Bottling Lagers?

[Shotgun12]

I've been doing traditional ales for a while now, but want to switch to cold fermenting (and lagering) of ales, and lagers. I have a fridge setup with a 308 controller.

I'm starting with an experiment on a batch of ale, to see how much of a difference cooler temps and lagering might make, and I'll bottle the beer.
I'm not seeing much info for this kind of thing .... as most folks use the keg method instead of bottling.
BTW, I'm doing this extract ale with 05 yeast at about 62 degrees.
To do a lower-temp type brew like this, should the lager be done in a secondary fermenter, or after bottle conditioning (carbonation) is complete?
Ideas or opinions?

 

[Yooper]

I've been doing traditional ales for a while now, but want to switch to cold fermenting (and lagering) of ales, and lagers. I have a fridge setup with a 308 controller.

I'm starting with an experiment on a batch of ale, to see how much of a difference cooler temps and lagering might make, and I'll bottle the beer.
I'm not seeing much info for this kind of thing .... as most folks use the keg method instead of bottling.
BTW, I'm doing this extract ale with 05 yeast at about 62 degrees.
To do a lower-temp type brew like this, should the lager be done in a secondary fermenter, or after bottle conditioning (carbonation) is complete?
Ideas or opinions?

At 62 degrees, using an ale yeast, the beer you're making would be an ale.

I dislike S05 fermented below 65 degrees, as it gets this weird "peachy" flavor at lower temperatures, but it might work well with a fruity IPA or something. If you want a "clean" flavor at 62 degrees, I'd pick a different yeast strain like S04 which is very clean and flavor neutral at under 64 degrees.

If you want to cold condition, you could do it after bottling if you'd like to help ensure quick and even carbonation although if you hold it in a secondary for less than a month or so, it should be fine. S05 won't fall out that quickly, but S04 tends to clear the beer quickly and may be less viable after a month or more in a secondary near freezing.

 

[madscientist451]

Check out the "fast lager" method:

http://brulosophy.com/2016/09/19/la...al-vs-quick-fermentation-exbeeriment-results/

Before I had accurate temperature control, I used to ferment lagers in the winter in my chilly (45-50F) basement, bring the carboy upstairs to warm up for a Dialectal rest and then outside on the porch (if it was about 30 at night) to cold crash. Sometimes the weather cooperated, sometimes it didn't. Anyway, I'd eventually bottle, keep the bottles warm to carb up for a couple of weeks, and the lager in an extra refrigerator.
All those steps were kind of a PITA and the results were somewhat uneven.
I made lagers in the winter and when it got hot, like 4 months later, I was drinking them. When its hot, a cold lager sure goes down easy.
Now I use temp control for fermenting, the quick lager method and kegs and the results are way better and much more predicable.
Your results will vary depending on what you have to work with.
Different types of lagers use different yeasts and water profiles. My biggest problems with lagers came from mis-handling yeast that was saved from previous batches. Making a healthy starter makes a big difference when you are fermenting below 50F.

 

[Sadu]

If you have a fridge and temp controller you should brew proper lagers. There's nothing wrong with cold-fermented ales but a clean-fermented bock or schwarzbier is a thing of beauty that really needs to be explored.

I find that it doesn't make a lot of difference whether you cold-condition in secondary or bottle first then cold-condition. You get less sediment in the bottles if you bulk condition, but then carbonation definitely takes a bit longer. On balance I prefer less sediment in the bottles.

My standard approach is 2 weeks in primary, 4 weeks in secondary lagering, 4 weeks bottle conditioning, then into the fridge to be enjoyed (and the longer they stay in the fridge the better they get). I find this is a good mix but there are lots of other ways you can make it work.