help needed. hoping to keg tomorrow . lager still cloudy

[offmypickle]

Hi. It's my first time kegging tomorrow. Everything is set up and sanitized. Wilko cerveza kit has been in fermentation for 11 days. Just checked my lager and it is not clear. Hoped to force carbonate and have ready for Christmas day. Am I going to be stuck with cloudy lager or will it clear in 3 days. From my limited experience with bottling it takes a lot longer to clear. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

[billl]

Lager means to store in the cold for an extended time. It doesn't mean ferment and then drink.

You can clear most beers pretty quickly with unflavored jello though and that will work in just a day or 2.

 

[Roadie]

^^ This.

I keep my lagers at 34 F for at least 60 days after fermentation. If you want to clear a beer you can chill it, add gelatin and keg, though I usually gelatin in the keg and then a couple days later pour out the first pint which has all the settled crap in it.

 

[offmypickle]

Thanks for the reply. I'm new to this. Made 2 kits previously, both the wilko cerveza which were bottled. Were ready to drink in 3 weeks and tasted pretty good. Looked to keg my next due to the pain of bottling. Read online that you could ferment for 1 week, keg, force carb and be ready to drink 3 days later for a quick method. Didn't want to follow the quick method but was waiting for all my parts for the keg set up and didn't want to start until they were all here. I have read things about the lagering process in the cold. I just foolishly assumed that this didn't apply to kits. do you think there is a chance, I could have a clear, drinkable lager in 3 days? Fingers crossed ??????

 

[Yooper]

T do you think there is a chance, I could have a clear, drinkable lager in 3 days? Fingers crossed ??????

Well, it may be drinkable if you keg right now, get it cold, and set it at 30 psi for 36 hours. Purge, and reset to 12 psi, pour off three ounces to get rid of some sludge (do NOT move the keg once you put it in the kegerator and start carbing!!!!!!) and it might not be as cloudy as it is now. It will, however, not be very clear. It may clear up a bit, but it should still be fairly hazy. The best you could hope for is it won't be murky, maybe.

If you shake/roll/whatever the keg, it will be a cloudy mess as it will take longer than a day or two to settle.

 

[beerrab]

You could cold crash b y refrigerating the fermenter over night. That being said I DO NOT THINK YOUR FERMENTATION IS DONE. Larger usually take longer than 11 days.

 

[offmypickle]

Thankyou everyone. Here is a picture of what it looks like now. Looks like Christmas Day will be JD based instead of lager based. Will chill the lager, add gelatine, keg when clear. Hopefully have some drinkable lager over the next couple of weeks. Thankyou.

 

[Justdrumin]

If not drinking it on Christmas, I would highly recommend lagering for a minimum of four weeks as close to freezing as you can. Your beer will greatly improve and should clear up nicely. I would probably cold crash for a few days, transfer to a keg, set it to achieve desired volumes of co2 (for my liking I do 38*F and 10 psi) and lager in your kegerator or fridge. That's what I do and you should end up with a nice clear and perfectly carbed lager in 4 weeks.

 

[Curtis2010]

+1. Time is key to a traditional lager profile. 11 days is just about primary ferm time. Cool it down and forget it for at least a month. Traditional lager ferm profiles are typically at least 45 days.

There is a fast lager method, but you are already past the point where I think you can apply that.

Most importantly, its not just about clarifying. The flavor profile improves significantly with extended lagering. I've had lagers transform from good to great beers in the last week or so...just as the keg ran dry! :banghead:

As posted, you can clarify it quickly and carb it, it will be drinkable, but it wont be a great lager.