Lager has very low carbonation

[alk3punker]

I brewed an Oktoberfest using Bock lager yeast. I bottled it and stored around 40-45 F for 4 weeks. I just cracked the first one the flavor and smell are perfect but the carbonation is very low. There is almost no head when poured into the center of a glass and there are few bubbles on the side of the glass. I'd like to getthe carbonation a little higher, any tips?

 

[alk3punker]

To give a little background... I've been breweing ales for about 2 years now, but this was my first attempt at a lager so I'm very interested in any feedback on what I may have done wrong and what otions I have for rescuing this brew. It ruend out so tasty, it would be an absolutel shame if the carbonation did not turn out right!

 

[Yooper]

Did you ferment cool, lager for a period of time, and then bottle and keep at room temperature until you had carbonation? Or are you lagering in the bottle?

Bring the bottles to room temperature for 2-3 weeks until they are carbonated, then they can be cold stored again.

 

[alk3punker]

I fermented for 4 weeks and attained the desired FG. I racked it and lagered in a secondary fermenter for 3 weeks.

After that I primed it using the recommended amount of priming sugar for an Oktoberfest. I put it back into the cool temperatures figuring lager yeast needed the low temperature to work. Should lagers be stored at room temperature after bottling? I was torn over this one when it came time to bottle and searched the web and found mixed answers so I went with my gut and stored it at lager temperatures.

Luckily now I found a place (here) where people seem to know what they are talkign about! Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Yooper]

I fermented for 4 weeks and attained the desired FG. I racked it and lagered in a secondary fermenter for 3 weeks.

After that I primed it using the recommended amount of priming sugar for an Oktoberfest. I put it back into the cool temperatures figuring lager yeast needed the low temperature to work. Should lagers be stored at room temperature after bottling? I was torn over this one when it came time to bottle and searched the web and found mixed answers so I went with my gut and stored it at lager temperatures.

Luckily now I found a place (here) where people seem to know what they are talkign about! Your help is greatly appreciated.

Ah, I think we found out the issue. Oh, it'll definitely carbonate at lager temperatures, but it might take months!

Now that the flavor profile is set, it's ok to bring the bottles to room temperature for 3 weeks or so, until carbonation is satisfactory, and then chill them again. You can even store them at room temperature, if chilling is an issue. The tiny bit of fermentation that happens during carbonating is really not a factor at all in the final taste of the beer, so room temperature is perfectly fine.

 

[alk3punker]

Ok so no matter whether I am using lager yeast or ale yeast the carbonation process should occur at room temp. Thanks for the info.

One last thing. Should I agitate the bottles a bit now that it's stored at room temperature or just leave it as is?

 

[Yooper]

Ok so no matter whether I am using lager yeast or ale yeast the carbonation process should occur at room temp. Thanks for the info.

One last thing. Should I agitate the bottles a bit now that it's stored at room temperature or just leave it as is?

You may want to gently swirl the bottles end over end to rouse up any sleeping yeast, and then let it sit for a couple of weeks. You won't hurt anything, and it might help.

 

[alk3punker]

Thanks for the info, it's greatly appreciated. I'll eagerly await cracking another bottle around NewYears!