Evan!

Recipes 

On 12/26, I brewed a Smoked Winter Lager. All went well, it's been in secondary for a few weeks now and I'd like some advice on short bulk lagering periods. My lagerator is a chest freezer (one-carboy capacity) with a regulator, and I'm lagering at about 40ºf. I'd like to brew another lager, though, so what do you guys think the min bulk aging time is before I can go ahead and bottle it? My basement was a brisk 52º this morning, and my digital thermo says that it hasn't gotten above 58f in at least a week. I'm thinking I'd bottle it sometime soon and "bottle-lager" them in my cold basement. So where's the cutoff? I've always bulk-lagered for at least a month in the past, but this stuff tastes great right now and I'm thinking it might be fine to bottle it in a week to free up the lagerator. Alternately, I could put the bottles in my shed, which is even colder---but at what temp would a bottle freeze? It was 17º when I woke up today.

Thoughts?

__________________
MOSS HOLLOW BREWING CO.
Aristocratic Ales, Lascivious Lagers

.planned:
•Scottish 80/- •Sweet Stout •Roggenbier
.primary | bright:
98: Moss Hollow Soured '09 72: Oude Kriek 99: B-Weisse 102: Brett'd BDSA 104: Feat of Strength Helles Bock 105: Merkin Brown
.on tap | kegged:
XX: Moss Hollow Springs Sparkling Water 95: Gott Mit Uns German Pils 91b: Brown Willie's Oaked Abbey Ale 103: Merkin Stout
98: Yorkshire Special 100: Maple Porter 89: Cidre Saison 101: Steffiweizen '09 (#3)

david_42

Recipes 

I'd say bottle and keep it in the basement. 17F is too low. The beer would freeze and crack the bottles.

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TexLaw

Recipes 

I don't think there is any required amount of time for bulk lagering. You can go ahead and bottle, if you like. The trick is that true "lagering" needs to occur in the mid-30s, rather at the cellar temperatures.


TL

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Beer is good for anything from hot dogs to heartache.

Drinking Frog Brewery, est. 1993

uglygoat

Recipes 

i think beer starts to freeze up at 28F...

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Ender

Recipes 

i asked this same question before christmas. I lagered it bulk for awhile and then bottled it and stuck them in a fridge. best lager i've made

cd2448

Recipes 

17F is definitely too cold for beer.

one thing i'm not clear on here, if you go with bottle lagering, is what to do about carbonation - wouldn't you need to have the bottles at 65F-70F or whatever to get carbonation before you chill for the lagering phase?

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new to the kegging lark.

Evan!

Recipes 

Lager yeast ferments at lower temps, but yeah, I'd need to hold it in the upper 50's for maybe a couple weeks.

__________________
MOSS HOLLOW BREWING CO.
Aristocratic Ales, Lascivious Lagers

.planned:
•Scottish 80/- •Sweet Stout •Roggenbier
.primary | bright:
98: Moss Hollow Soured '09 72: Oude Kriek 99: B-Weisse 102: Brett'd BDSA 104: Feat of Strength Helles Bock 105: Merkin Brown
.on tap | kegged:
XX: Moss Hollow Springs Sparkling Water 95: Gott Mit Uns German Pils 91b: Brown Willie's Oaked Abbey Ale 103: Merkin Stout
98: Yorkshire Special 100: Maple Porter 89: Cidre Saison 101: Steffiweizen '09 (#3)

bwilly954

Recipes 

Than after couple weeks you freeze bottles?, wouldn't they crack or explode,

mpcondo

Recipes 

the bottles would crack, so you never freeze the bottles. whats meant here is that when we lager it needs to be done in the mid 30's. then when we bottle we allow the beer to carbonate at a slightly higher temperature, around 50 degrees, and after about 2 to 3 weeks in the bottle its ready to drink.

bwilly954

Recipes 

Ok I get it but what if you do lagering in the bottle?..
Would you bottle after fermenting than allow to carbonate at room
Temp than drop bottles it fridge at mid 30s to lager?