What's best way in 6 weeks?

[mancer62]

I plan to have my beer ready to drink in 6 weeks. I have made a Coopers Lager, a Wilko's Dark Velvet Stout and a Woodforde's Wherry Real Ale. and would like to know which of the following methods would be the best to adopt.

a) Leave in FV for 2 weeks then bottle or barrel - 2 weeks in warm - 2 weeks in cool?

b) Leave in FV for 4 weeks then bottle or barrel - 1 week warm - 1 week cool?

Or are there any other methods which would be more favourable?

 

[Monte Cristo]

I would go for A although a week in the warm should be enough and then the rest in the cool clearing and conditioning. :hat:

 

[JamesMcS]

Are you brewing for an occasion?

 

[mancer62]

No not for a particular occasion just want to get a regular production line going and was wondering if 3 weeks sounded about right? Obviously I will start drinking after 6 weeks but the beer will still be in bottles keg etc for many weeks after that. It's just a matter of how quickly I can make a decent beer in.

This is the first lager I have made in about 30 years as I am mainly a beer/stout drinker is there any extra or important tips you may have regards my brewin gof lager? TY :

 

[JamesMcS]

I've been following advice on this forum - about 3 weeks in the primary, then another few in the warm, then another few in the cold to let it settle (although I did start sampling after 1 week in the warm - not very fizzy but I think i may have under primed)

It's all down to the gravity reading though - you want a consistent reading for a few days before bottling or kegging to avoid messy explosions! I have read about people's brews still fermenting after nearly 4 weeks

 

[JamesMcS]

The lager I made, a bulldog Mexican lager kit, tastes halfway towards ale - but I'm not sure if not doing the lagering bit had caused that

 

[mancer62]

What exactly is the lagering bit?

 

[Slid]

+1 on 2+2+2 from me.

But better still if the last 2 is months.

 

[JamesMcS]

Depends if it's finished fermenting really, I thought - plus the extra time, from what I've read, allows time for the yeast to clear up after itself.

Lagering is basically allowing the brew to mature at very low temperatures for a number of weeks after bottling/kegging - as far as I can tell it's to allow unwanted proteins and chemicals to precipitate out of the beer, which will give it a clearer appearance and a cleaner taste. Apparently :-)

 

[mancer62]

i have decided to have my stout and real ale in the fv for 3 weeks - then into keg or bottles then 2 weeks in warmer and 1 week in cool does that sound ok?

Do u recommend same with the lager or slightly different?

 

[JamesMcS]

Sounds good - the most important thing is making sure the gravity is the same for a couple of days before you seal it up.

After a couple of weeks with some priming sugar I've been cracking the odd bottle here and there to check the fizz. After that, some time in the cold to help out clear then it's all good!

 

[JamesMcS]

I've done the same with my lager as I did with my ale - to be honest I'm not sure if a lack of extra cold storage had affected the taste, they are all pretty green so I'll have to let you know in a month or two one they've had some time to themselves...

 

[serum]

With kits I tend to go with the 2 weeks fermenting, 2 in the warm and 2 in the cold and it has generally worked well.

I'll sometimes leave them in the fermenter longer if it looks like they need more time from the hydrometer readings but not all that often.

 

[clibit]

Anyone who hasn't got a hydrometer should get one IMO. About £3, Wilko's sell them, easy to use, and enable you to know if fermentation has finished, and at what gravity, as well as the starting gravity, it's a no brainer. If a brew was stuck at 1020 you wouldn't know without one, and problems will ensue. A lost batch for example.