my first lager attempt

[wadey]

Hi everyone

Thanks for having me here

Just about done brewing my first lot of lager. Follower the instructions and had it in a pressure barrel for the past 2 weeks. Just poured a bit out and it seems a little cloudy. Is this normal for the first few glasses?

Oh, and it also tastes flat. I'm guessing it won't taste as gassy as a pint in the pub where they have gas, but was expecting a bit more bubbles/life

 

[pittsy]

It's too early really , after you have left it in warmth for 2 weeks to get enough co2 (i assume you primed it with sugar) and now you need to store it somewhere cool for around 4 to 6 weeks then it'll be clear and btw welcome to the forum.

 

[wadey]

Thanks for the welcome :-)

When you say warm, how warm? I had it at room temp. Is that warm enough?

 

[wadey]

I put sugar in the initial brew, but not when I put it in the pressure barrel

 

[SloeBrewer]

Kegs aren't great for lagers as they can't hold the pressure needed to properly carbonate the brew.

Once you have fermented your brew, you need to add sugar to the bottles or keg, so that the yeast produces more CO2, to carbonate your beer. 1 tsp sugar per 500ml bottle, for lager, half that for beer. For a keg, you'd need at least 120g for lager, but check the kit's instructions.

 

[wadey]

OK, thanks. Am I too late to add the sugar and keep it warm?

 

[SloeBrewer]

Hmm, tricky one. You could try making up a sugar syrup and gently adding it to the beer, avoiding splashing it, which will lead to oxidation. Is there any fizz at all? If you have had no carbonation, there won't be a protective layer of CO2 on top of the beer, and taking the lid off to add the syrup is only going to make things worse.

Do you have any bottles? It may be better to bottle it, adding a 1/2 tsp of sugar to each bottle, by attaching a bottling stick to the keg's tap and undoing the lid.

 

[Bloke in Belfast]

hi can only give you my 2pence
am also on my first larger.

don't panic, keep it clean and sterile and the stuff going into it for a test.

can take a few more weeks lower the temp slower it goes, clearer it gets less sweet it gets.

will need to be forced carbonated unless is botted. if it taste sweet still can prime as the pros above have said... cheap 2L sparkling water bottles can do at a pinch aslong as sterile. also if you open pour out and fill that can do ok.

 

[wadey]

By the sounds of things, I might have to chalk this one down to a bad experience and start again! :cry:

Never mind, trial and error I guess and now I've found this place, I'll start reading and learn how to brew it up properly :thumb: