First Batch - Think I screwed it

[cmaxwe]

I bought the Coopers DIY kit with the lager ingredients.

Despite the instructions and the youtube videos suggesting that I do a test run to make sure that I can accurately hit a temp between 21 and 27c when filling the fermentor - I decided that test runs were for chumps.

I ended up being somewhere around 28c when I was done adding water and put the yeast in.

My ambient temperatures this time of year are around 22-24 most days so I have the plastic fermentor in a larger container and in the larger container I have some water in the base and I add frozen bottles to that to lower the temp.

I have been tracking the temperature via a temp tracking device I have made and this is what the graph looks like:

Is the fact that the brew started at 28c going to screw me?
Is the fact that I dropped it from 28c to 21c going to screw me?
Should I just buy new ingredients now and dump is batch down the toilet?

 

[dendron8]

i havent brewed any lagers, but i can say in general whether its lager or ale you dont want large fluctuations in temperature as it will stress the yeast and potentially produce off flavors.

from the water/frozen bottle description sounds like you may have a swamp cooler. i never had much success with those, i had to constantly monitor/swap bottles and even then the temp changed more than i liked.

this is just me, but i would spend the money on a chest freezer and an inkbird to control temperature. or check craigslist for a cheap/free refrigerator. i have one of each and with the inkbirds they keep their temp well in the garage.

 

[mongoose33]

As long as the temp came down from 28 to 22 fairly quickly--within 12 hours say--you should be fine with regard to that.

However, if you're trying to brew a true lager, it needs to ferment much cooler than that. I have one going and it was at 10c (50f) for four days before I started ramping up the temp to finish.

Do you know what yeast you are using? And whether the 21-27 range is the pitching temp (where you add the yeast to the wort), or the fermentation range?

******************

Now, having said that, I also brew a beer called California Common, which is a recipe using lager yeast but fermented at ale temps. I do it at 18c (64f). It turns out fine, but part of the flavor profile is due to fermenting it at that higher temperature.

What isn't clear from your post is whether you're supposed to pitch the yeast at between 21 and 27, or whether you're supposed to ferment in that range. I'd be going cooler if it was me, but I don't know the kit and the yeast and the ingredients, so take that into account.

****************

What I've been doing w/ my lagers is pitching the yeast at 22-23c (72-74f), and then putting it in my ferm chamber where it drops over 18 hours to 10c (50f). I use an accelerated fermentation schedule--normally you'd let the fermentation mostly finish then ramp up to the 18c-degree range (66f) for the yeast to finish and do a diacetyl rest.

But i start ramping the temps up when fermentation is half finished, doing so by 4*f (2+* C) until I get to about 19c. Then I leave it there until no further fermentation is noticed, then I check w/ a hydrometer to make sure it's done, then go back down to 10c (50f) for some more lagering.

My point is there are different ways to do this and all will end up with beer. But what you should not do is dump it. Beer is resilient, for the most part, and as long as you've done other things correctly, you'll make beer.

 

[mredge73]

It is your first beer and it is difficult to make a good lager; if this results in something drinkable then you should be proud.
It certainly won't taste like a lager, if that is the goal then it will not come close.
It will taste like a bad California Common, but that doesn't mean that it should go down the drain.

Next time pick up a simple ale kit, like a brown or amber.
Also, Porters/Stouts are good kits to start out with as they tend to hide common beginner brewer flaws.
High hopped beers and light color beers like pale ales and IPAs are not good out of a can.
I wouldn't bother with a lager without a dedicated fermentation chamber.

 

[cmaxwe]

Yeah I will have to look into a better solution for the summer months. Here in Sydney it gets pretty warm even indoors unless you regulate the temperature somehow.

i havent brewed any lagers, but i can say in general whether its lager or ale you dont want large fluctuations in temperature as it will stress the yeast and potentially produce off flavors.

from the water/frozen bottle description sounds like you may have a swamp cooler. i never had much success with those, i had to constantly monitor/swap bottles and even then the temp changed more than i liked.

this is just me, but i would spend the money on a chest freezer and an inkbird to control temperature. or check craigslist for a cheap/free refrigerator. i have one of each and with the inkbirds they keep their temp well in the garage.

