Lagering for 2 months....add yeast?

I have heard different things, some say add some nuetral yeast to the priming sugar when bottling and others say that there is enough yeast in suspension to carb. the beer.

I have a Lager that has been lagering for 2 months now at 36 deg. F. I am hoping to not add yeast but would like to hear your thoughts.

Thanks
Steve

Interested too.... Just started mine last week, and will probably bottle right after Christmas.

im in the same boat. Mines lagering at 34 +/- 1 deg. i was gonna use nottingham to bottle and then i got kegs. seemed an easier route.

Won't adding a different yeast change the character slightly? Wouldn't you use more lager yeast? I'm thinking that we took a lot of precautions to keep everything cool to stop any ale flavors from developing....

The flavors produced might just be minimal though, eh?

DubbelDach said:

Won't adding a different yeast change the character slightly? Wouldn't you use more lager yeast? I'm thinking that we took a lot of precautions to keep everything cool to stop any ale flavors from developing....

The flavors produced might just be minimal though, eh?

Click to expand...

No, you won't have any flavor issues. The flavor profile of the beer is set, and the small amount of fermentation going on in the bottle to carbonate won't cause any esters or noticeable flavors.

That said, I have sometimes re-yeasted and sometimes not, and never had a problem with it carbing without adding yeast at bottling. I haven't noticed a difference.

2 options... play it safe and add a dry lager yeast (1/4 to 1/2 pack per 5 gallons)... or suck up a little sediment from the secondary into the bottling bucket. The longest I've lagered without adding yeast at bottling is 6 weeks (8 weeks from brewday). It carbed fine and in the normal timeframe, but this beer (Helles) has the least amount of sediment on the bottom of the bottle of any beer I've brewed (it's also clear as day). It has practically no sediment, so that tells me I caught the beer just in time before there was too little yeast for carbing.

DubbelDach said:

Won't adding a different yeast change the character slightly? Wouldn't you use more lager yeast? I'm thinking that we took a lot of precautions to keep everything cool to stop any ale flavors from developing....

Click to expand...

the nottingham is just what i have on hand...either way i doubt im gonna get much from it. Plus it has a pretty clean flavor profile anyway

My munich dunkel will have 10 weeks or so lagering so i doubt im gonna have anything to carb with. Even now i dont really have any sediment

I tried adding 4oz priming sugar to my first lager and it blew out the flavor making it too sweet. I won't make that mistake again. The next time I force carbonated in a keg and that worked beautifully.

so if I'm doing a bier de chute, which is a hybrid ale/lager (1 week or so in primary-actually took 3) and then 3-4 weeks at 32-34 degrees, I shouldn't need to add yeast? or maybe I'll just suck a little up off the yeast cake? I am fermenting in a conical and have already dumped once....I won't again if i need the yeast.

I also assume you bottle condition back at room temperature to carbonate? (if your not kegging)

thanks in advance for any help.