BBP Numbers question…

sample it periodically and taste. When it is at desired flavor level, bottle/keg it. My oak cubes sat for 2 weeks in the beer. Had I sampled every 2-3 days, I may have had a beer more palatable to my taste.

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So you were able to get it down to 1.020! Well done. As @mikem said sample it every so often and rack when you get the flavor you want. It will mellow out so I would lean a little stronger - but not by much at all. Say, an extra day or two after you think it hits the spot.

Update: I bottled my porter on Dec 10th so the cubes had about 3.5 days of infusion time with the beer. Bottled beer has been at 68-70 degrees.
Nine days later, today I had to taste one. Very nicely carbonated… hoping it doesn’t carbonate too much more from here but there’s a little more room if it does. I suppose I could move it downstairs where the floor might be 62 degrees and slow down any more carbonation, maybe?
The good news: I’m really happy with it! Very nice, subtle oak and bourbon flavors coming through along with all the goodness of the porter itself. Perfect for what I felt I’d prefer. I can definitely see how the charred oak could get too strong. Glad I saw mike’s feedback!
I look forward to a few weeks from now and I know it will be even better.

Thanks again to all who guided me through a new challenge in brewing! Cheers

Jeff

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Glad it came out tasting good for you. If you put too much sugar in your bottles you can’t practically correct it. You would have to cool it way down to 30s to really really slow it down but then you would have a sweeter beer due to the unfermented sugars.

I know this works because I have used fruit purees in a sour beer which had to be sweetened with lactose. My son in law is allergic to lactose so I left out the lactose and added puree with the beer at 34 F and kept it there and the beer tasted like it had lactose in it as it should.

So leave it where it is at end of 3 weeks… it is what it is. Just correct for possible over carbonation with how you poor it.

pour

We picked up what you was laying down… :sunglasses: ^^^^^^^^
Sneezles61

So just a question regarding yeast… Off topic of my porter.

Let’s say we brew a typical ale and we are at the point where fermentation is complete. The target FG has been reached and its been in the primary fermenter for say 3 weeks.

Now for the sake education, we pitch another round of yeast.
What happens to this new yeast?
Are there no fermentables so it dies?
Does it settle out to the bottom and hibernate?
If you bottled in a few days would you have bottle bombs?

Thanks!

PS. Any recommendations on something like an online brewing education? A more formal education sort of? Something that includes the science I obviously don’t quite understand fully?I just retired this year and need to keep the brain working😊

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You are in a very great forum with pro brewers and seasoned home brewers…
There are books, which are also another great source… You ask away right here and you’ll get answers…
On to your question(s)… If the fermentation is done, and given some time, the fresh yeast will settle out… not 100%, along with the original yeast… a side note… cold crashing also helps to clear out more, but without filtering to an extreme fine level, you’ll have yeast in suspension…
Bottle bombs… too much sugar in the brew is what WILL cause the bomb, not too much yeast.
Did you know, the yeast that we use is found in most vitamin supplements?
Sneezles61

As @sneezles61 points out- it’s the amount of sugar that is added at bottling that will lead to over carbonation or bottle bombs, not the yeast. Of course there are some caveats. If you would add yeast with a significant higher attenuation or a wild yeast (Brett) then you could run into issues. But beers that use wild yeast should reach terminal gravity before bottling.

You can see how simple this isn’t. But it’s not difficult to figure the different stages of brewing. Perhaps you’d get the “yeast” book?
Sneezles61

sneezles61, mikem, loopie_beer,
A very slow reply here but wanted to say the Bourbon Barrel Porter is living up to all the high praises. I still have a dozen or so left and they are tasting really good. Friends who try it have all been impressed and enjoyed it. Even one who is not a porter guy at all said it surprised him… so we may have converted him to increasing his depth of beer appreciation :wink:
Thanks again for the suggestions and mentoring!

Jeff

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Now stash a few away… brew another using yer brew notes, and then…. When the new one is at its prime, pull out the original to compare… this can be a personal challenge!
Sneezles61

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Great! Keep brewing, keep refining those skills!

Will do Sneezles61 and loopie_beer!
Right now I’m at day 4 of fermenting the Northern Brewer; Atlantico lager. I made a 2" thick rigid foam fermentation box with a lid that houses my 6 gal fermentation bucket. An Inkbird controller and a small gardening heater is keeping the fermenting temp inside the box at 51 degrees +/- 1 degree.
I have the temp probe taped to the side of the bucket, then covered with a pad of insulation.
Holds the temperature really well. Reading lots about the whole lager brewing process!

Jeff

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With all those parameters and caveats sounds like you’re on your way to a great lager! What yeast did you go with?

I used the dry yeast NB recommended; Fermentis Saflager W-34/70, optimum temperature is 48-59 degrees.
In the brewing instructions say this beer should ferment at 49-53 degrees. Maybe a typo, maybe either is close enough?

Is the diacetyl rest phase a must do operation? I read that it is a typical stage of brewing a lager, but the instructions don’t mention it. Maybe it’s a given one should know this if your brewing a lager. Regardless I plan on moving the beer once fermentation is complete, to my basement which is at 65 degrees typically and let it rest there for 4-5 days. Then back out to the garage to lager at just above freezing temp (at the mercy of Minnesota temperatures)… until I buy a dedicated refrigerator.:blush:

Most, if not all, yeast manufacturers give you ‘optimum’ fermentation temps. This might be best for yeast to reach ideal attenuation but not might be best for fermentation characteristics. I typically hold my lagers at 50°. I’ll hold them there for a week before I start ramping up temps 2° per day. I’ll do that for a week and before you know it you’re at your Diacetyl rest. I’ll let it sit at 64-65° for 3 or 4 days.
Is a d rest mandatory? It’s really based on if diacetyl is present. You can do a quick diacetyl test by taking a small sample and putting it for a short period in a microwave. Cool it back down and sample. But, I feel it’s very easy and cheap insurance to simply let it rise to 65° and hold it there.

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I would follow Loopies instructions… him, along with a few others on here know their Lager fermenting… I would only add, after you’ve completed yer D-rest, another chill stage to help settle out more sediment… then onto priming and bottling… once carbonation has reached, this then is where the brew all goes into cool/cold storage until it’s time to drink it… That is the
Lagering phase in my mind… And I stand to be corrected… (:
Sneezles61

Yes I agree with @sneezles61. If you’re going to bottle, easiest way is to go ahead and bottle it and once carbonated lager it away for at least 4 weeks at 33°-34°. A little more complicated is to cold crash/fine it for a couple weeks, bottle, then lager (which is what I would do if bottling). If kegging, keg it and cold crash that bad boy.

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Sounds good! I plan to cold crash before bottling. What should carbonating temperature be? Fermentation temp? 50 degrees?