TCB Wetpack Euro Pilsner

Biggles · Post by **Biggles** » Monday Oct 23, 2006 4:25 pm

Hi there, has anyone made one of these ?

Id appreciate any tips or ideas you might have after making yours.

I now have a fridge, and tonight a working Fridgemate, so I can brew at the cooler temps that lager yeasts want, despite the heat here now.

lethaldog · Post by **lethaldog** » Monday Oct 23, 2006 6:03 pm

I have just done one but cant tell you much, i havent bottled yet but i think it will be good, set the fridgemate to about 12 if your using the saf provided and let it go, it will turn out great as all the wetpacks do

Biggles · Post by **Biggles** » Tuesday Oct 24, 2006 8:22 am

We can only hope it turns out great, or at least drinkable.

gregb · Post by **gregb** » Tuesday Oct 24, 2006 9:20 am

No reason to believe that it wont. Have faith Biggles. RDWHAHB

Cheers,
Greg

Biggles · Post by **Biggles** » Wednesday Oct 25, 2006 11:24 pm

Well the brew is in the fridge. As per the instructions with no additional hops etc, except I followed the yeast manufacturers instructions and pitched 2 packets of yeast for the cold temps Ill be fermenting it at. I did stuff up though, somehow I had a brain fade and tossed the grain from the sieve as I was putting more warm water in the can to sparge the grain, so just under half of the grain actually got sparged. I hope thats not a big stuff up in the long run.

No where near as aromatic as the APA from TCB.

Biggles · Post by **Biggles** » Thursday Oct 26, 2006 3:44 pm

What is a typical lag time for fermentation to start when brewing at Lager temps ? It been over 12hrs now at not a sign of even a krausen developing, though it is hard to look down into the fermenter when its sitting in the fridge.

lethaldog · Post by **lethaldog** » Thursday Oct 26, 2006 5:51 pm

24- 36 hours but some less and some more, i usually leave them at room temp till they start and then cool them down to fermenting temp

Biggles · Post by **Biggles** » Thursday Oct 26, 2006 6:18 pm

lethaldog wrote:24- 36 hours but some less and some more, i usually leave them at room temp till they start and then cool them down to fermenting temp

Ah, and I searched last night whilst the wort was cooking for any tips, the closest I could find was to pitch the yeast at the temp for fermenting. I even kept the packs in the fridge to help prevent thermal shock.

Should I let 'er warm up a bit to get things rolling along ? Currently sitting at 12C.

lethaldog · Post by **lethaldog** » Thursday Oct 26, 2006 6:28 pm

I would but some on here wouldnt, i guess its what works for you, it would deffinately help kick it along

Biggles · Post by **Biggles** » Friday Oct 27, 2006 8:00 am

We have fermentation. Last night I reset the temp to 14c. Now reset at 12c.

Biggles · Post by **Biggles** » Monday Oct 30, 2006 7:15 am

Lethal,
Did you do a diacetyl rest as per lager brewing techniques or ?

After 4.5 days or about 3 days of actuall fermenting at 12C, the SG is now at 1020 (down from 1040) and according to lager brewing notes Ive read, should be getting a rest and racking then lagering at really low temps ?

The sample I took for the SG reading smelt delicious.

I am more inclined to leave it cold until fementation is complete, then rack to cubes for really cold lagering.
In truth, Im confused at what is the best thing to do.

lethaldog · Post by **lethaldog** » Monday Oct 30, 2006 4:03 pm

Ive never been a big one for diawhatsamecallit rest but it deffinately wouldnt hurt, i mostly use liquid yeasts and there doesnt seem to be as much of a problem with them, if you want to just pull it out of the fridge around the end of fermentation and let it sit at 16-18*C for 1-2 days then just pop it back in the fridge after you rack, leave at fermenting temp for a week then turn down to 1-2 *C and leave for 2 weeks +:lol:

Biggles · Post by **Biggles** » Wednesday Nov 01, 2006 4:16 pm

I was anticipating/under the impression this brew would take a long time to ferment, yet after 7 days its at 1016, from a start of 1040.
I will leave it another 4/5 days at least before doing anything, not sure If I will be able to rack a CC this brew, the pressure is on for the 2nd fridge to be a fridge not a cool box.

Biggles · Post by **Biggles** » Saturday Nov 04, 2006 3:14 pm

Day 10 and Ive let the temp come up to 18C over about an 18 hr period. After approx 3 days of not a bubble, its started to bubble again, not fast but bubbling around 1 every 30-60 secs. Diacetyl rest perhaps, yeasties eating the diacetyl made earlier.
I plan to rack it tonight and put the temp back down to really low for probably another week before bottling.

Biggles · Post by **Biggles** » Tuesday Nov 07, 2006 7:40 am

Ive just read a whole heap of conflicting advice on various forums about how to correctly brew a pilsner/lager.

Im now letting it get back down to 4C and will leave it for as long as I can, probably about 2 weeks if Im lucky. Others would say it needs to be chilled at no more than 2C per day, others say chill as fast as possible, some say dont CC, others say do CC.

I just want a nice tasting beer.

111222333 · Post by **111222333** » Tuesday Nov 07, 2006 9:43 am

Biggles wrote: I just want a nice tasting beer.

may i suggest brewing an ale then??

Biggles · Post by **Biggles** » Tuesday Nov 07, 2006 11:52 am

Ive got that covered too.

One batch of the wetpak APA in bottle and one in fermenter.

lethaldog · Post by **lethaldog** » Tuesday Nov 07, 2006 4:05 pm

Your beer will still be nice without ccing or racking it just wont be quite as good or clear, i can tell you that pilsners are comercially lagered at between 1-3*C for fairly lengthy periods ( 2-6 Months) i cant speak for all of them but i no most of the real good ones do so obviously it must be good for them or why would they do it

I usually leave in primary till it slows ( 5-10 days) then rack to second and leave for another 7-10 days, then rack into a fridge container and leave at about 2*C for at least 2 weeks ( longer if i can) then rack into fermenter when i bulk prime and bottle, alot of racking i know but they all come out fantastic and if your careful then there is no real risk of infecting or oxidising