Reducing Yeast in Lager using Coopers Extract

[Bananas_Gorilla]

Hello all,

First post, and second time brewing.

My first ever home brew Lager came out about 2 months ago and I'm in need of some advice on how to improve it. I made a few mistakes first time around (put 2 types of yeast, one lager and one ale and totally didn't add nearly enough sugar for carbonation) and I ended up with a flat, very yeasty beer.

I bottled them and even after 2 months on their own, the taste is just awful. It definitely tastes like lager (and not even the worst one I've had),didn't get infected, but the yeasty after taste sends shivers down my spine and I'd rather not wince every time I take a swig. So much so, making shandy is about the only way to make it remotely palatable for me.

My setup is currently just a single 25L fermenter barrel, no spigot. I need to bottle as I have no way of storing a keg so I just siphoned it into bottles and left for 3 weeks before tasting.

My question is: How do I get a non-yeasty tasting lager? Do I need a secondary fermenter? When then would I transfer it? Gelatine? Or do I need to invest heavily in better equipment?

COST is a BIG factor, I can only really afford newbie equipment at the moment. So thats the 100 buck beer gun out the window.

Any tips would be great.

Thanks!

 

[Miraculix]

Keep it a few weeks in the fermenter, cold crash to make the yeast settle out, bottle with enough sugar ( you can still open the ones with not enough sugar inside and add an appropriate amount per bottle), let them carb for at least two or better three weeks at room temp, put them in the fridge for a few days or weeks, open one bottle, pour it carefully and slowly so that the yeast stays at the bottom of the bottle, keep the last few sips in the bottle together with the yeast, enjoy your homebrew lager.

Edit: you can add gelatin before or during the cold crash to max out it's effect.

 

[Bananas_Gorilla]

Keep it a few weeks in the fermenter, cold crash to make the yeast settle out, bottle with enough sugar ( you can still open the ones with not enough sugar inside and add an appropriate amount per bottle), let them carb for at least two or better three weeks at room temp, put them in the fridge for a few days or weeks, open one bottle, pour it carefully and slowly so that the yeast stays at the bottom of the bottle, keep the last few sips in the bottle together with the yeast, enjoy your homebrew lager.

Edit: you can add gelatin before or during the cold crash to max out it's effect.

Thanks dude. Do you have tips on cold crashing, without a freezer that it would fit inside? I was considering putting the bottles in the fridge for a few days to chill, then siphoning them off carefully into other bottles, then adding carbonation drops. Would that work?

 

[Miraculix]

If you do not have the possibility to cold crash, just do not do it. I also only cold crash when it is really cold outside, then I just leave the fermenter outside. Just make sure that you give the yeast enough time to settle, give it 3-4 weeks in the fermenter in total (no secondary!), then bottle and prime and let it carbonate for 3 weeks. Afterwards just put them in a fridge for a few days and proceed as I described above. Cold crashing is not a must, it just speeds things up.

 

[bleme]

I cold crash by setting my fermentor in an ice chest then surrounding it by ice and covering with a sleeping bag. My last brew, I noticed that the drain plug on my ice chest was missing, leaving a puddle on my carpet. I got one of my big rope tubs, lined it with a felt blanket, nested another tub inside that, and transferred the fermentor and ice over. It held the ice just as well. I do get ice for free from work.

Keeping your bottles in the fridge for at least a week and pouring carefully will do wonders though.

 

[tgolanos]

I'd invest in a bottling bucket with a spigot and a bottling wand. This may help you reduce the amount of yeast and sediment that makes it into your bottles. You'll still get some that settles in your bottles, but just pour slowly to leave the dregs behind.

If you can't cold crash your entire fermenter, bottle-lagering will work fine. Just put as many bottles as you can in the back of your fridge for a week or two before you enjoy them.

 

[Miraculix]

I cold crash by setting my fermentor in an ice chest then surrounding it by ice and covering with a sleeping bag. My last brew, I noticed that the drain plug on my ice chest was missing, leaving a puddle on my carpet. I got one of my big rope tubs, lined it with a felt blanket, nested another tub inside that, and transferred the fermentor and ice over. It held the ice just as well. I do get ice for free from work.

Keeping your bottles in the fridge for at least a week and pouring carefully will do wonders though.

That is actually quite a good idea! Thanks!