Lager racking question

[ISLAGI]

I laid down a Oktoberfest/Marzen a couple of weeks ago, and I am working on planning out the rest of my fermentation schedule.

It will be in Primary for 20 days at 50F, then I am planning to let it float up to 65F for a 3 day D-rest. After the rest, I will be racking it into secondary to lager for 3 - 4 months at 35F.

When I go to rack do I need to be concerned with aeration, either avoiding or making sure it gets vigorously aerated? I can see either procedure as being desirable.

Thanks in advance....

 

[Yooper]

When you rack, you want to be very careful to not let it splash or aerate. Oxidation will ruin the taste of the beer.

 

[Sedge]

Are you bottling or kegging? Laying down a nice layer of CO2 to rack onto is a must if you've got the equipment. You should still be careful to avoid splashing when racking, but if it does splash a little you won't have to worry much because it will be splashing in an oxygen free environment.

These practices are not isolated to racking lagers also. Keep O2 out once the beer is fermented.