2 ?'s. plastic bottles and lager ferm. temps

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fatinma

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I feel stupid for asking this, but here goes.

1. I have reached FG in my Bock type of Lager. Just a few days shy of a month in Primary at 50-55 degrees and the last 4 days at room temperature to finish it off. I don't have the setup to lager it in a secondary carboy, so I will bottle them, let them sit at room temp for 3-4 weeks and then refrigerate them for a month or so. My concern is this. I don't have enough bottles right now to bottle tonight. What is the best thing I can do with the beer still in the primary bucket? Leave it room temperature where it is until I obtain (drink!) about 12 more bottles, or should I put it back to 50-55 degrees where I had it originally fermenting?

2. I have some plastic 1 liter bottles from an old Mr. Beer kit that I was thinking of using for the beer that wont fit in the bottles I have. I'd rather not use plastic, but in a pinch, is it ok?

I guess I am asking what my best course of action should be. I have tasted every sample I have taken from the primary when checking gravity, and let me say, even at room temp, green, and uncarbed, this last sample I took is DELICIOUS already and I would hate to do anything at this point to screw it up.
Thank you in advance for any advice or sugestions you can give.


recap:
extract brew called "yummy bock"
1.060 SG
1.015 FG
fermented at 50-55 for 3 weeks
fermented at 68 for 4 days.
 
If they're Mr Beer bottles then they're rated for pressure, so that's fine.

Can't really comment on the rest since I dunno. I'd just go ahead and bottle with what you got already, but I don't imagine 2-3 more days at 70 will hurt it.
 
When I started I only used two liter plastic sprite bottle (for some reason I preferred the green color?), and they worked and long as I kept them in the dark and tightened the lids REALLY WELL. The plastic bottles will work, but I would limit the number of bottles and also make those the first bottles opened when tasting your brew to see if it is drinkable. If you have the space and the finances look into kegs, so much less hassle but I can see where some enjoy the ritualistic filling of the bottles.:mug:
 
thanks both of you for replying.
Any other thoughts on what to do with a lager if it has been removed from the fermenting temps of 50 degrees, and has finished fermenting? is it ok to leave at room temperature for an indefinite amount of time, or should it be put back at colder temps until ready to do something with?
 
It's a lager and should be kept cooler if at all possible for the aging, or bottle conditioning. If you have the space to keep it cooler, then it would be better for the style, however you could leave it at room temperature and enter a kind of hybrid steam beer area.

Best way to get an idea of what your beer is going to be like is to think about those lonely little six-packs at the liquor store that don't move off the shelf very fast and wind up sitting for a while. Sometimes you get bottles that are still quite tasty, and sometimes you can smell the skunky beer before you open the bottle, but that may have as much to do with exposure to light as it does temperature.
 
After primary fermentation (and diacetyl rest), a lager should be racked off the primary yeast and kept cold for lagering as soon as possible. This is because decaying yeast cells can contribute to off-flavors. In your case, I would at least keep it as cold as you can to slow the death/decay of yeast, but it's also good to get it off the primary yeast as soon as possible.
 

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