What happens if you lager at room temperature?

[bregiz]

I have a somewhat grolsch esk lager on the go that I fermented at about 11 - 12 degrees, once the SG had reached 1.018 I moved it to a warm room for about 7days, after which the SG was 1.014

since then it has been sitting in a slightly cooler part of the house (about a week), and I am wondering if it is doing the beer any good being bulk aged at higher temps, or if I may as well just bottle and get something else into the fermentor?

How much difference does the cold lagering process actually make?

Have I cheated myself out of the beer that could have been by not getting the fermented beer into a spare fridge, if so, is it to late to remedy this?

Or should I just continue to age at the current temp,

Or should I just bottle?

Thanks in advance for your advice. I would be lost without you!

 

[Brewmex41]

I think that's what a California Steam ale is. Lager yeast at higher temp.

 

[progmac]

there is no reason that you can't start lagering (cold storing) now.

having it at room temp after primary fermentation is complete is not a big deal and some people do this as a matter of course. i have found doing 7+ days at room temperature after primary is helpful if i'm tasting sulphur or diacetyl or something else i don't want in my beer.

 

[torstensson]

After fermenting a lager I always end the process with fermenting at higher temperature for a couple of days.
This helps get rid of diacetyl and it usually helps the beer get the estimated FG.

When SG reaches somewhere around 1.016-1.020 I put the bucket at room temperature.

From my experince bulk lagering or lagering at bottle doesn't make much difference.
You should age the beer in cold storage though, I usually store lager beer cold for 3 months.

 

[BradleyBrew]

Yes, Cali Common is lager yeast at ale temperature but to lager you have to store cold. I dont think you get the same effect bulk aging at room temperature vs. actual lagering. If so why lager at all. If you dont have the capacity to lager and the beer is done and you are happy the way it taste then I would just bottle it and lager in the bottle via the refrigerator for a month after the beer has carbonated. Not truly the same but close enough.

 

[freisste]

I think that's what a California Steam ale is. Lager yeast at higher temp.

California common beers use lager yeast *fermented* at ale temps. OP fermented at lager temps, but then raised the temp.

 

[bregiz]

So general consensis is, there is little harm in bottling, giving the beer a few days to carbonate, and then storing in the fridge for a month or so before consumption.

How long after bottling should I allow for carbonation given that fridge temperatures are going to make life hard for the yeast.

 

[whoaru99]

It seems all backwards what you're doing now for a lager. Cold (relatively) fermentation and basically long cold crash is more or less what a lager is all about (yeast aside, of course).

I think the implication a couple posts back is that you'd bottle condition at the normal temp, then put it in cold storage. I don't know that the beer ever would carbonate if you bottle and keep it at typical lagering temp (just above freezing).

 

[Yooper]

So general consensis is, there is little harm in bottling, giving the beer a few days to carbonate, and then storing in the fridge for a month or so before consumption.

How long after bottling should I allow for carbonation given that fridge temperatures are going to make life hard for the yeast.

That's what I'd do. Bottle it, let it carb up, and then lager it in the bottle.

It probably should be kept at room temperature 2 weeks or more to carb up before sticking it in the fridge for lagering.

 

[tx-brewer]

That's what I'd do. Bottle it, let it carb up, and then lager it in the bottle.

It probably should be kept at room temperature 2 weeks or more to carb up before sticking it in the fridge for lagering.

So I could brew a lagar at ale temps then lager in the bottle after it has carbed up? Will this work with any lagar yeast, or only certain ones?

Any other details would be great

 

[Darwin18]

So I could brew a lagar at ale temps then lager in the bottle after it has carbed up? Will this work with any lagar yeast, or only certain ones?

Any other details would be great

Not exactly. If you're brewing a lager, not a California Common, then you should ferment within the fermentation temperate range for the yeast strain that you're using. Usually that's in the low 50's.

What Yooper is saying is that following the completion of fermentation, you can allow your lagers to carb in the bottles at room temperature for a few weeks and then "lager" them after carbonation has been reached. Lagering is usually done cold - I do mine at 38 F while carbonating in the keg.

 

[Yooper]

Not exactly. If you're brewing a lager, not a California Common, then you should ferment within the fermentation temperate range for the yeast strain that you're using. Usually that's in the low 50's.

What Yooper is saying is that following the completion of fermentation, you can allow your lagers to carb in the bottles at room temperature for a few weeks and then "lager" them after carbonation has been reached. Lagering is usually done cold - I do mine at 38 F while carbonating in the keg.

Right. A lager uses a different strain of yeast than an ale, and for that distinctive "crisp, clean" flavor it should be fermented at the proper temperature (generally 50 degrees).

After fermentation is done, the beer is "lagered"- that is stored cold for a few weeks.

You can always cold condition an ale- but it won't make it a lager.

 

[BradleyBrew]

or like what i said.

 

[tx-brewer]

Ok, I understand now. Thanks Yooper and Darwin

 

[Flipadelphia]

and BradleyBrew...he said the same thing. First I might add.

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

First!