Delay Before Lagering

[vanceonbeach]

Thanks to the brass monkey winter we're having I've got a couple of fermenters cranking out lagers and pilsners Problem is I only have space in the brew fridge to cold condition one at a time so a queue is forming.

How soon after fermentation finishes do I have to cold condition? Can I rack into a cube and store at 12C or less for a couple of weeks before it goes into the fridge or will the benefits of cold conditioning be lost because of the delay?

 

[vanceonbeach]

Hmm, 24 hours and no replies. Average time to get an answer on the forum is usually 24 seconds. Must've asked most boring question ever.

What to do, what to do... need to attract some attention somehow. Oh I know!

And I'm fermenting my lager yeast at 135*C is that OK? And I'm using SO-4 because everyone agrees it's the greatest, and um my airlock isn't bubbling what does that mean?

Dons flame proof suit, hides much loved family pets, heads for the relative safety of bed.

 

[Fourstar]

dude, dont stress.. Lagering at lower temps is going to provide you with a cleaner lager profile. Continuing to sit @ ambient temps isnt going to turn your beer to rubbish. 12 deg is fine, if moving to a cube i'd get it off the yeast cake to help it floc out. other than that.. just let it condition @ those ambient temps.

The longer your beer sits closer to zero deg, the better the lager profile will be. it will just take longer... e.g. if i lager for extended periods i pop them into a spare fridge at my folks place @ 0-1deg and forget about it for 6 weeks MINIMUM. if you have to let it sit @ 12deg for 2 weeks after fermentation, the lager profile wont be as clean but it will be ready to drink, or close to. One thing to note, as it conditions faster, it wont be as clean. Make sense?

 

[seemax]

Should be fine at 12C.

Fermenting a lager at 135C ... in your oven?

S-04 ain't a lager yeast... and no one agrees it's the greatest because it is not... just ask the dude who brewed 2 batches of S-oh-wet-cardboard-again-4!!

 

[vanceonbeach]

Cool, thanks Fourstar