First Lager questions

[tlapham]

Hi all, I've been lurking on here and other brew forums for a while now, i've been brewing ales for 3 years and i'm on my first lager.
Pilsner- 1.054 OG, (Using Wyeast Czech Pils 2278 Yeast 70-74% Attenuation)

It's been in the primary at 54-56F for 3 weeks now, Looking very clear and gravity is down where i want it, 1.012

I was going to transfer it to the secondary today, but i'm still a bit cautious only because it's still got a decent amount of bubbles coming up. (one bubble in the airlock about every 5 seconds)

It tastes good and dry, but still has a slight yeast odor to me. (more than i'm used to with ales)

The question is, should I secondary it or wait? i'm slightly hesitant to leave it too long because I know how the yeast can give it bad flavors after they start dying off.

Thanks,

Trevor

 

[dale1038]

I wouldn't transfer at all. Lots of us lager in the primary. There aren't any off flavors from dead yeast on a homebrew scale in my opinion. A few of us talked about primary lagering last week.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/anyone-lager-entire-time-primary-400573/

 

[Hogarthe]

youi can give it another week, without worrying about the yeast dying off. although if the gravity isn't dropping, it should be ready to transfer, even if some bubbles are happening. the bubbles are probably just co2 that was produced earlier that was stuck in the wort escaping as the yeast settles.

 

[tlapham]

Ok, cool. I should probably also mention that it's a 20 gallon batch in a 42 gal conical fermenter... It doesn't fit in my 15 ft^3 keggerator for lagering without transferring to individual secondary's.

 

[dale1038]

I would give it some more time. I've had some of my lagers turn out just a little fruity with a 3 week transfer. Some were great, some were average. The longer primary seemed to help this. Just my experience.

 

[Yooper]

I've never left a lager in the primary for three weeks. If it's done, it's done. It's not going to get "doner".

If you're not doing a diacetyl rest, you can rack and begin lagering.

 

[tlapham]

From what i'm gathering, another week can't hurt if it's questionable. It's been bubbling at the same rate for the past week or so, no signs of slowing down. I will definitely do a rest next week at 70F for a day or less, then lager it for at least 3 weeks.

Thanks for all your advice you guys, you have really been helpful. and fast!

Trevor