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Author Topic: Lager Woes  (Read 7220 times)

Offline phillamb168

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Re: Lager Woes
« Reply #15 on: February 25, 2013, 02:47:44 am »
I'm trying to relax.

Here's the latest:
So yesterday, one week after my first pitch, I checked the gravity. The beer smells and tastes like good hopped wort, but the gravity hasn't changed. Also, it foams up with barely a bump and there's a layer of stuff on top (see pic). What's the consensus? Continue to be patient or raise the temp and throw in a packet of SA-05? Oh, the wort is resting at just above 51 degrees F.



That looks like kreusen to me. Is this your first lager? Every time I do one it takes fooooorever to get booted up.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/lager-yeast-question-141965/
« Last Edit: February 25, 2013, 03:38:03 am by phillamb168 »
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Offline theoman

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Re: Lager Woes
« Reply #16 on: February 25, 2013, 05:00:54 am »
Yeah, it's my first "proper" lager (I once used Bohemian yeast at a higher temp and basically treated it like an ale). Patience it is.

Offline phillamb168

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Re: Lager Woes
« Reply #17 on: February 25, 2013, 06:31:06 am »
Yeah, it's my first "proper" lager (I once used Bohemian yeast at a higher temp and basically treated it like an ale). Patience it is.

Think it'll be ready in time for the Toer? Save me some.
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Offline Kaiser

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Re: Lager Woes
« Reply #18 on: February 25, 2013, 06:46:21 am »


Make sure you skim that gunk off the top. You don't want this to fall back into the beer.

Kai

Offline phillamb168

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Re: Lager Woes
« Reply #19 on: February 25, 2013, 07:17:34 am »


Make sure you skim that gunk off the top. You don't want this to fall back into the beer.

Kai

Kai, is that not krausen? Do you skim lager krausen then?
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Offline Kaiser

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Re: Lager Woes
« Reply #20 on: February 25, 2013, 07:39:54 am »
Kai, is that not krausen? Do you skim lager krausen then?

Yes, when I ferment in a bucket I skim the kraeusen. when I ferment in a carboy I let it blow off. Others may have different opinions on this, though.

Kai
« Last Edit: February 25, 2013, 07:50:25 am by Kaiser »

Offline hubie

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Re: Lager Woes
« Reply #21 on: February 25, 2013, 11:38:02 am »
Yes, when I ferment in a bucket I skim the kraeusen. when I ferment in a carboy I let it blow off. Others may have different opinions on this, though.

Is that what you do on all beers?  Do you harvest this stuff, or just dump it down the drain?  I was thinking about that meringue-like kraeusen posted earlier (http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=14544.0); would you skim all that off?

Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Lager Woes
« Reply #22 on: February 25, 2013, 12:12:54 pm »
Yes, when I ferment in a bucket I skim the kraeusen. when I ferment in a carboy I let it blow off. Others may have different opinions on this, though.

Is that what you do on all beers?  Do you harvest this stuff, or just dump it down the drain?  I was thinking about that meringue-like kraeusen posted earlier (http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=14544.0); would you skim all that off?

I think he is more refering to the gunky brown stuff on top which is made up mostly of harsh bitter hop compounds, trub and gross dead yeast. If you were top cropping you would still skim off and discard that portion, letting fresh clean krausen form again for harvest.
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Offline davidgzach

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Re: Lager Woes
« Reply #23 on: February 25, 2013, 04:03:21 pm »
So I checked my Hefeweisen to see if there was any brown Krausen.  I figure off-flavors would come through a Hefe if any beer.  There was only pure white foam with a hint of brown on the sides of the fermenter.  Should I consider it clean?

Dave
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Offline erockrph

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Re: Lager Woes
« Reply #24 on: February 25, 2013, 09:30:52 pm »
I am not a skimmer, and I certainly have not done a side-by-side comparison to back up my suspicions, but I must admit that I am a bit skeptical about the potential benefits of krausen-skimming. If the nasty bits that you are removing are going to end up in your finished beer, then it stands to reason that they must be dissolved in the beer. But it looks to me like this gunk is dispersed on top of the krausen and not actually dissolved. If that is the case, then I would expect it to fall out and not make it into the final beer. Especially so in a lager that gets extended cold-conditioning.
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Offline theoman

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Re: Lager Woes
« Reply #25 on: February 26, 2013, 02:43:50 am »
Think it'll be ready in time for the Toer? Save me some.

Jeez, I hope so. At this rate, though, it's hard to tell.

Offline ynotbrusum

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Re: Lager Woes
« Reply #26 on: February 26, 2013, 05:48:00 am »
For lighter lagers, I will skim as it approaches the boil and then drain the boil kettle more slowly, running the wort through a double colander - the beer clears very well this way and I can easily harvest yeast post-fermentation without the need for further skimming.  If I had that much gunk (as pictured), I would be very tempted to skim the "braun hefe".  YMMV, of course
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Offline theoman

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Re: Lager Woes
« Reply #27 on: February 28, 2013, 12:47:21 am »
An update:
I checked the beer last night and something seems to be happening at last! The gravity is dropping and it's starting to smell and taste beery. Patience seems to have been the right decision.

I also decided to go against my own instinct and follow the advice here to skim. I say against my instinct because I prefer not to touch a beer any more than absolutely necessary. I haven't lost a batch to infection yet and I prefer to keep it that way. RDWHAHB, right?

Offline ynotbrusum

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Re: Lager Woes
« Reply #28 on: February 28, 2013, 02:36:59 pm »
An update:
I checked the beer last night and something seems to be happening at last! The gravity is dropping and it's starting to smell and taste beery. Patience seems to have been the right decision.

I also decided to go against my own instinct and follow the advice here to skim. I say against my instinct because I prefer not to touch a beer any more than absolutely necessary. I haven't lost a batch to infection yet and I prefer to keep it that way. RDWHAHB, right?

Absolutely.  Your beer will likely be wonderful.
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