Carbonation and Maturing on Bottle

[gache435]

Hello,

I am brewing a new zealand pilsner and in the recipe tells me to bottle the beer after the first fermentation (10 days at 18 C), priming it for 7-10 days and then maturing it for 10 days more at a range of 0-5 C.

Up to this, Can beer be matured inside the bottles after carbonating them?

Thanks, I am a beginner at homebrewing and have many questions.

 

[odie]

do not bottle until fermentation is fully complete. FULLY COMPLETE.

then bottle with calculated amount of priming sugar.

 

[hotbeer]

Fermentation probably completed by day four. So if you want to do what the recipe says then just be certain that it did in fact hit it's final gravity by taking a hydrometer or refractometer reading three days apart and get the same result.

Though if you wait till the beer clears up then it probably reached it's FG long before that so not as necessary to take a sample for FG... other than you probably want to be able to figure the ABV.

Sometimes beer clears up by day 10. Other times it might take 3 to 6 weeks. IMO, It'll mature whether it's in the bottle/keg or the FV.

I don't like to bottle until the beer is clear, that way I have less sediment on the bottom of them.

 

[bleme]

I only brew ales but from what I understand, lager yeasts usually take a bit longer. If you were kegging, you might be able to rush things but it just isn't worth the risk in a bottle. If it was me, I would ferment for 4 weeks, prime and bottle, let it age for 3 weeks at 70F, then move to the fridge. For testing purposes, I'd try 1 bottle after a week in the fridge, another at 2 weeks, then freely after 3 weeks.