Lager Fermenting

[jd410]

Hi,
I am a new first time brewer and made the mistake of buying a lager as my first batch. I didn't realize there was secondary fermenting that was necessary. I have two buckets, is it okay to simply pour out of my primary into my secondary? Or is siphoning recommended?
Thanks for the help, and if you have any advice/tips for brewing lagers please let me know!
ps: i don't see any bubbles after 5 days, is that ok?

 

[Yooper]

Hi,
I am a new first time brewer and made the mistake of buying a lager as my first batch. I didn't realize there was secondary fermenting that was necessary. I have two buckets, is it okay to simply pour out of my primary into my secondary? Or is siphoning recommended?
Thanks for the help, and if you have any advice/tips for brewing lagers please let me know!
ps: i don't see any bubbles after 5 days, is that ok?

Using a secondary isn't really necessary- you can lager in the bottle.

The key with a lager is that fermentation needs to happen at 48-53 degrees, depending on yeast strain, and then the temperature is raised 10 degrees for a diacetyl rest before transferring the beer into a carboy for the lagering period.

If you don't have a vessel for lagering, the beer can be bottled then, and carbed up. Then the bottles can be placed in the fridge for the lagering period.

You don't ever want to pour any beer into any vessel (except your glass!) as it's important to always siphon the beer and to transfer without any splashing or pouring- even when bottling a bottling wand is used to avoid any oxidation.