 

[cmaxwe]

Yeah I think it did come down rather quickly.

Not sure what kind of yeast it is, but the instructions were to pitch it at 21-27 with a preference to be at the lower end of that range then to ferment 21 or below.

So hopefully being on the upper end of the pitch range won't hurt me too much and hopefully I can keep it 21 or lower with my frozen water bottles/towels/water method.

It is the standard coopers DIY kit so I would imagine that they try to pick yeast/wart that is the most fool proof but who knows....

As long as the temp came down from 28 to 22 fairly quickly--within 12 hours say--you should be fine with regard to that.

However, if you're trying to brew a true lager, it needs to ferment much cooler than that. I have one going and it was at 10c (50f) for four days before I started ramping up the temp to finish.

Do you know what yeast you are using? And whether the 21-27 range is the pitching temp (where you add the yeast to the wort), or the fermentation range?

******************

Now, having said that, I also brew a beer called California Common, which is a recipe using lager yeast but fermented at ale temps. I do it at 18c (64f). It turns out fine, but part of the flavor profile is due to fermenting it at that higher temperature.

What isn't clear from your post is whether you're supposed to pitch the yeast at between 21 and 27, or whether you're supposed to ferment in that range. I'd be going cooler if it was me, but I don't know the kit and the yeast and the ingredients, so take that into account.

****************

What I've been doing w/ my lagers is pitching the yeast at 22-23c (72-74f), and then putting it in my ferm chamber where it drops over 18 hours to 10c (50f). I use an accelerated fermentation schedule--normally you'd let the fermentation mostly finish then ramp up to the 18c-degree range (66f) for the yeast to finish and do a diacetyl rest.

But i start ramping the temps up when fermentation is half finished, doing so by 4*f (2+* C) until I get to about 19c. Then I leave it there until no further fermentation is noticed, then I check w/ a hydrometer to make sure it's done, then go back down to 10c (50f) for some more lagering.

My point is there are different ways to do this and all will end up with beer. But what you should not do is dump it. Beer is resilient, for the most part, and as long as you've done other things correctly, you'll make beer.

 

[cmaxwe]

Yeah I wonder if it is a true lager or if it is just something coopers is calling lager...because reading other threads/recipes it seems that 21c would be too high to ferment at, yet the instructions say 21c.

It is your first beer and it is difficult to make a good lager; if this results in something drinkable then you should be proud.
It certainly won't taste like a lager, if that is the goal then it will not come close.
It will taste like a bad California Common, but that doesn't mean that it should go down the drain.

Next time pick up a simple ale kit, like a brown or amber.
Also, Porters/Stouts are good kits to start out with as they tend to hide common beginner brewer flaws.
High hopped beers and light color beers like pale ales and IPAs are not good out of a can.
I wouldn't bother with a lager without a dedicated fermentation chamber.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Is the fact that the brew started at 28c going to screw me?
Is the fact that I dropped it from 28c to 21c going to screw me?
Should I just buy new ingredients now and dump is batch down the toilet?

No - in fact dry yeast manufacturers often recommend rehydration of ale yeasts at 25-29C (OK, lager ideally at 21-25, but it's not fatal). The ideal growth temperature for many yeasts is 28-30C, the reason for fermenting cooler is to do with off flavours rather than yeast happiness
No
No

For a bit more comfort see :
http://brulosophy.com/2014/12/15/the-temp-at-which-we-pitch-exbeeriment-results/
http://brulosophy.com/2015/06/22/fermentation-temperature-pt-3-lager-yeast-exbeeriment-results/
OK, they shouldn't be taken as gospel - and to be fair, Brulosophy experiments with other yeasts at "wrong" temperatures have had detectable differences, although not always ones that were unpleasant - but don't sweat the temperature thing too much.

You may want to go down the local pickup joint because you're not getting screwed, this beer is in the friend zone....