Bottling Lager ?

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Holmesbrewer

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Dumb question, but......
Just bottled my first lager, since lager yeast is cold fermenting, do I condition them in the fridge instread of in the 70 degree cellar?
A friend bottled his lager a month ago and has had it out in the warmer area, just like his ales and it has still not carbonated.
 
you carbonate just like noraml at room temperature for 14 days, then go to the fridge and lager at 33f. for up to a month. if you throw them in the fridge and start lagering, you will not have any carbonation, or very little.
 
In general, lager yeasts produce esters and other flavor-active compounds when fermenting "warm". However, the primary concern there is how the yeast metabolize maltose. When lager yeasts metabolize the small amount of dextrose used for carbonating at warmer temperatures (dextrose is "easier" to metabolize than maltose), they generally produce esters (et al.) below taste threshold.

Therefore, lagers can undergo carbonation fermentation at room temperature when using dextrose. If you use a malt-based sugar (e.g., DME, LME, saved wort), it's best to carbonate them at the same temperature as primary fermentation because they may produce enough flavor-active compounds to be above taste threshold.
 
Did you already lager in a secondary vessel or are you lagering in the bottle right after primary? If you already lagered it in a secondary for an extended period of time, I think you'd just bottle carb as usual (at 70 for 3-4 weeks) then cold condition as appropriate. I may be wrong though...
 
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