bottling a lager

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Warpig75

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I just primed and bottled a lager and since it's my first one im not sure what to do.

do let it sit for a couple days at 65 degrees so it can carbonate and then stick it in the fridge?

or do i stick it in the fridge and start lagering immediately?
 
At refrigerator temp your beer will carbonate extremely slowly if at all (probably not at all). If you used corn sugar to prime your bottles the higher temps will not change the flavor of your beer because corn sugar ferments so clean. I usually put mine in a closet at about 72-75 degrees and it takes about 2-3 weeks.

Wait at least a week, then you can throw one in the fridge overnight to see how well it is carbonated. Mine seem to take about 3 weeks but every one is a little different.
 
Well, a lager should age for a few weeks at cold temps so it shouldn't matter if it is a bit slow. Unless you lagered it in the fermenter before bottling.

I made an Oktoberfest that turned out fantastic. After two weeks of cool fermentation (about 53ish as I recall), we bottled the beer. It sat at room temp overnight and was placed in a fridge at 36-40 degrees for 6 weeks. It carbed up just fine. I used corn sugar.
 
Superdave said:
Well, a lager should age for a few weeks at cold temps so it shouldn't matter if it is a bit slow. Unless you lagered it in the fermenter before bottling.

I made an Oktoberfest that turned out fantastic. After two weeks of cool fermentation (about 53ish as I recall), we bottled the beer. It sat at room temp overnight and was placed in a fridge at 36-40 degrees for 6 weeks. It carbed up just fine. I used corn sugar.
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i basically did the same thing as you - 3 weeks of cool fermentation (between 50-55 degrees) and then bottled yesterday. it's been 24 hours since i bottled, you think i could just stick it in the fridge for a few weeks and it should be fine huh?

i was under the impression that a lager had to be stored cold after bottling/kegging - but according to john palmer's website you dont need to cold-store a lager after it's been bottled/kegged. i know john palmer is a reknown expert but i guess im still confused.
 
Most of us "lager" the beer before bottling. That is, primary fermentation at 50 degrees for about 10 days, then a diacetyl rest if needed. Then, racked to secondary and lagered in the 30s for 6-12 weeks. Then the beer is bottled, and it can carb up at room temperature, since the flavor profile is already set.

I think that's where the confusion here is- John Palmer's instructions are to lager before bottling. If you want to lager after bottling, I'd let them carb up at room temperature first (or else, I'm not sure how they'll carbonate) for 3 weeks or so, then lager (cold store) the beer for 8 weeks or so.
 
YooperBrew said:
Most of us "lager" the beer before bottling. That is, primary fermentation at 50 degrees for about 10 days, then a diacetyl rest if needed. Then, racked to secondary and lagered in the 30s for 6-12 weeks. Then the beer is bottled, and it can carb up at room temperature, since the flavor profile is already set.

I think that's where the confusion here is- John Palmer's instructions are to lager before bottling. If you want to lager after bottling, I'd let them carb up at room temperature first (or else, I'm not sure how they'll carbonate) for 3 weeks or so, then lager (cold store) the beer for 8 weeks or so.
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ooooohhhh... i see. i thought lagering happened after it was kegged/bottled. no wonder i was confused! :)

i guess ill let them finish carbing and then put them in the fridge. they're being stored at the same temp (50 degrees) so that should keep them happy
 
I did what I did on the advice of the brewmaster at a local microbrewery.

I can promise that after 6-7 weeks at 36-40, the beer was carbed up, no problem.

It can be cold conditioned after kegging/bottling, doesn't actually matter much either way.

Carbing certainly takes longer at lower temps, but the proper lager time is sufficient to get the job done. Also, once the lagering is done, if for some reason you don't feel the beer is fully carbed, you can certainly let it warm up for a few days.
 

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