Geordie Lager

[Bernaaard]

Today I will be.movimg.my Xmas ale to a second FV to make sure it is good and clear to be bottled next weekend. Mistake or is there any value in this.

Also, I will be making my fist lager and was going to use a kilo of brewing sugar and either 500g of BE or the same of LSM. Again, as I am a newbie I just wanted some advice to see if i am way off the mark in this?

TIA

 

[Slid]

Today I will be.movimg.my Xmas ale to a second FV to make sure it is good and clear to be bottled next weekend. Mistake or is there any value in this.

Also, I will be making my fist lager and was going to use a kilo of brewing sugar and either 500g of BE or the same of LSM. Again, as I am a newbie I just wanted some advice to see if i am way off the mark in this?

TIA

With a one can kit, adding more malt extract is the best way to improve it.
Storing beer in a secondary FV for a week or two is a good move. Make sure it is properly sterilised, though and adding a small amount of sugar, maybe 20g, will keep the CO2 blanket in place above it.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
I agree with Slid. I'd miss out the sugar and go for all malt extract.
I got this from The Homebrew Company at �£5.95 (but £6.95 postage, free on orders over £70). http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/light-premium-liquid-malt-extract-15kg-p-2284.html.
The colour varies between 7 and 15 EBC so it's OK for lagers.

 

[Bernaaard]

Thanks for the advice guys. Ended up adding the light malt and a kilo of brewing sugar in the end. Had to play with the water in the end but managed to get it to 22 litres with a SG of 1.058. If it gets to the kit predicted 1.005 then I will have to water it down before bottling or I will end up with a nearly 7% lager and that's not what I want. What's the best way to halt the brewing process to avoid this please?

 

[Callumbo]

I've done the Geordie lager ages ago as I got it as a gift. My only advice is to let it condition for as long as possible. I shared with friends after 2 weeks and it was okay ish. But I had one bottle left over that I completely forgot about. After a month and a half it was actually pretty good.

 

[ravey]

Thanks for the advice guys. Ended up adding the light malt and a kilo of brewing sugar in the end. Had to play with the water in the end but managed to get it to 22 litres with a SG of 1.058. If it gets to the kit predicted 1.005 then I will have to water it down before bottling or I will end up with a nearly 7% lager and that's not what I want. What's the best way to halt the brewing process to avoid this please?

The 1.005 target is probably with just sugar, the malt wont all ferment out, but it'll still be 6% (or more once primed*). Personally I wouldn't want to stop it fermenting out as it'll be sweet, I'd rather add water to bring the abv down even if it does thin it out a bit. Or just have strong lager and treat it with respect.

*if you're careful you could bottle it early and allow the sugar that's already there to carb it. Of course that removes the ability to let the yeast go through it's clear up phase before bottling.

 

[Bernaaard]

The 1.005 target is probably with just sugar, the malt wont all ferment out, but it'll still be 6% (or more once primed*). Personally I wouldn't want to stop it fermenting out as it'll be sweet, I'd rather add water to bring the abv down even if it does thin it out a bit. Or just have strong lager and treat it with respect.

*if you're careful you could bottle it early and allow the sugar that's already there to carb it. Of course that removes the ability to let the yeast go through it's clear up phase before bottling.

The SG was about 1.058 by the time I added extra water to bring it down to a reasonable level. Hoping you are right and that it will all ferment out and I can balance it off with a bit more water if it is too strong.

Hoping to leave it until about the start of March when spring comes as a post gardening refresher. Had planned on leaving it in the FV for about 2-3 weeks to clear up after itself and be nice and clear. Then into the bottles and condition in the cold garage until then.

 

[Bernaaard]

In other news. I took a sample of the winter warmer out to keep to hand but the rest has gone into a 2nd FV to make room for the lager.

Gonna leave that for a week and then into the bottles ready for Xmas. First taste was actually very nice and will defo get better with a few weeks in the bottle behind it.

Lager went in Saturday night and a quick check on Sunday suggests something is happening although not much of a Krausen to speak of. I assume that's natural as it is being fermented at much lower temperatures than my stout and ale?

I am lucky that I have a kitchen that's about 12 degrees to lager it for 3 weeks before it gets bottled for winter storage until spring.

 

[Bernaaard]

Checked on the lager tonight. I depressed the lid on Sunday after checking fermentation was underway, and today it is swollen and solid again so I know fermentation must be happening. Decent krausen ring has formed but resisted the urge to open it for a look.

Winter warmer has another 3 days in the secondary FV to clear it down before it gets bottled on Saturday or Sunday night. Then it is prime time until a week or two before Xmas when it should be ripe for drinking.

 

[Bernaaard]

This lager has now been bottled and had the required 3+2+2 and is now ready for tasting as an early sample. Will update shortly on how it turns out but is crystal clear in the bottle and they are very from which suggests food carbonation. Wish me luck :)

 

[Ale]

Had a look at a couple of threads tinight and for my taste you are adding too much sugar. You have a couple of posts where you say you added sugar and LME. Youre going to get strong beers with that amount of fermentable sugar in there. LME will not all ferment and will leave some body and malt flavour, but a lot of the sugar in it ferments. From what you've said you are adding different types of sugar on top of each other rather than instead of each other, getting strong brews from adding all this then watering it down sounds like madness to me, unless you are only concerned with getting as much beer for your money as you can.

 

[Sandimas]

I got this from The Homebrew Company at ���£5.95 (but ��£6.95 postage, free on orders over ��£70). http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/light-premium-liquid-malt-extract-15kg-p-2284.html.

I'm not keen on that Liquid Malt extract - I bought 3 tins 'cos it was cheap and thought I'd give it a go, I used 2 in basic 10L Extract brews with hops and a few additional grains and 1 to supplement a Coopers kit. All 3 brews came out with a weird twang.

I won't be buying it again sadly, going back to DME/spraymalt.

 

[Bernaaard]

It finished up at about 4.3% in the end. Was aiming to have a significant stock available for the spring/summer when it warms up. Turns out that I have actually given away more of this than I have tasted so going out on a bit of a limb there.

Suppose I had better try it even though it might be a bit green.