I don't know. You just add it until you have a sufficient OG.
The benefit for me when adding malt over sugar is that you can also add more hops to balance out the flavour
It does add to the cost but for me it really is a case of quality over quantity.

spot on its for wheat beers and i have done this kit and i wasn't too happy but since then i've learned the right yeast would of made all the difference and yes i would use 1g for 1g of dme to sugar you can try it your way then maybe have a go at the way i would recommend then you tell me :thumb:

 

[seamus]

ok so that sounds like i've got some decent(ish) ingredients on their way - cheers

back to the harvest lager ... I have a few more questions!

1 - Can I stir up the trub to get more strength or would I have to add more yeast to do this

2 - We might bottle a few more tonight - what's the max sugar I can put in a 500ml beer? bottle with metal caps to get a decent head?

3 - What's the max length of time I can leave the mix in the bucket before I HAVE to bottle?

4 - The bottles are really clearing out quickly - would it be detrimental to gently upend them and leave them to settle again or is that pointless?

Thanks again for the all help!!!!!!

J...

 

[jonnymorris]

Having previously hijacked your thread I feel I should try and contribute...

1. Don't stir it up! You want to be doing the opposite, i.e. letting it clear as much as possible.
2. I believe 1/2 tsp is about right. I guess you could add more to get more fizz but you'll run the risk of bottle bombs.
3. Good question. Some will tell you that you need to get it off the trub as soon as it's finished fermenting. They may be right but I leave mine for a week or two after to clear etc and it still tastes fine.
4. Don't do this either. You need to let them carbonate at room temp for a week and then condition and clear at a cooler temp for a few weeks. The longer the better (to a point).

Specific yeasts define the taste profile for the style of beer. I'm no expert but I would guess wb-06 being a specific wheat beer yeast would suit the style better..

But wouldn't the yeast that comes with the kit be suited to that particular style of beer? Why are the yeasts that come with the kits considered (by some) to be 'crap'?
[sorry for hijacking your thread again. Can't help myself]