Fermenting Coopers Lager

peterinth

This is my first attempt at brewing lager and I'm a bit worried about a couple of things:
I used a Coopers lager kit + Coopers No 1 enhancer.
1 - after two days I siphoned all the lager out of a bin and into another bin and left the stuff in the base and threw it away. Now after 7 days I'm thinking it may have stopped fermenting and the sg is at 1018 (it started about 1035), I do have exact figures, but I'm not at home now.
2 - after a few days I measured the sg and tasted the brew and was very pleased with the sweetish, honey taste. That has now gone and it tastes very dry and a bit bitter.
I guess I want some reassurance that it will turn out OK if I leave it to ferment more???

HBO_Staff

It sounds like you have maybe been a bit premature with syphoning the lager from the fementing vessel, as Coopers recommend a minimum of 4 days fermenting time at higher temperatures, or longer at lower temperatures, so 2 days is very early. However you have then transferred the lager over into a second vessel and allowed it to continue fermenting, so any yeast present in the brew will continue to ferment. The best thing to do is probably to make sure it is somewhere warm and take hydrometer readings each day and see if it is still fermenting. If the readings are the same each day then it has stopped. If it has stopped, 1018 sounds a bit on the high side, so it would be worth giving it a stir to get it going, and if nothing happens after a day or so add some more yeast. Once the fermentation has re-started and your hydrometer readings lower and then become constant for a couple of days it will then be ready for transferring to bottles or a keg. Prime with sugar and then seal up airtight, the full flavours will then develop as it conditions and the carbonation will take place too. The longer you leave it the better it tends to taste, Coopers say up to 3 months for the best flavours to be achieved, but often it can be drank after a couple of weeks in the bottles or keg, depending on the temperatures it is stored at

peterinth

Thanks for your quick response.

I brew wine and started the lager in the wrong vessel and quickly rectified the error.

I have a packet of wine yeast, is that OK to use or should I order some other yeast if I need to use any?

Is the addition of sugar to add carbonation as I have a King Keg and can use gas instead?

HBO_Staff

It may be that the fermentation is still happening just more slowly, make sure it is nice and warm, in the mid 20 degrees would be ideal, and then add a yeast only if needed - we recommend a yeast meant for lager or beer, as wine yeast can be quite different and works at different alcohol strengths etc. so it is best to use one specific for the job, especially if rescuing a brew. 

Adding sugar to the King Keg is still essential, it primes the lager and is what will give it it's carbonation. It will also increase the alcohol level slightly too as it secondary ferments. CO2 injected into the keg helps to increase the pressure if needed, it varies from brew to brew and the conditions as to how much is required, if any, and would not carbonate the lager in the same way as priming it will. The amount of CO2 required to be injected will be reduced by the lager itself being primed with sugar, as it will naturally produce it's own CO2, so will save you money on cartridges

peterinth

Thanks and sorry to keep on, but how much sugar for 5 gals?

I did wonder how it would do a secondary ferment if it had already stopped fermenting 1st time. I now understand.

HBO_Staff

The priming sugar is just added to make it ferment a little further which produces pressure in the keg or bottles and carbonates it. The priming sugar is there for the yeast which will inevitably be in the keg, as yeast will always get through to the keg or bottle stage. With the Coopers standard lager they recommend to prime at a rate of around 8 grammes per litre when bottling, so for a 40 pint batch put around 150 grammes in the keg - it's not too critical, but this will carbonate it nicely

peterinth

Thanks that's perfect.
Sorry the reply took so long.

Peter