lagering a 2.5 gallon Mr. Beer batch - 2 liter bottles?

[jangelj]

I am making an experimental 2.5 gal batch of a marzen style lager. It will ferment in a Mr. Beer at 50 deg or so until almost done, then diacetyl rest.

My question is about lagering at 35 degrees. I am somewhat limited on space. In my kegerator I have room for 4 2 liter bottles. Can I lager and carb in 2 liter bottles at the same time? Not sure if it will carb at 35 deg, but how bout if I add priming sugar to the bottles, lager at 35 for 8-10 weeks, then store at room temp to carb up. Will that work?

Just out of curiousity, can you lager in the Mr. Beer keg? I figure that since the lid doesn't seal (to let out CO2 during fermentation) that it would not be a very good vessel to lager in since air can get in. I'd rather not lager in the Mr. Beer, but was just curious.

 

[ArcaneXor]

If you can, I'd lager in a keg. Bottles would be the next-best bet. I'd avoid lagering in the Mr. Beer itself, due to the air ingress. Plus, it's not a good idea to keep the beer on the yeast for that long (4 weeks or so is fine, but much longer than and you may start running into problems).

The bottles won't carb up at the cold temperature. Letting them warm up to carbonate after the lagering period will not only be painfully slow, but it'll also negate many of the effects of lagering. So the best approach is to carbonate first, then lager.

 

[jangelj]

If you can, I'd lager in a keg. Bottles would be the next-best bet. I'd avoid lagering in the Mr. Beer itself, due to the air ingress. Plus, it's not a good idea to keep the beer on the yeast for that long (4 weeks or so is fine, but much longer than and you may start running into problems).

The bottles won't carb up at the cold temperature. Letting them warm up to carbonate after the lagering period will not only be painfully slow, but it'll also negate many of the effects of lagering. So the best approach is to carbonate first, then lager.

Why would carbonating after lagering be painfully slow? Isnt' the usual procedure for a lager to ferment in the 50's, rack and lager in the 30's then bottle and carbonate in the 60's? All I'd be doing is combining the bottling and lagering, then warming into the 60's to carb. I'm not trying to be argumentative, just trying to understand.

I really appreciate any input.

 

[ArcaneXor]

After the long cold storage period, the yeast will be very sluggish unless you dose the beer with fresh yeast.

 

[jangelj]

so do you all redose a lager when you bottle it? I thought the yeast would rouse when warmed. Now that I think about it, after a long lagering period, I bet a LOT of the yeast settles to the bottom, so I suppose reyeasting (is that a word?) is a good idea.

If I were to start a poll asking who reyeasts after lagering when bottling, what percentage would say "yes"?