Temperature too cold?

[Somersby Brewery]

I've just made my first batch of beer; a Woodford's Wherry kit. I wasn't sure whether I should be adding finings or not, but for my first one I thought I'd just stick to the instructions on the side of the kit and didn't bother.

Problem is, it's been about a week or so after the kit said it'd be ready, and it's still quite cloudy, with a gravity of about 1.015 (started at 1.040). Will this be because it's being kept at quite a cold temperature? It's in my garage, but it did have a brew belt and a blanket round it for all the time it was in a fermenting bucket, and the first few days it was in the barrel. Is there anything else obvious that could've slowed the fermentation? I realise I'm probably just being impatient though, which leads me to my next question...

Is there anything relatively simple that I could be brewing at a cold-ish temperature? Lagers like the cold, don't they? Can anyone recommend a good pilsner kit? I'm just thinking that if I'm having trouble getting a temperature of 20+ it might be better to go for something which can cope well at a fair bit colder...

Thanks,

Nick

 

[Mark1964]

If your beer has fermented down to 1.015 from 1.040 then i cant see it being too cold it only really needs to go down a few more points. You could try wrapping it and giving it a stir with a sterile spoon etc to see if you can get the yeast active again. If that fails check the gravity again in a few days if its still 1.015 you just might have to bottle it. As for kit lagers i hear the coopers ones are pretty good :thumb:

 

[shearclass]

1.015 is probably fine anyway, you could bottle/keg at that gravity if that's the final gravity and it's stable.

Most lager ktis do not contain lager yeast. Two that do are Coopers Pilsner, and Coopers European Lager. I think the Brupaks lager may do too, though not sure. Some other the Cooeprs kits contain a mix of lager and ale yeast, Mexican Cervesa for example, though I don't know why, or how that wodul fare at a lower temp.

Nothing to stop you just buying an extra pack of lager yeast though if you wanted to use a kit that was not supplied with lager yeast..

 

[Somersby Brewery]

Right, cheers guys.

Have I kegged it too early then? I just left it in the fermenting bucket for the number of days the packet said, then siphoned it into my keg, where it's been for the last couple of weeks or so. In future should I let it ferment down fully before kegging?

 

[eggman]

It'll be fine but bear in mind next time that the times stated on the kits are very optimistic to say the least. As you've kegged if it hadn't finished fermenting any excess pressure should be vented via the pressure relief valve, but if you ever bottle any make sure that its finished properly or you could end up with bottle bombs :shock:
When i'm doing a brew i leave it in the fermenter for 10-14 days (even if it's finished, leaving it for a few extra days will help it to drop clear), then once kegged or bottled leave it in the warm for a week before moving somewhere cool to condition for at least 3 weeks
:

 

[phettebs]

Do you have a hydrometer? If the gravity does not drop after several days, it's done fermenting. Or it's stuck. But at 1.015, I would not say it's stuck. You are probably pretty close to FG anyway.

Edit: Thanks evanvine for pointing out the obvious. Of course he has a hydrometer. How else would he know it's at 1.015?

Hadn't had my coffee yet. I guess my point outside the obvious was that if the gravity has gone stable, you should be fine. Shutting up now... :whistle: