Ale turned out to be Lager! possibly not done fermentation.

Hey everyone, So I just finished bottling like 60 beers of my coopers Draught. I came upstairs to my computer and I looked on the coopers website and was suprised to find out I brewed a LAGER! I had no idea, the can simply says coopers draught, and the ladie in the store told me she had no idea about the beer supplies. This is my first lager Iv brewed and I am now worried that it may have not finished fermenting. and i bottled them in glass bottles.

Here are the specs, I added 2.2 pounds of Light Malt Extract and 103Grams of dextrose and had a SG of 1.037. I fermented in my basement at 67F with 2 packs of dried coopers yeast. I used the yeast that came with can and an extra pack I bought. The FinalGravity reading was 1.009. The coopers website says the Fermentation may take 2 to 3 weeks. They also recommend to ferment at 20°C/68F or less.

When I had a look at the fermentation in the pail I did notice a couple bubbles come up, and I attributed them to the fact that was just co2 escaping, since I carried the pail upstairs and it got moved around a bit. I also primed the sugar at a rate of 5g/L. Now coopers actually recommends priming at 8g/L but I decided to go lower this batch, which may be a good thing if theres less sugar in the bottles because the original fermentation may still be going... Anyone have any helpful advice? Has anyone brewed this Coopers lager in 2 weeks at 20c/68F with a SG of 1.037? Maybe ill have to put my glass bottles in a big container incase they start exploding!

 

It really helps to have a hydrometer so you can know if fermentation has really stopped. But you were suspecting that already.

Worst case scenario, you made beer that is a little undercarbed.

 

The yeast you used was almost certainly an ale yeast, and the kit would be more accurately called a "lager-style" ale. Your OG is on the lower end, assuming they aren't dead those yeast would have no trouble fermenting that out in just a few days. Since you know the OG I'm assuming you have a hydrometer, so you can easily check how much it fermented out.

 

Yes i have a hydrometer and I updated my posts and included the FG , sorry for not mentioning it in the first place. My FG is 1.009, which is where my ale beers usually are around. But how do you know this is an ale beer? The coopers website lists it under Lager and called it a Lager fresh draught. See the coopers website below

http://www.coopers.com.au/the-brewers-guild/how-to-brew/lager/fresh-draught

 

Looks like it was a lager yeast, problem is I doubt your fermented it at 55 degree like they state, and also like any other lager yeast. So that being said you didn't brew a lager, you brewed a lager recipe with a lager yeast at ale temperatures.

 

Steam Beer!

 

No i did not ferment it at 55F , I said in my original post I fermented in my basement at 67F. I understand that lagers are supposed to be fermented cooler but The coopers website actually recommends fermenting at 20°C/68F or less. Im guessing 68 is the highest the recommend to ferment at, but they dont mention to ferment it real cool like 55F.

 

Whoops I stand corrected, I remember kits telling you to add the white pack on top, corn sugar, and then leave it in a warm area >20C for every style offered. I guess kits have improved over the years!

 

It can't be a lager without being fermented as a lager. They recommend to pitch higher to help speed through the lag phase. Then drop the temp to the lager yeasts range.

 

Oh okay that makes sense. well i guess this is a steam beer now! Im excited to try it too. but isnt a FG of 1.009 fairly high for a lager? What is a typical FG of a lager supposed to be at? i know they ferment dry, but how dry? Im just wondering how close this coopers was to being done fermenting.

 

FG of 1.009 is normal for lager. I had Maibock (true lager) that finished 1.016 and it was great. FG solely depends on amount of fermentables in wort, and 1.009 is very good for extract kit. Did you only take 1 gravity reading at the end? 3 in a row typically recommended for beginners with 1 day intervals to determine if your beer still fermenting. I sometimes don't take any till I keg, but I also leave beer alone for at least a week when all signs of fermentation activity have seized. 2-3 weeks in general, plenty of time for it to finish. Relax, you'll have beer. If you bottled in PET bottles they can stand a little extra pressure anyway