Reverend JC

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I have been having some trouble getting my yeast to take off and am begining to question my methods on lagering after espousing them all over this board-for that i am soon to be sorry-anyway, after taking a hydro reading i sampled the brew and it did not taste astringent but it was rather Hot tasting, like there was alot of alcohol in there but due to hydro readings i know that is not ture.


what causes this?

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david_42

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"Hot" could be fusel alcohols. How warm was it when the fermentation started?

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dougjones31

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Sometimes flat, warm beer will just taste "Hot".

Reverend JC

Recipes 

When i pitched it was 78 ish. i began fermentation at about 67 ish then after 3 days i droped temp to 50s.

But the smack pack did not swell, pitched anyway.

Never really saw airlock movement, did nothing about it.

So, to sum it up, i made three large errors and am now trying to figure out how to fix.

OG was 1.045

Currently 1.032

Has to much Alc been created to repitch?

Will the fusel taste go away?

Thanks

Reverend

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Evan!

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Given that yeasties can take much higher ABV than the current 1.71%, it's not too high to repitch. However, if you do that, I'd make a starter first, and make sure the starter is in a full-on fermentation before pitching.

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Reverend JC

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Stopped by my LHBS and they said that I should not pitch the smack pack of Urquell yeast in my fridge but rather rehydrate some dry lager yeast and pitch. So i did and will update everyone in 24 hours.

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dantodd

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Starting your fermentation too warm can give you lots of esters and diacetyl according to what I've read. I don't know about fusels and starting fermentation temperature though.

According to Jamil and J. Palmer you should start your fermentation at the normal fermentation temperature.

chillHayze

Recipes 

Is there any shiny oil-looking stuff on the top of the beer? If so it's most likely fuseol alcohol. Yeast make it when they get too hot. Like a yeast sunburn. It will be reduced with aging, and when you drink it cold.

I'd bet that's what it is. The lager yeast likes it way cooler than 78. They just got a little shock and excreted some shiny stuff.

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