Lagering in primary?

I have a cream ale that's been in the primary for 3 weeks. Gravity is stable and it's tasting nice. I don't have time to keg for a week or so. I want to drop the temp and lager it while it waits for me. Any issues lagering in the primary?

 

Yes, absolutely. Lagers are where a secondary is required. You will have some bad off flavors having it sit in the yeast cake that long.

 

Basically a week long cold crash in your fermenter? I don't see how that could lead to any problems.

 

you should be fine, and i think you'll get good results in clarity.

 

Seems like it should work, but I've personally never seen a beer clear well in the primary.

 

Sorry, I read this wrong, one week in the primary isi not a big deal. I thought you were saying you wanted a full lager in you primary

 

Just kegged it last night. Pours beautifully clear and it's delicious. Thanks for all the input!

 

Not if you are using Liquid Yeast. My second brew was a schwarzbier that was lagered completely in primary. No off flavors at all. High quality yeast should be fine with it.

 

I wouldn't go that far. Its hard to imagine yeast going 2 months without throwing off bad flavors (2-3 week ferment plus 1-2 month lager).

 

Am I right in saying this is really a cold crash rather than lagering? I think people can place too much emphasis an lagering. The difference to taste it makes is probably only discernible to the most discerning drinkers.

 

My last beer sat on the yeast cake for three months and it was among the best I've ever made.

 

Historically, these are very different. Proper lagering means slowly cooling to near freezing so as to keep the yeast active. When I bottled lagers, I used this to good effect since I needed the yeast active for carbonation. Since I've started kegging, I'll use a generously long diacetyl rest to ensure all fermentation is complete, then crash cool. I still keep it near freezing for 1-2 months though to age it.

At least as ive used it, crash cooling has worked very well and produced beers that are indistinguishable from true lagers.

 

Autolysis is not an unpleasant flavor; it's a glutamate flavor common to Asian food.

 

You are reading way too many 30 year old books. This MAY have been true at one time using whatever yeast was taped to the top of the can of extract that had been sitting on a shelf for who knows how long. This is not necessarily the case anymore with fresh liquid yeast, fresh ingredients and temperature control. Now it is possible to just put the little guys to sleep for a long time. Unless you have a RECENT study showing the death of and subsequent measurable effects of yeast sitting under 5 gallons of beer in a bucket or carboy for a given period of time then I will vigorously question your generalization.

 

dry vs liquid won't make a difference in quality of yeast if they are used fresh and stored/handled properly


technically he did lager for one week

lager = storage

 

2 months? I personally go to secondary after four weeks, but this isn't 1995. I thought that the homebrewing autolysis boogeyman was long since dead?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've read way too many posts of beers sitting up to six months on the cake with no ill effects whatsoever.

 

Not a scientific study by any means but Gordon Strong claims he tasted it in some of his own beers after learning the flavor... Not a 30 year old book, and someone who is something of an authority on beer judging.

 

I've tasted it in an apfelwein that went just over a year in the primary. But I've also had a bunch of beers that went 5 or 6 months, and not only did I not notice anything (and I ALSO know what it tastes like), but neither have many judges, including some very high-ranking ones.

So I'd say that autolysis is a valid concern, but only a few months hasn't been detectable by anyone, which is the only thing that really matters.

 

I lagered my Bopils for 9 weeks after a three week fermentation in the primary. Nothing wrong with it. I probably would have transfered but it was my first lager. While I don't see any major issues coming from it, I too wouldn't leave any of my beers in the primary more than a month. For me, its more personal preference than any science or technical aspect.