Lagering an Oktoberfest

[tking3]

I fermented my Oktoberfest at 55 F for about two months. I transferred it to secondary and dropped the temp to 36F. How long should I lager before I force carbonate?

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Did you give it a diacetyl rest? If not bring it up to room temp for three days, then put it to lager at just about freezing temps until it clears, it'll take a few months.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

I fermented my Oktoberfest at 55 F for about two months. I transferred it to secondary and dropped the temp to 36F. How long should I lager before I force carbonate?

After reading a lot of posts on lagering times I believe the general consensus is lager a week for every 8 points of gravity dropped. So for example if OG was 1.064 and FG was 1.008 you would lager for 7 weeks. At least that is what I found and used with good results. I'm sure there are many other opinions as we are all brewers with our own ideas if what works and is better.

 

[pjj2ba]

Two month ferment! Mine are about ready to serve in that time. I typically ferment 2-3 weeks and then transfer to a keg and then start to lager. After at least a week at ~35 F, I hook it up to CO2 and let is set for 3 - 5 more weeks.

I do not do a diacetyl rest, but doing one can't hurt I chill my wort to 50 F before adding yeast and have no issues with diacetyl. Diacetyl is typically an issue if you start to ferment warmer and then cool once fermentation takes off.

 

[jdauria]

You definitely don't need to do primary ferment for two months. Usually I do primary for lagers for 10-14 days max in the 50's, then a diacetyl rest in low 60's for 2 days, then the lager stage in the 30's for a month or longer.

I did hear someone on the Brewing Network say something like divide your gravity by 4 and that determines length of time to lager. So a 1.060 OG beer would mean 15 weeks of lagering. Can't seem to find anything on that "formula" online though and not sure if they meant 15 weeks from start of fermentation to bottling/kegging or 15 weeks just for the lager stage, so if someone has heard this before and can clarify, that would be great.

 

[Bulls Beers]

Two month ferment! Mine are about ready to serve in that time. I typically ferment 2-3 weeks and then transfer to a keg and then start to lager. After at least a week at ~35 F, I hook it up to CO2 and let is set for 3 - 5 more weeks.

I do not do a diacetyl rest, but doing one can't hurt I chill my wort to 50 F before adding yeast and have no issues with diacetyl. Diacetyl is typically an issue if you start to ferment warmer and then cool once fermentation takes off.

+1. I'm pretty similar to this, but I do a D-rest most of the time. My fermenting time is, it's done when it's done, which is usually about 7-10 days. I typically chill my wort a little cooler when pitching though, around 46-48F. Rack to a keg. Drop temp gradually to 32-35F and lager for 4-8 weeks. Two months is pretty long, IMO...

 

[Spartan1979]

After reading a lot of posts on lagering times I believe the general consensus is lager a week for every 8 points of gravity dropped. So for example if OG was 1.064 and FG was 1.008 you would lager for 7 weeks. At least that is what I found and used with good results. I'm sure there are many other opinions as we are all brewers with our own ideas if what works and is better.

The rule I've heard is a week for every 10 points of original gravity. Both "rules" would give similar results.