How long do you let a lager it in fermenter ?

[woodenbuick]

I brewed a lager and now I am at the stage where I am wondering how long to let it sit in the cold.
Its been a month or so since I brewed it and I am wondering when to bottle.

 

[menschmaschine]

Assuming you racked it to secondary (with lagers, this is typically done soon after primary fermentation is complete), a good rule of thumb is to lager it 1 week for every 8 points of gravity. So, a 1.048 beer would lager for 6 weeks... then bottle it.

 

[Potter1]

+1 I've heard every ten gravity points, but the longer, the better

 

[menschmaschine]

+1 I've heard every ten gravity points, but the longer, the better

It varies depending on the dextrin content in the beer. Lagers with a lower attenuation (higher FG) do better to be lagered longer. My number is based on Greg Noonan's New Brewing Lager Beer... it's sort of an average of the numbers he gives.