Bottle conditioning a lager

[TrustyOlJohnson]

I bottled an Oktoberfest with priming sugar and am lagering at 38 deg for 6 weeks.. Could I reasonable expect it to be fully carbonated by then??

 

[botigol]

No, the temp is too low for any meaningful yeast activity. For this scenario, you should let the bottles carbonate first and then lager.

Normally, I lager and then bottle.

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

No, the temp is too low for any meaningful yeast activity. For this scenario, you should let the bottles carbonate first and then lager.



Normally, I lager and then bottle.

Thats what Im wondering, and have done in the past.. I know the yeast is doing some work at those temps, albeit VERY slowly

 

[castillo556]

Lager then bottle and condition and then stick em back in the fridge to continue lagering!

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

No, the temp is too low for any meaningful yeast activity. For this scenario, you should let the bottles carbonate first and then lager.



Normally, I lager and then bottle.

Thats what Im wondering, and have done in the past.. I know the yeast is doing some work at those temps, albeit VERY slowly

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Im gonna take a 6 er and jus let it lager, see how long it takes

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

I guess I was wondering if anyone had experience doing this, and could I expect it to condition at all?? Does it jus take a long time, or will it not happen at 38 deg?

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Probably depends on the yeast strain, but the second poster mentions "meaningful yeast activity", which would seem to be a plus.............

 

[Yooper]

It's probably too cold for the yeast to carbonate the beer under about 46 degrees. Even at 46 degrees, it would be slllooooooowwww, but it might happen. In the 30s, no way would it happen.

The beer should be held at warm temperatures for 2-3 weeks or so, then lagered once carbonation has occurred.

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Yooper, I'm pretty sure this is whats gonna need to be done.. My Octoberfest and Helles are both lagering this way now, then I'll warm em to complete carbonation.. At least I also have both beers on tap as well!!

 

[giftedeye2]

Lager then bottle and condition and then stick em back in the fridge to continue lagering!

What would this look like in a schedule?

 

[Joshua Hughes]

I asked this a month ago and @Yooper (who posted above) said to condition as usual (I do 2 weeks at 70) then put in the fridge to “lager” a few weeks or more. i open a dunkel done this way saturday

 

[camonick]

What would this look like in a schedule?

The member you quoted hasn’t been active for almost 3 years. I would follow yoopers advice above... she knows what she’s talking about.

 

[giftedeye2]

I asked this a month ago and @Yooper (who posted above) said to condition as usual (I do 2 weeks at 70) then put in the fridge to “lager” a few weeks or more. i open a dunkel done this way saturday

Question for both of you then. If I am going to lager in a keg - post secondary- should I carbonate when I put it in the keg or should I carbonate when I am more so ready to hook the beer up to serve?