Lagering

[luckyeddie]

A freezer on it's maximum setting will get much colder than you think . . .try -10 or -12C . . . and that is enough to freeze most alcoholic beverages.

Ideally you need to lager at -1 to 2C in as big a bulk as you can . . .whatever you do don't lager (which clears the beer) then add sugar and shake (as that stirs up everything that has settled)

I'm confused, Aleman. Shearclass is lagering in 2 litre PETs but he is then (I assume) going to want to prime them. Are you suggesting that he should just leave well alone and not prime or can he unscrew the tops, add a bit of sugar (say in solution with a pipette) and then carefully screw the tops back on and leave them?

I'm still at the primary fermentation stage with my lager (it's in a 25 litre FV). The fridge is still at 10C and the lager is still bubbling away at a rate of a gloop every 3 or 4 seconds (10 days in). When fermentation slows I'm going to rack and perform a diacetyl rest for 48 hours, then back into the fridge for 6 weeks at 0C-2C. After that, I shall rack again, batch prime and bottle. I'm presuming at this stage that I shouldn't have the same clarity issues because I will have shifted the beer off the trub.

One other thing that troubles me here. If the beer has been lagered, will sufficient yeast remain for bottle carbonation, or should I pitch a tiny bit of yeast when I batch prime?

 

[shearclass]

.whatever you do don't lager (which clears the beer) then add sugar and shake (as that stirs up everything that has settled)

That'll work. Screw the top back on, give them a good shake up to dissolve the sugar, in the airing cupboard for 2 or 3 days then back in the fridge/under the wet towels in the garage

Boy am i confused!

Forget what i said about the litre PETs Luckyeddie, i was just trying to think about someway to fit my lager, (which has now been at 14C for about 6 weeeks and has fermented to 1.005, approx 5.8%!) into the spare freezer. However:

a) Aleman has sugegsted the freezer will be too cold
b) ideally i want to bottle in 500ml glass bottles anyway.

Aleman, I don't have a cornie, so am going to have to bottle my brew to get good carbonation. I know you do not like fizzy beer/lager, but i quite do. How do i carbonate without adding suagr?

I was going to ask if i could carbonate then lager, but your comment about lagering in bulk suggests that this is not a good idea. Also, if i carbonated then lagered, i'd be worried about losing carbonation anyway.

One other thing that troubles me here. If the beer has been lagered, will sufficient yeast remain for bottle carbonation, or should I pitch a tiny bit of yeast when I batch prime?

I share your concerns about this! Hopefully Aleman or a lager expert can help us out!

 

[steve963]

Cant you just primary ferment at 12degrees, then bottle with some carbonating sugar, leave for 2 days in warm to carbonate, then larger in the fridge for 12 weeks :wha:

 

[shearclass]

:pray:

Dear gods of this forum, please provide us with some answers on lagering and carbonating after lagering

amen

:pray:

 

[luckyeddie]

:pray:

Dear gods of this forum, please provide us with some answers on lagering and carbonating after lagering

amen

:pray:

It might be an idea for you to PM Aleman on this one. I'm still in primary fermentation and my lager is in a FV. When I rack for lagering I will transfer it to another FV (or perhaps 5 litre PET containers) and hammer the temperature down to around freezing for a month. When it comes to bottling / carbonation I shall rack AGAIN, add sugar and maybe even a little more yeast.

It seems an awful lot of trouble for a beer I'm never going to taste.

 

[luckyeddie]

Cant you just primary ferment at 12degrees, then bottle with some carbonating sugar, leave for 2 days in warm to carbonate, then larger in the fridge for 12 weeks :wha:

I'm sure that you could, but then won't the sulphur compounds (the elimination of which is the whole point of lagering, I believe, although I could be wrong) be trapped inside the bottle?