| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
iguenard
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
Posts: 294
Location: Ottawa
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
JesseMcG
Joined: 24 Sep 2008
Posts: 208
|
 Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 9:36 am Post subject: |
 |
|
| iguenard wrote: | | Skeptic-Ale? |
Haha. That's great actually... but it's a lager.
I'm saving that for my next ale though  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
iguenard
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
Posts: 294
Location: Ottawa
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 12:50 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Lager! Oh well then there is nothing to fear odour-wise.
Strains of lager, like the WYeast Kolsch for example give very sulphuric aromas. They will dissipate slowly during lagering. Your beer is probably fine.
Check the WYeast website for the specifics of your particular strain if you want to make sure.
_________________
Ian Guénard
http://spaces.msn.com/members/iguenard/ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JesseMcG
Joined: 24 Sep 2008
Posts: 208
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 12:14 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| iguenard wrote: | Lager! Oh well then there is nothing to fear odour-wise.
Strains of lager, like the WYeast Kolsch for example give very sulphuric aromas. They will dissipate slowly during lagering. Your beer is probably fine.
Check the WYeast website for the specifics of your particular strain if you want to make sure. |
I let it sit in primary for 2 weeks, and I racked to secondary last night... and man it still reeks like dirty sulphuric ass. I'm extra skeptical now. And the beer is unbelievable cloudy still....W....T......F is going on? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
The_Jester
Joined: 06 Dec 2007
Posts: 351
Location: Peterborough
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 1:20 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Did you check the gravity?
_________________
"You shoulda shot A Rod!" |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JesseMcG
Joined: 24 Sep 2008
Posts: 208
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 2:13 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| The_Jester wrote: | | Did you check the gravity? |
Nope, I busted the hydrometer during the brewing process. I'm going back to Kingston this weekend and I'll hit up the LHBS while there and pick up another one.
I'll report back next week when I've had the chance to test it. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
iguenard
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
Posts: 294
Location: Ottawa
|
| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 3:21 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I'm still not worried.
Lagering will clean that aroma out.
Remember, lager at around 4'C if you want good results.
_________________
Ian Guénard
http://spaces.msn.com/members/iguenard/ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
markaberrant
Joined: 16 Nov 2007
Posts: 431
Location: Regina, SK
|
| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:32 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| iguenard wrote: | I'm still not worried.
Lagering will clean that aroma out.
Remember, lager at around 4'C if you want good results. |
Lagering will clean it up, but I would go a lot colder than 4C. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JesseMcG
Joined: 24 Sep 2008
Posts: 208
|
| Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:22 pm Post subject: |
|
|
So let me tell you a story about how stupid I am.... haha.
I finally checked this bad-boy with a hydrometer... it's been left alone in the fridge, untouched and not even looked at for a while now (weeks?). The first thing I noticed is that the hops used for dry hopping have all been pushed right to the top of the fermenter and have formed a cake. This cake was thick enough that NO CO2 could escape! The reason this happened is because when I racked to secondary I forgot to put the dry hops in until about an hour later... at which time I just dropped them in the top, where there was hardly any room. So the pressure of the CO2 being released forced them all to the top where the cake formed.
So the beer itself is still SUPER cloudy... I pushed the hop cake down into the beer and gave it a big stir. Within 20 minutes I had bubbles forming again.... so fermentation is continuing.... good thing since its sitting at 1.030 still... brutal. Remember that I broke my hydrometer before I could record the OG.... uuughhhhhh...
The ONLY good news here is that the stanky ass sulfur smell is gone... so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll get down to at LEAST 1.020... I'm hoping lower though, obviously. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
grub
Joined: 15 Sep 2006
Posts: 653
Location: Biergötter Homebrew Club, Markham
|
| Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:06 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| JesseMcG wrote: | | I finally checked this bad-boy with a hydrometer... it's been left alone in the fridge, untouched and not even looked at for a while now (weeks?). The first thing I noticed is that the hops used for dry hopping have all been pushed right to the top of the fermenter and have formed a cake. This cake was thick enough that NO CO2 could escape! The reason this happened is because when I racked to secondary I forgot to put the dry hops in until about an hour later... at which time I just dropped them in the top, where there was hardly any room. So the pressure of the CO2 being released forced them all to the top where the cake formed. |
hehe, well, despite how thick it might look, i'm betting that co2 could still manage to escape. if not, it would have erupted like a geyser as soon as you opened it up.
it's pretty common to throw dry hops in on top. at room temp, your optimal dry hop contact time is 10-14 days, so i'll usually secondary for a little while before i add my hops in. even 4oz in a 5gal batch will eventually settle out - just takes a while.
