Bottling Lager: need more yeast?

Hi all,

In August I brewed Annapolis' American Light Lager kit. It has been lagering for 2 months now at 38 degrees. My concern is that all of the yeast has settled out and am wondering if I will need to buy some more of the same yeast that was used to add during bottling time.

On a side note: I got mixed feelings from folks on here whether its good or bad to lager in the primary. I don't have a secondary and didn't have the money for one at the time so it has been lagering in the primary for these past 2 months if that makes any difference.

Thanks!

I'm not a fan of lagering in the primary- a couple of months on a yeast cake for a lager is not ideal in my opinion. But you didn't ask about that- so I'll shut up!

You don't have to pitch the same (expensive) lager yeast. You can just add about 1/4 package of dry yeast, like Nottingham or S05. The minute about of fermentation that will take place in the bottle to carbonate won't affect the flavor profile at all.

I'd dissolve the priming sugar into some boiling water, and then cool it. Add it to your bottling bucket, and stir in the small amount of yeast. It'll get a little bubbly, and then just rack your beer into it and bottle as usual.

That would work out pretty well for me. I have a couple packets of us-05 that I've had since this summer. Should I be very concerned about some of the yeast not getting into every bottle? Or will there be a pretty good dispersion from just stirring the yeast in?

Also, I should be able to bottle condition at room temp if I go this route right?