ArrogantDusty
Well-Known Member
I've been brewing for 5 years and just made my first lager...
A quick rundown. I'm making an American Lager. I decided on a whim to extend my brew day. I grabbed some extra grain and made a standard recipe. I did a bunch of research on how the lagering process should go, but little on anything else. Thus, I pitched one activated pack of Wyeast 2035 (even their instructions say to pitch two packs if you don't use a starter for a 5 gallon batch).
5G Batch, 1.046 OG, cooled to 70 and pitched Wyeast 2035. After the initial 24 hours, I put it in the keezer at 50F. Fast forward two weeks and I took a hydrometer reading...
The first thing I noticed is the liquid is basically syrup. When I pull my hydrometer out, it slowly comes off the hydrometer like syrup or KY jelly would. This may be normal but I was freaked out. Hydrometer reading was 1.020. So now for my questions.
1. My first thought/fear is that fermentation never really happened and that a lot of the sugar in the liquid has dropped towards the bottom at this temperature. If this is the case, I'm thinking about just cooling to room temp and tossing it onto a yeast cake from one of my sours. Is there any way this is the case with that hydrometer reading?
2. If it is simply stuck fermentation due to a terribly low pitch, can I just pitch another pack or two? Or should I just warm it up and see if it starts back up?
3. Seriously, whats up with the syrup consistency? It's kind of grossing me out, lol.
A quick rundown. I'm making an American Lager. I decided on a whim to extend my brew day. I grabbed some extra grain and made a standard recipe. I did a bunch of research on how the lagering process should go, but little on anything else. Thus, I pitched one activated pack of Wyeast 2035 (even their instructions say to pitch two packs if you don't use a starter for a 5 gallon batch).
5G Batch, 1.046 OG, cooled to 70 and pitched Wyeast 2035. After the initial 24 hours, I put it in the keezer at 50F. Fast forward two weeks and I took a hydrometer reading...
The first thing I noticed is the liquid is basically syrup. When I pull my hydrometer out, it slowly comes off the hydrometer like syrup or KY jelly would. This may be normal but I was freaked out. Hydrometer reading was 1.020. So now for my questions.
1. My first thought/fear is that fermentation never really happened and that a lot of the sugar in the liquid has dropped towards the bottom at this temperature. If this is the case, I'm thinking about just cooling to room temp and tossing it onto a yeast cake from one of my sours. Is there any way this is the case with that hydrometer reading?
2. If it is simply stuck fermentation due to a terribly low pitch, can I just pitch another pack or two? Or should I just warm it up and see if it starts back up?
3. Seriously, whats up with the syrup consistency? It's kind of grossing me out, lol.