Hello All,
I'm fermenting a honey kolsch now and it's been in the temp chamber for 11 days at 60F now. My plan is to rack to a carboy before starting to drop the temp to 34. I have a few questions:
1. Measure OG was 1.052, predicted OG was 1.048. Took a reading yesterday and measure 1.016, predicted FG was 1.012. Out of curiosity, I checked my hydro in water and measured about 1.003-1.004, so I think my readings have been off for the past few batches. Anyway, if I take another reading tomorrow and it hasn't changed, it's done with primary fermentation, right? Will it continue to drop during the lagering? If it's still higher than expected tomorrow (using another hydro...I happen to have a backup), is there any way to help it get down a little more? A gentle shake, maybe? It's really close to target, but I'd like to dry this out as much as possible.
2. This is my first time using my new temp chamber and lagering. How many days should it take to drop from 60F to 34F? Is the recommended 2 degrees/day right for a kolsch?
3. I read that sometimes people will boost the temp to maybe 70 for a day or two before dropping to lagering temps. Is this necessary here? I listened to Jamil's episode on kolsch and I don't recall him mentioning this in his fermentation schedule.
Thanks,
John
I'm fermenting a honey kolsch now and it's been in the temp chamber for 11 days at 60F now. My plan is to rack to a carboy before starting to drop the temp to 34. I have a few questions:
1. Measure OG was 1.052, predicted OG was 1.048. Took a reading yesterday and measure 1.016, predicted FG was 1.012. Out of curiosity, I checked my hydro in water and measured about 1.003-1.004, so I think my readings have been off for the past few batches. Anyway, if I take another reading tomorrow and it hasn't changed, it's done with primary fermentation, right? Will it continue to drop during the lagering? If it's still higher than expected tomorrow (using another hydro...I happen to have a backup), is there any way to help it get down a little more? A gentle shake, maybe? It's really close to target, but I'd like to dry this out as much as possible.
2. This is my first time using my new temp chamber and lagering. How many days should it take to drop from 60F to 34F? Is the recommended 2 degrees/day right for a kolsch?
3. I read that sometimes people will boost the temp to maybe 70 for a day or two before dropping to lagering temps. Is this necessary here? I listened to Jamil's episode on kolsch and I don't recall him mentioning this in his fermentation schedule.
Thanks,
John