| JesseMcG wrote: | | So the beer itself is still SUPER cloudy... I pushed the hop cake down into the beer and gave it a big stir. Within 20 minutes I had bubbles forming again.... so fermentation is continuing.... good thing since its sitting at 1.030 still... brutal. Remember that I broke my hydrometer before I could record the OG.... uuughhhhhh... |
cold beer will hold on to co2. you likely had a decent amount dissolved in it, and as soon as you stirred it up (or warm it, or give it something to induce nucleation), they start coming out of solution. so that bubbling is quite likely not a sign of fermentation.
now, the problem i'd see here is if it's sitting at 1.030, you moved it out of primary too soon. your fermentation should be done before you move it out of primary - otherwise you're throwing away 95% of your yeast and expecting the few remaining buggers to do the work of the whole lot! if they don't die out it's gonna be a slow process. this isn't entirely your fault - people are often misinformed and think you're just supposed to blindly move it over to secondary after a week. not so.
| JesseMcG wrote: | | The ONLY good news here is that the stanky ass sulfur smell is gone... so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll get down to at LEAST 1.020... I'm hoping lower though, obviously. |
good! lagering should certainly do that, so you're a step in the right direction. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JesseMcG
Joined: 24 Sep 2008
Posts: 208
|
| Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:16 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Yeah... I'm convinced I racked too soon... but the krausen had settled and fallen back down into the beer... isn't that a sign that it's ready to rack?
Anyhow... do you think I should toss a pack of dry lager yeast in there to help out? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
grub
Joined: 15 Sep 2006
Posts: 653
Location: Biergötter Homebrew Club, Markham
|
| Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:24 pm Post subject: |
|
|
it's a sign that fermentation is slowing down, but not necessarily that it's done. the yeast can keep fermenting for a while without a big thick krausen showing. the only way to really know is check the gravity and compare with the expected attenuation, then verify that it stays consistent.
if you really are up around 1.030, then i'd say it's probably a good plan to add more yeast. dry yeast are good as you know you should have a good high cell count of viable yeast.
quick question though: did you correct your gravity reading for temperature? if it was at fridge temp it could make a significant difference in your reading (which is usually calibrated for 60F or so). |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JesseMcG
Joined: 24 Sep 2008
Posts: 208
|
| Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:28 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| grub wrote: | it's a sign that fermentation is slowing down, but not necessarily that it's done. the yeast can keep fermenting for a while without a big thick krausen showing. the only way to really know is check the gravity and compare with the expected attenuation, then verify that it stays consistent.
if you really are up around 1.030, then i'd say it's probably a good plan to add more yeast. dry yeast are good as you know you should have a good high cell count of viable yeast.
quick question though: did you correct your gravity reading for temperature? if it was at fridge temp it could make a significant difference in your reading (which is usually calibrated for 60F or so). |
Good question... I believe it was sitting around 5 degrees C when I took the reading... but I can't remember exactly... one too many beers last night I guess.
Let's say the gravity is actually lower... why the hell is the beer still SO cloudy? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
grub
Joined: 15 Sep 2006
Posts: 653
Location: Biergötter Homebrew Club, Markham
|
| Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:47 pm Post subject: |
|
|
ok, according to promash, if it was reading 1.030 at 5C and is calibrated at the standard 60F, it's actually 1.029. apparently being below the calibration temp doesn't make as much difference as being above it...
as for the haze... what was the recipe? any finings? fruit causes haze, not having finings can too. could even be chill haze. or maybe just those hops are still lingering. or perhaps it's still fermenting really slow and you're lucky enough to still have yeast in suspension.
besides, you can always serve it in a stein. nobody will care what colour it is or how much haze it has! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JesseMcG
Joined: 24 Sep 2008
Posts: 208
|
| Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:56 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| grub wrote: | ok, according to promash, if it was reading 1.030 at 5C and is calibrated at the standard 60F, it's actually 1.029. apparently being below the calibration temp doesn't make as much difference as being above it...
as for the haze... what was the recipe? any finings? fruit causes haze, not having finings can too. could even be chill haze. or maybe just those hops are still lingering. or perhaps it's still fermenting really slow and yo u're lucky enough to still have yeast in suspension.
besides, you can always serve it in a stein. nobody will care what colour it is or how much haze it has! |
Yeah I calculated it to approx 1.029 with the instructions given with the hydrometer...
It's a pilsner urquell clone from one of those clone recipe books... DME extract based with a little bit of steeped grains...can't recall exactly which... but not a hell of a lot... with the Wyeast Pilsner Urquell smack pack... the yeast was fucked though (OLD)... tried to create a starter and there was no action after 24+ hours, but I pitched it anyways... then it was something like 5 days before fermentation took off... so it's been a gong show from jump.... I'm gonna toss a pack a Safbrew-23 in there I think... just gotta order it and wait... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
