Pilsner smell

[Bertface198]

Hi all

3 days ago I started up a coopers 86 day pilsner.it absolutely stinks.ammoinia/vinegar/egg smell.its in my garage about 14 degrees.has a decent foam on it.the smell is nasty is this normal?
It came with lager yeast which I've not used before.
Everything was thoroughly sterilised before use.

Ideas anyone?

 

[Thorbz]

Yep, this is perfectly normal when using a lager yeast.

 

[strange-steve]

It's true that lager yeasts can smell terrible, but vinegar is a very bad sign.

 

[zippy40]

yep lager is eggy. Leave it longer in the FV as the smell can stay in the brew otherwise.

 

[Brewmarc]

yep lager is eggy. Leave it longer in the FV as the smell can stay in the brew otherwise.

Better still lager it in the secondary fv if you can, at low temperature about 4C after fermentation has completed for at least a couple of weeks.

 

[Bertface198]

Cheers all.the vinegar smell has disappeared and the smell itself is slowly leaving.phew I was worried! I'll try to leave it in the secondary FV I think, the garage has a good temperature but not quite as low as 4C. What do you all do to keep the brew cold when there's no fridge?

 

[Poochops]

Only done one pilsner and the stink caught me off guard too! Opened the fridge after three days to check it was fermenting and Whoooaah! Blimmin eyes were watering :-(
it's been bottled two weeks now, I might 'lager' for a fortnight in the fridge but then I might just leave it in the garage till Christmas now the weathers turning, I prefer to have thing fermenting in the fridge not conditioning!

 

[Bertface198]

I had the same reaction - the other half thought a drain was out of action! I'm no longer allowed to brew pilsner after this one! Lol

 

[Brewmarc]

Only done one pilsner and the stink caught me off guard too! Opened the fridge after three days to check it was fermenting and Whoooaah! Blimmin eyes were watering :-(
it's been bottled two weeks now, I might 'lager' for a fortnight in the fridge but then I might just leave it in the garage till Christmas now the weathers turning, I prefer to have thing fermenting in the fridge not conditioning!

I'm sure everyone here knows Lagar means 'to store' largaring is carried out in the secondary FV not in the bottle Martzen for Oktoberfest is brewed in March & is lagared untill September nearly 6 months at cold temps 4C.
The yeast is actively scrubbing off those off flavours (rotten eggs etc) which are carried off. & is the prime function that gives lagers that clean crisp pallet:thumb:

 

[Bertface198]

Tried the pilsner and it's really good.the missus loves it more than me and has been drinking it like there's no tomorrow.i have hardly any left!! I'm hiding the 10 that remain to try at the end of spring.better brew a new one!! Any decent recipes folks? Thought I'd vary it this time

 

[chewie]

Your kinda limited in what you can get from tinned lager kits without moving to all grain brewing, run through the kit reviews and see if any catch your eye, you could also checkout partial mashes to add something to a kit brew.

 

[zippy40]

Tried the pilsner and it's really good.the missus loves it more than me and has been drinking it like there's no tomorrow.i have hardly any left!! I'm hiding the 10 that remain to try at the end of spring.better brew a new one!! Any decent recipes folks? Thought I'd vary it this time

If you are only brewing from kits and are new to brewing then I would suggest that you just start trying some of the massive amounts of kits out there. In my experience there is a great variance in the quality of the finished brew with kits, but all improve greatly with age and I have never had to throw out a kit brew. Some kits are superb - and not just the more expensive ones. I love John Bull London Porter - a one can kit that makes a great porter.

Once you have a kit you like then you can pimp it up a bit by adding spray malt instead of sugar and dry hopping to get really great flavours. Easiest way would be to start with some of the American hops such as Amarillo, chinook or cascade. They will all give you a big citrus/floral hit/aroma.