# Lager Bottle Conditioning



## Thefatdoghead (16/7/11)

I'll be bottling a few lagers and im just wondering how I go about carbonating the bottles after the Lager period? I usually use kegs but my old man wants a few bottles so here I am with my noob questions.
cheers


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## Bribie G (16/7/11)

If you prime the bottles as normal there will still be some yeast cells there to breed up, eventually. It would probably take far longer than with an ale. For quicker results, when you start to run the beer out of the lagering vessel/fermenter, you could catch the first wee bit of cloudy runnings in a sanitized glass and use an eye dropper to put a few drops into each bottle to speed things up.


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## Thefatdoghead (16/7/11)

Bribie G said:


> If you prime the bottles as normal there will still be some yeast cells there to breed up, eventually. It would probably take far longer than with an ale. For quicker results, when you start to run the beer out of the lagering vessel/fermenter, you could catch the first wee bit of cloudy runnings in a sanitized glass and use an eye dropper to put a few drops into each bottle to speed things up.


So if I do just bottle as normal what temp do I let them condition at? Could I whack some more yeast in the fermenter then bottle (with added dextrose from bottling bucket) then condition at room temp or 18-21deg C?


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## Rosscoe (16/7/11)

Gav80 said:


> I'll be bottling a few lagers and im just wondering how I go about carbonating the bottles after the Lager period? I usually use kegs but my old man wants a few bottles so here I am with my noob questions.
> cheers




Don't worry about the yeast levels in your beer after lagering; there'll still be plenty of the little buggers. I bottle condition lagers all the time. I have no trouble carbing them up after lagering. It takes a couple of weeks, but works just as well as anything else, with the added benefit (especially if you're in a cooler climate) of not having to worry about keeping the temp over 18 degrees as for ales. I just rack off (for a second time) into another fermenter with some dex or caster suger disolved into some hot boiling water; this way you get consistent carbonation and you don't have to adjust sugar amounts for different bottle sizes. I usually go for about 130gm into a 23ltr batch, which carbs up at a good level for most lagers. Otherwise, if you only want to do a few bottles, just get a measuring spoon and use the correct amount for the bottle size you're doing.

Cheers,
Rosscoe


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## Thefatdoghead (16/7/11)

Rosscoe said:


> Don't worry about the yeast levels in your beer after lagering; there'll still be plenty of the little buggers. I bottle condition lagers all the time. I have no trouble carbing them up after lagering. It takes a couple of weeks, but works just as well as anything else, with the added benefit (especially if you're in a cooler climate) of not having to worry about keeping the temp over 18 degrees as for ales. I just rack off (for a second time) into another fermenter with some dex or caster suger disolved into some hot boiling water; this way you get consistent carbonation and you don't have to adjust sugar amounts for different bottle sizes. I usually go for about 130gm into a 23ltr batch, which carbs up at a good level for most lagers. Otherwise, if you only want to do a few bottles, just get a measuring spoon and use the correct amount for the bottle size you're doing.
> 
> Cheers,
> Rosscoe


Sweet as that sounds easy. I just didn't understand conditioning temp. Are you saying to condition them over 18deg?


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## stef (16/7/11)

If you've lagered them at lagering temps (ie, cold) then let them warm up a little bit if you want them to carb up quicker. 

So conditioning (or at least, bottle time whilst carbing up) temps can be normal sort of room temp, rather than lagering temp.


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## pimpsqueak (17/7/11)

Rosscoe said:


> Don't worry about the yeast levels in your beer after lagering; there'll still be plenty of the little buggers. I bottle condition lagers all the time. I have no trouble carbing them up after lagering. It takes a couple of weeks, but works just as well as anything else, with the added benefit (especially if you're in a cooler climate) of not having to worry about keeping the temp over 18 degrees as for ales. I just rack off (for a second time) into another fermenter with some dex or caster suger disolved into some hot boiling water; this way you get consistent carbonation and you don't have to adjust sugar amounts for different bottle sizes. I usually go for about 130gm into a 23ltr batch, which carbs up at a good level for most lagers. Otherwise, if you only want to do a few bottles, just get a measuring spoon and use the correct amount for the bottle size you're doing.
> 
> Cheers,
> Rosscoe



I've had a miserable time getting my one and only lager to bottle carb.
Lagered it for a month then bulk primed and bottled. After 2 weeks at ambient temp (16-17) it is completely uncarbed.
As this was a bit of a test, the bottles I primed before I lagered the bulk of the beer are fine. Pissed me off actually.
I think I'm going to have to uncap all the bottles and innoculate with some fresh, healthy yeast.


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## Thefatdoghead (17/7/11)

pimpsqueak said:


> I've had a miserable time getting my one and only lager to bottle carb.
> Lagered it for a month then bulk primed and bottled. After 2 weeks at ambient temp (16-17) it is completely uncarbed.
> As this was a bit of a test, the bottles I primed before I lagered the bulk of the beer are fine. Pissed me off actually.
> I think I'm going to have to uncap all the bottles and innoculate with some fresh, healthy yeast.


Mate that suck's! I did read in John Palmer that it wont change the taste of the beer if it is stored and carbed at room temp say 22+ deg. Maybe try getting the bottles a little warmer and see if anything happens with carbonation.


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## Wolfy (17/7/11)

If I leave any beer (Ale or Lager) in the fermentor/secondary/lagering for more than about a month I like to add a small amount of fresh yeast to help with the bottle conditioning.


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## Thefatdoghead (17/7/11)

Wolfy said:


> If I leave any beer (Ale or Lager) in the fermentor/secondary/lagering for more than about a month I like to add a small amount of fresh yeast to help with the bottle conditioning.


Good idea. Suppose you could just use yeast harvested from the first ferment with a starter?


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