When to bottle?

peterinth

I brewed some cooper's lager, had a bit of trouble with the temperature and fermenting. I bottled it after about 3 weeks in the KingKeg:
It came out of the keg with a tremendous head on it, too big, but tasted OK after a few weeks.

I bottled that with 1 brewers glucose tablet in each small bottle, but it's flat and I suspect it will stay that way.

I have bought some Cooper's European Lager and had that going nicely on a heating tray (which I didn't have before).

I would like to pour after this first fermentation straight into bottles and add 1 glucose tablet to each bottle for a secondary ferment when it's ready.

The question is: How soon after the first ferment stops should I bottle with the tablet?

Thanks

Peter

HBO_Staff

Once the primary fermentation has stopped and you are sure it is complete (use a hydrometer if needed) you can transfer the brew over into bottles straight away and then prime the bottles with sugar, enhancer or carbonation drops, etc. Depending on the bottle size varies how much to prime. If you find it is lacking fizz, you could use up to 2 carbonation drops per 500ml bottle for lager. You could also try priming some bottles with sugar to see if there is any difference. The bottles then need to be sealed and left somewhere warm for a few days to make sure secondary fermentation starts, before moving somewhere cooler to clear and condition. The European needs leaving for a quite a few weeks to clear and condition.

Ideally you always should leave the fermenting vessel and go straight into where it will stay, ie bottles or a keg, transferring after a while will affect it's carbonation. Re-priming like you did often doesn't make it nice and fizzy again, although is worth a try

peterinth

Yes I can see the error I made first time.

Very, very helpful reply thanks.

I am prepared to bottle and leave for a few weeks (4) for the secondary ferment, temperature control etc. I have just about given up on the first brew, it's OK in the keg (in fact much too frothy) and I will drink the remaining gallon or so after a few more weeks. The existing bottles I will leave for a few weeks and see what happens. After two weeks in the bottle with glucose added the bottles are still soft.

Thanks for the advice.

Peter

HBO_Staff

If using PET plastic bottles which you must be, one great advantage is you can tell if the brew inside is under pressure, as the bottles will stop being soft and become so hard you can't squeeze them any more. If they are still soft they need standing somewhere warm which will firm them up and get secondary fermentation . One quick way of doing it, if you have one, stand them on a heater tray for a few days and you will notice them pressurise in just a few days