oktoberfest - lager first or bottle now?

[TyroneSweetlick]

I've only made a few real lagers. This batch (an Ayinger oktoberfest clone) I split and used 2 different yeasts for a 5 gal. batch (Wyeast 2308 and 2633). It's been about 2 1/2 weeks since pitching, still in primaries. Right now I'm giving it a diacetyl rest. I checked the gravity last night (OG was 1.057) and they were both down to about 1.027. Estimated final is about 1.017.

So do I lager in carboys now or bottle and then lager? My dilemma is that I split a batch but only have 5 gal. carboys. If I transfer to secondary for the lagering process, is the risk of introducing too much oxygen too great? 2.5 gallons in a 5 gal carboy is a lot of headspace. I don't have 3 gallon cornies either.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[grouperdude]

maybe pick up some one gallon growlers

 

[Yooper]

You can bottle them, and lager them in the bottle after they carb up. That would work just fine. The only disadvantage I can think of is that the beer gets incredibly clear during lagering, and you might have more sediment in the bottle than you would than if you bulked lagered. But otherwise, I think you'd get good results from bottle lagering.

 

[TyroneSweetlick]

Yooper,

Is there any worry about bottling too soon? It seems like a 10 point drop is a lot to expect without blowing up bottles.

 

[Yooper]

Yooper,

Is there any worry about bottling too soon? It seems like a 10 point drop is a lot to expect without blowing up bottles.

Yes, you certainly don't want to bottle them until after the diacetyl rest and the after beer has been at FG for at least three days or longer.