Long Primary

[Shaun Goeckner]

Ok folks. This is a first for me so I'll ask around.

OG was 1.054 and I pitched a Pilsen Activator pack at 70° after using pure O2 for 30 secs or so, put it in the cooler which is 55°.

Got a krausen, fermentation slowed after about a week but it's been 2.5 weeks now and i'm only at a 1.020

I get a bubble every 15 seconds or so but I'm wondering if I should rack it or leave it be. I "force fermented" a vile at room temp and it finished at 1.007 so I KNOW it's got a ways to go.

Suggestions?

[seafra]

If you still have that much airlock activity (bubble/15 sec) you're still fermenting. Just give it time. Sounds like you may have had a sluggish start. What was your lag time like?
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[corkybstewart]

At this point you should warm it up to 65-67F for a diacetyl rest. Leave it there for about 5 days and it will finish fermenting. Then rack it and lager it for a month at least as cold as you can keep it.

[BrewDog]

+1 on Corky's recommendation for the diacetyl rest.

And Lager it for at least a month. Two months if you can.

[Shaun Goeckner]

Thats what I've been wrangling with; lewis writes that he stays in the primary until the gravity is 6-7 points from finishing, raises for the diacetyl, racks into a corney at 4-5 pts, seals it up and begins lagering by dropping the temp 2° daily to lagering temp. It stays there as a secondary, naturally carbonates, and after 4-6 weeks he filters or transfers to a serving vessel. This is where I'm gonna start going. I did my last 2 batches like that and they were fantastic. With this one I had a lag time of about 36 hours despite using Activator paks (1 for each carboy) and pure 02.

I'm making a starter for todays batch, using 2 Activators and 1.2l of starter. Plus I'll up the O2 to 60 or 90 seconds...

Dang I need to streamline my brew system and hard pipe it all and get a new PID and thermocouple...it's starting to be more like work!

[nelstrodomus]

Dang I need to streamline my brew system and hard pipe it all and get a new PID and thermocouple...it's starting to be more like work!


the day this feels like work, I quit...

this is why I don't make lagers...

[Shaun Goeckner]

Its generally not too much work; add water at your desired strike temp to the mash vessel, stir in the grain, turn on the pump and set the controller for your desired mash temp. For an ultralight beer I'll mash in at like 140° and wire the system for 120VAC, set it for 153° and it takes about 45 minutes to get there, where it stays for another 45 minutes until I take it to mash out with an infusion.....

Not a bad system and it allows for a great deal of control over wort profile...

[Vienna Lager]

What Corky and Brew said. Currently my garage is at about 52 degrees and have a '10 gallon' batch Maifest/Bock chugging away for two weeks. One primary was pitched with WLP 838 and the other pitched with Nottingham so will see if the latter will give 'pseudo-lager' like qualities. The Nottingham was racked this weekend to secondary for the rest at about 68 degrees in the house. The South German Lager primary will be racked in the next day or so for its rest.