lesson learned

[pedro68]

hi there , i have just tried my muntons continental pilsner lager kitand i have a mixed result. Flavour wise its really nice but i added 5grams of sugar for carbonation per pint and its a bit flat ,will it improve and become more gassy the longer i leave it . I will leave it another few weeks and see if this helps but either way it wont last long and i will put more sugar in for carbonation the next time. most of the posts iread said 5 grams for a lager would be plenty but it defo needed more ,as the title says lesson learned :

 

[pittsy]

Hi , they need upto 2 weeks at around 18/20c day and night to be fully ready and then they also need time in cooler temp (2/12c) so all the gas gets absorbed into the beer . Have you weighed how much is in a tea spoon ? i would aim for 7g per 500ml bottle which is 160g for a 23ltr batch ( i like em fizzy ) batch priming is easier though , boil a cup of water with your sugar for 5 mins cool in the sink for 10 mins then chuck in new fv and put beer in new fv then bottle .

 

[morethanworts]

Are you allowing for some racking wastage there pittsy? There are 46x500ml in a 23 litre batch. 7g x 46 = 322g, not 160g. :hmm:

Maybe I've misunderstood. I like 'em fizzy too, mind :thumb:

 

[pedro68]

hi there ,so they may improve a bit yet if i leave them a few weeks more. i will up it to 7grams for my next batch and may even batch prime it.Hope the get a bit gassier as i have 44 pints to drink :

Peter

 

[Algernon]

Is it in a keg or bottles?
Try to get it chilled down in a fridge to get the CO2 to dissolve more into the beer. Works wonders after even only a day or two nice and cold. It also settles out yeast etc to make a clearer beer, though this takes more than a couple of days I am told.

 

[pittsy]

Are you allowing for some racking wastage there pittsy? There are 46x500ml in a 23 litre batch. 7g x 46 = 322g, not 160g. :hmm:

Maybe I've misunderstood. I like 'em fizzy too, mind :thumb:

Opps that should be per 1ltr so 3.5g a bottle

 

[pedro68]

3.5 grams per btl ? i put 5grams per 500ml bottle and its pretty flat i recon, i will chill a few bottles in the fridge for a few days and see if it improves.

Peter

 

[morethanworts]

If 200-odd grams of sugar doesn't make it very fizzy indeed, then it's almost certainly a question of time, unless your temperatures have been way out. Even if you've mismeasured, you'd have to have been a mike off to have under primed.

Up to a point, fizz is a matter of personal taste, but at that level of sugar, it really should be buzzing. Even if you can't get it particularly cold, in a few weeks.

 

[pedro68]

hi there , my temps were as follows == fermented at 18 degrees and once bottled and primed they sat for a week in 21 degrees and now are back in the garage at about 17 degrees , they have been there for a week . i cant find anywhere cooler than this to store them so that will have to do for a couple of weeks and try one again , i realise they are still conditioning and that i tried it prematurely but it was just to test if the carbonation had worked as this is my first lager and i had hoped everything would be okay. Am i right in thinking that the carbonation will improve over the next few weeks or its this the best its going to get.

Peter

 

[fbsf]

It can sometimes take longer than that, depending on how much live yeast is left in the beer. When I did my IIPA (9%) it took 6 weeks just to carbonate, and another 8 weeks for it to absorb properly.

For a normal strength beer, I normally go with 2 weeks in the warm (maybe 1 if it's been at least 20° day and night) then a good 4 weeks in the garage. Normally does the trick.

 

[pedro68]

Hi, that fills me with a bit of hope as the lager tasted great just lacked fizz so hopefully all is not lost , fingers crossed that it comes good .

Peter