Weird lager ferment?

Hey everyone,

Just fermenting my 1st lager after 10 years of brewing.
It's a bohemian pils, OG was about 1.055 and is fermenting at 52oF in a corny submersed in an cold water bath in a cooler. I made a 2 liter starter and used yeast nutrient during the boil.

After two weeks the sample I just took had a SG of 1.038 and was still bubbling well... lots of CO2 bubbles in the test tube.

Is this ferment taking way too long? I worry that the bottom of the fermenter may be much cooler than the sample I took from near the top of the keg and may not be fermenting well. The water the keg is in has a temp of 42oF at the moment and it's roughly at that temp all day long... but does go occaionally to as warm as 50oF.

The sample I just took tasted good, not as sweet as I would have expected given that SG, but it was cool so that's probably to be expected.

Any insights would be appreciated. Am I worrying too much?

Thanks!

Cugel said:

Hey everyone,

Am I worrying too much?

Click to expand...

Yes. That 42F water is probably slowing things down a bit. Just be patient and let nature take its' course.

Thanks Ed.

I'll let the water warm to about 50oF then and see how she goes.

I was just thinking that the lager yeast should be in the bottom of the keg and that's where the temps are likely around 42F... some warming should do the trick.