HotbreakHotel

Recipes 

I am bottling a lager I've had in the fridge for 6 months. I forgot about the outgassing thing. So i just bottled the beer, but i just dipped the caps and left them sitting in position and didn't seal them with the capper yet. It sounds a little like popcorn popping!

I'd prefer to wait until the outgassing is complete before sealing so I don't get more carbonation than I wanted.

My question is how long do you suppose this will go on?

gxm

Recipes 

If it has been lagering for 6 months, just go ahead and cap them.

HotbreakHotel

Recipes 

Why do you say that (I'm just trying to learn)? How does the 6 months apply?

Well, I actually already waited until the morning. I just capped them. Right after bottling I drank the leftover and it was already slightly carbonated.

The reason I'm thinking I needed to let them outgas first is that I measured out my priming sugar for 65 degree carbonation temp, and if I capped with them already full of CO2 at 65 degrees they would overcarbonate. I was aiming for 2.2 vols for this beer. Is my logic incorrect?

Next time I'll remember to let the lager sit at room temperature for a day or two before bottling.

gxm

Recipes 

Good question. I assumed since you're bottling that this has been in a fermenter, and since a fermenter doesn't hold pressure, the beer wouldn't be carbonated that long after fermentation.
However, thinking about it more, and referencing the carbonation table here - Carbonation Table - Kegerators.com, it seems like since the beer at 1psi at 40F could be at ~1.5 volumes, the same beer at 0psi (relative to atmospheric pressure) could still have a fair amount of carbonation left in it from fermentation.

Hmmm...how does one actually measure entrained CO2?

dfohio

Recipes 

I usually just let the beer return to room temperature before bottling. It will out gas for a day or so, and then I bottle. You don't necessarily have to bring it back to room temp, but you would have to compensate by adding less priming sugar since more co2 is in solution. I just use the formula in beersmith.