Bottleing a Lager

[dexter_craig]

I bottled my lager about 2-3 weeks ago. Primed it with 5 oz. of corn sugar. Now it is sitting on the basement floor conditioning at 48F degrees. VERY nice amber color as well.
Out of curiosity I opened one last night and it did have carbonation but not much. Is this normal.
What is the wait time for a lager to bottle condition/carbonate?

 

[Evan]

dont know if this is correct at all, and someone please correct me, but my last lager i left at room temp for about two weeks, checked one for carb, and it seemed about normal, then i put the rest at a lower temp.

 

[Yooper]

I do the same thing- I carbonate them at room temperature, then cellar them.

Your flavor profile is already set, so allow them to carb up at room temperature won't really matter. It's a very small amount of fermentation taking place to bottle carbonate.

 

[ChrisS68]

Could someone tell me what, exactly, constitutes "room temperature"? I was planning on just carbing at fermenting temps - sure, it takes longer, it is a lager after all. However, I have read about carbing at room temp before lagering the bottles. I asked about the subject in another thread, and asked if 70 was considered room temp. I was told that 70 was too high and that I should carb at fermenting temp. Unfortunately, the person who authored the wiki article on lagering that was brought up in the thread didn't respond. Like I said, I was planning on carbing at fermenting temps anyway, I'm just trying to nail down a definition of room temp and make sure there isn't a better way.

Thanks!
Chris

 

[AFAJ Brew Guy]

70 is a bit too high for the actual fermenting, but for bottle conditioning 70 is perfect. At least for ales anyway, I am just assuming the case would be the same for lagers.

 

[King of the Swill]

I would say room temp is anywhere from 67F to 73F. After bottling, I would leave it at room temp for at least two weeks (3 is better) to fully carb. How long you cold condition in the bottle is simply up to your preference. At some point the green beer becomes ripe--try one each week until you are satisfied with the taste.