Brew buddy lager still fermenting after 22 days

[DavieC]

Hi folks, started this kit on 6 Nov,
however, I must tell you this kit is 6 years out of date,however the can was excellent and the LME on opening smelt delicious,although it looked more like guiness than lager.
I bought some 'saflager s23' yeast,knocked it up with 500g spray malt and 500g sugar, pitched as saflager instructions and next morning it was bubbling nicely.I moved it to my cool understairs cupboard to ferment at lower temp as instructed on the yeast (12-14c).
It's still bubbling every 50 seconds,I've just taken a gravity reading ,down to 1014 from og1040 so still some to go but it tastes and looks fine.Should I just let it carry on low and slow or move to a warmer area.Is the brew OK sitting on the trub in the FV? Any thoughts and advice?

 

[Drunkula]

Me - I'd start warming it now to get it to finish quicker and clear up. There won't be any problems but
a) Most of the initial ferment is done at a lower temperature - that's the time when warmer brewing creates flavours you might not want from the style.
a) It's old, I wouldn't expect babying it to skyrocket it past relative mediocrity. I've done a lot, and I mean a lot, of out of date kits and they really go off the rails after a while and even using a spectrum of new yeasts doesn't really make much difference.
b) It's a lager kit. (shudder).

So for me I'd get it out and bottled/kegged and get something better on the go.

That darkness is due to age if you were wondering.

 

[terrym]

Assuming your SG readings are correct it's still got some way to go, since S23 should achieve over 80% attenuation according to the data sheet, and that means an FG possibly less than 1.008. Given that airlock bubble rates can be very misleading due to possible leaks, my suggestion is to give it another 2/3 days then take another SG reading and if it's stopped warm it up to see if it gets going again, and if its still going down leave it.

 

[DavieC]

Thanks for the replies Drunkula and terrym, I'm going to leave it until weekend ,sg check and warm it up a bit to get it over the finish line.I want it ready for Christmas so I can offer a drink to any lager drinking guests who may visit. I'll tell them its in the style of leffe 'brun' dark lager.I won't tell them it's old.thanks again.

 

[phildo79]

So it's currently sitting at 3.44% and the best you can hope for is 4.2%. Considering it's a 6 years OOD Brew Buddy lager kit, I'd just bottle it.

 

[Sandimas]

S-23 fermenting at the lower end of the temp range is a real slow burner, I'd leave it a bit longer - the last lager I did this way took over 3 weeks to ferment out.

Don't rush it and you'll be rewarded: give it a few more days, warm it up for 2-3 days at the end, then cold crash for 2 days to get most of the yeast out of suspension, then bottle. Unlikely to be ready this weekend.

 

[DavieC]

Thanks for the reply's everyone,Ive just checked the gravity and its down to 1010 so still chugging away.Going to leave it now where it is with the aim to bottle next weekend.I sucked the hydrometer after checking and it tasted quite good (not sure if sucking and licking it is good brewing etiquette though,but waste not want not)

 

[Slid]

Thanks for the reply's everyone,Ive just checked the gravity and its down to 1010 so still chugging away.Going to leave it now where it is with the aim to bottle next weekend.I sucked the hydrometer after checking and it tasted quite good (not sure if sucking and licking it is good brewing etiquette though,but waste not want not)

Nearly there, then. No doubt you know never to return a sample to the FV!

All sounds good, to me, although I never have had the chance to brew at such low temperatures.

 

[terrym]

@DavieC
Assuming your brew will be pretty much finished by the middle of this coming week I would move it into a warm place for the last 2/3 days to provide a diacetyl rest and to encourage the yeast to completely finish so its safe to bottle hopefully next weekend per your plan.

 

[DavieC]

terrym, I can move the fv into my kitchen for a couple of days that maintains 18-20c for the diacetyl rest.It's got a heated floor but should I put it on a worktop for the ambient temp or onto the floor for direct heat? Should I bottle from this warmer temp? (I'll be batch priming in bottling bucket)also it's just occurred to me it may be a slow carbonation?a few questions here but all advice gladly recieved.thanks

 

[DavieC]

So, I moved the fv to the kitchen worktop on wednesday evening and the temperature gradually increased upto 20c.Airlock activity increased and has carried on bubbling every minute.I.checked sg and it's still 1010 so hasn't altered although airlock has kept bubbling?
I'll check again tomorrow and if it's the same I'll presume its finished and batch prime and bottle but I do wonder why I'm still getting bubbles up the airlock?any thoughts anyone?
Ta, Dave

 

[Ghillie]

Warming it up for 2-7 days is very important as it will rid the beer of any diacetyl.

Let the beer take as long as it needs. Don't rush it.

 

[terrym]

If the SG is steady, where you expect it to have settled and the bubble rate is down to 1/min I'd say it's done. So I would now put it back into that cold place for 24/36 hours to drop the remainder of the yeast and then you are good to package. And if I have moved into a cold place when the fermentation has well and truly done, I don't bother to make allowance for the lower temperature when calculating the priming rate, I use the warmer temperature before it got moved.

 

[DavieC]

Cheers Ghillie, I had a little taster and its quite good so looking forward to finally getting to drink it when its bottlef and carbed.Its just been on the go so long.
I'll do some mulled cider tonight to take my mind off it!

 

[DavieC]

Cheers Terrym, I'll check sg tomorrow.

 

[DavieC]

Hi folks,Quick update, I checked gravity on 9th and 10th and was at 1008.I moved fv to cold area for a couple of days,gravity still at 1008 (although airlock was still active??) I batch primed and bottled(12th Dec) into glass bottles except for 1 small pop bottle to monitor the clearing and carbonation. Plastic bottle gone hard and clear now so I assume it's carbed nicely.The taste I had before priming was good, lager like with a hint of caramel, I'll move the bottles to the cold garage at weekend to start conditioning ,considering it was 6 years out of date I'm really looking forward to drinking the finished product,thanks for all the advice everyone.

 

[terrym]

If it's clearing and the PET bottle's hard I'd say its probably finished carbing. So if you want to crack a few at Xmas for your guests why not shift some into the garage now for drinking next week, and leave the rest in the warm just in case. And if they are not ready next week so be it, but you've covered your options as best you can.

 

[DavieC]

Success! I did what @terrym suggested and moved some of the batch to cold condition after carbonation/clearing looked to be complete.I've had a few bottles over the last couple of days and can confirm a good lager taste with quite a rich flavour that no body whos had one can describe other than 'hmm thats nice'.
Thanks to everyone who chipped in with interest and advice,its great for a novice ,just brewing kits like myself, to be able to ask questions and gain knowledge from experienced brewers and fellow novices alike
Cheers everyone..heres a pic of the lager...