Coopers Lager Brew Gravity Stuck

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mac_rooster

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I'm on my first ever brew, it's a Coopers Lager kit. It's now been 13 days and I'm not sure how/when you read the hydrometer. My latest sample today shows about 1.020 after a few seconds. If I leave it for say 3 minutes it then reads 1.050. Am I reading this right as I thought it needs to read about 1.008 when its ready. Help please ?
 
You might need to degas the sample. Put your hand over the end of the jar and shake, and let the gas out. Repeat a few times. Let it settle and take another reading. Another way would be to pour it between two cups/containers 30 times. That will knock all the gas out and give you an accurate reading.

It's probably the C02 coming out of the beer that's clinging to the hydrometer that's causing it to rise. It might still be stuck but this is an easy way to rule something out!
 
mac_rooster said:
Many thanks, I'm now getting about 1.018 but it's not changing like before. Do you think this is to high considering it's been on the go for 13 days at about 20c (I think) ?
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In a word, yes. Looks cloudy which suggests plenty of yeast in suspension, leave it and see what it does, but make sure the temp doesn't drop too low (can be a bit of a problem this time of year).

Which Coopers lager is it - they do a number of them, some are "real" lagers, some are lager-type brews with an ale yeast.
 
I gave it a stir earlier to see if that would kick start it. The Tin just said Lager but it came with a beer yeast.
 
I'd be tempted to leave it another week, in the warmest place you can find, maybe wrap a sleeping bag around it if you have one. Brews do tend to slow down a bit this time of year due to lower house temps: I have one on at the moment that is still bubbling after 17 days.

I usually stop brewing around now for a few months, unless it's true lagers which'll ferment at lower temps.
 
Looks like my brew is well and truly stuck. It's now been on for 19days and after degassing my last 2 samples it's at 1.015 ish. Do you think I should just bottle it now? If I don't bottle by tomorrow I won't be able to bottle for another 7 days due to a work trip.
 
Hi Guys, quick update. My brew is still at 1.014 and has now been in the FV for over 4 weeks. I plan to bottle as I cant see the Gravity coming down any further in the cold weather. I'm going to use 500ml PET bottles and Coopers carbonation drops. I was planning on using 2 drops per bottle as a couple of people I know have done this kit using one or 1.5 drops and it has lacked a bit of Fizz. I'm sure I came across a thread that said if the FG is around 1.014 when bottling this would create more carbonation and one drop would be enough. What do you think?
 
Yeah, bottle it, but don't use the carbonation drops - everything I've read about them is rubbish. Just use normal household sugar, a teaspoon per bottle as it's lager and you want plnty of fizz. Then 2 weeks in the warm and off for cold conditioning.
 
Hi Mac, im half way throiugh my first ever brew and also a coopers lager. My FG reading was 1013 for 3 days so i bottled mine at that stage. I decided to stick with the drops this time anyway to try them out. I put 2 drops in the 500ml bottles, just to make sure i didnt end up with flat beer at the end of it. Mine are now 8 days in the bottles, and im really impressed so far. Drops seem to be working fine and as you can see from my samples here http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=50781
things are looking quite good. Getting mine off to the cold now for a few weeks. hope yours turns out for you. :cheers:
 
Nice one Jake. I'm going to hedge my bets and bottle tonight, using 2 carb drops as you suggested in half the bottles and a teaspoon of sugar in the other half. Sadly I doubt mine will be ready for xmas, but Hogmany is a possibility :)
 

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