So I brewed an Oktoberfest today and in the process of my brew day, knew that I also needed to transfer a lager that’s been in the freezer for a about 10 weeks.
So I transferred it into a keg and took a gravity reading a couple hours after putting it in the keg. I never took a gravity reading when going from primary to lager…which is a horrible oversight.
What did I find for a FG? 1.026. What a waste of a brew day and lagering time. I went from having a great day brewing up an Oktoberfest to being irritated because of a trashed lager.
This is more of a venting outlet for me. If you have an idea on how the heck I can save this, let me know. If not, feel free to mock me for not taking a stupid gravity reading before the lager stage.
I’m going to go drink something that turned out good. Maybe that will make me feel better…
What style of lager?
You could warm it back up, pitch some bugs (like the dregs of a bottle or two of Orval), and let it sit for a few months.
You might end up with a real nice sour (obviously not what you were going for, but it’s better than pouring it out).
Did the beer have some CO2 in it that caused the hydrometer to float more?
Double check the hydrometer in DI water. Just in case the paper has shifted.
You are using a hydrometer and not a refractometer?
This was loosely based around a premium American lager. WLP830 with a stir plate starter. I was hoping for a FG of 1.010-1.015. I don’t have the OG in front of me, but I’d say it was around 1.052.
The FG was read with a hydrometer and there was some CO2 in the sample, but I noted that and did the best I could with getting an accurate reading. Actually, before I took the reading, I took a sip of the beer and it tasted a little sweet, so I’m pretty confident in the reading.
If I go for the sour idea, how warm should I go with the beer? I’ve now got my Oktoberfest in the lagering chamber. It will be running at 50 or so for a while, then down at 40 for a few months. My basement is about 62 right now. I’ve never tried this, so it’s sounds pretty interesting. Just need a little guidance on what the heck the best approach is.
I brewed our hosts Tallgrass wheat. Talk about trashing a beer, without going into my stupidity, I wound up with a beer in the 2.6 ABV area. Yeah, the body is light, but it is real drinkable.
Despite being in the low 50’s today I sat out side cooking on the grill and and lowered the level in the keg. All is good!
Pouring the sample from glass to glass a couple of time will knock any CO2 out of solution.
