Lagering in the bottle

[cacmp]

Hello.

I have a question.

Lets say I brew a Kolsch which is fermented cool with ale yeast and then lagered.

This beer is usually lagered in bulk, dropping the temperature of the whole fermenter once the beer is fully attenuated and have had an diacetyl rest. And packaging after that.

Would it be ok to package that beer before lagering, bottle condition at fermenting temperatures, and then lager the beer directly inside the bottle?

Would the result be the same?

 

[Stormcrow]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say "yes". I think the worst that could happen is that your bottles have a little more sediment in the bottom than they would have if you had bulk lagered.

 

[ece02006]

Yes you can do this. You will get a bit of extra sediment but that is mostly associated with bottle carbonation which you would get anyway. If you are impatient like me, you will appreciate getting to see how the beer evolves as it lagers. My first lager with WLP838 took about 4 weeks of lagering before it stopped taking like the devil's farts and turned out lovely.

 

[Kickass]

The lazy lager brewer that I am says, A-ok! I’d even give it to my friends, calling it a lager without hesitation

 

[hottpeper13]

I always lager in the package. In the beginning it was bottles ,now kegs. The waiting is the problem because if it's packaged it can be consumed! LOL. If you can cold crash the primary for a few days(especially with 2565 yeast) there will be less crap on the bottom.

 

[cacmp]

Thank you, guys, for your responses. I love this place

 

[Stormcrow]

I should have began my first response with, "I hope you can do that." I went ahead and bottled my first lager last week and hadn't even the lowered the temp from diacetyl rest. It had been sitting at 65f for a week.

 

[madscientist451]

Yes, but if you can cold crash it before bottling that would be a good thing.

 

[Beernik]

What you’re likely to find, specifically with Kolsch yeast, if you get impatient and open one before is finishes lagering, it will taste dusty because not all the yeast has settled yet.