How long to ferment my lager

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Anno

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Hi all,

I bottled my first brew (lager) last night which was in the fermenter from 1/1/13 to 30/1/13 and have bottled it into 750ml bottles with sugar
and I would like to know how long to leave it in the bottles to continue its fermenting process.

Thanks in advance
 
Simple answer is until it is done.....

But, I would test 1 bottle in 2 weeks time, the 1 every week or two after that to guage how it is travelling.
The changes may be subtle but you will notice them.

When you reckon they are good to go, load them into the fridge and enjoy.

Are they in glass or PET bottles? If PET, then you can guage them by squeezing them every week or two. You will get the hang of it.

Cheers,
D80
 
sometimes when I bottle I get some left over ,

say 250 ml or what ever

I keep some clear 250 ml plastic drink bottles and I put the left overs in them

and then you can watch what happens ,

mind you have to keep the sugar proportional

best to bulk prime when you have some experience ( search forum to find a post )

the brew clears

and the bottle go tight

probably worth a 1st try after 6 weeks

then 1 a week until it all go
 
Anno said:
Hi all,

I bottled my first brew (lager) last night which was in the fermenter from 1/1/13 to 30/1/13 and have bottled it into 750ml bottles with sugar
and I would like to know how long to leave it in the bottles to continue its fermenting process.

Thanks in advance
It will most likely be fully carbed ( depending on ambient temp ) after 2 weeks but it's far from ready to drink at that early stage.
The beer will need some time to mellow after the secondary ferment in the bottle & I never drink any of my bottled beers before 8 weeks of age.
Have a taste at week 2 & again at week 8 & the difference will be quite surprising, it's almost like you are drinking a different beer.
Head retention tends to improve with age as well & you will see that when you pour one at 2 weeks & another at 8 weeks.
 
Crusty said:
It will most likely be fully carbed ( depending on ambient temp ) after 2 weeks but it's far from ready to drink at that early stage.
The beer will need some time to mellow after the secondary ferment in the bottle & I never drink any of my bottled beers before 8 weeks of age.
Have a taste at week 2 & again at week 8 & the difference will be quite surprising, it's almost like you are drinking a different beer.
Head retention tends to improve with age as well & you will see that when you pour one at 2 weeks & another at 8 weeks.
Wow that clears things up a bit.

they are stored in a wine fridge at 12*-14*C. i will test it in 2 weeks then in another 2 weeks.
 
Anno said:
Wow that clears things up a bit.

they are stored in a wine fridge at 12*-14*C. i will test it in 2 weeks then in another 2 weeks.
At 12-14deg, it may take a bit longer to carb, possibly 4 weeks at those temps.
There really is no need to store your bottled beers at anything other than ambient temps.
Mine sit in my garage at ambient & in Summer, it can be at 18deg to 35deg.
I would just leave them somewhere in your garage out of any direct sunlight & put them in the fridge when ready to drink.
If you want them all cold, leave them at ambient for 8 weeks & pop them all in the fridge for consumption.
Enjoy..................... :beerbang:
 
Crusty said:
At 12-14deg, it may take a bit longer to carb, possibly 4 weeks at those temps.
There really is no need to store your bottled beers at anything other than ambient temps.
Mine sit in my garage at ambient & in Summer, it can be at 18deg to 35deg.
I would just leave them somewhere in your garage out of any direct sunlight & put them in the fridge when ready to drink.
If you want them all cold, leave them at ambient for 8 weeks & pop them all in the fridge for consumption.
Enjoy..................... :beerbang:
ahh right, i'll get them out when i get home, thanks for that. what about those 40*C plus days. i have no other things at my disposal other than wine fridge?
 
They will last longer and degrade slower if stored cooler, and away from 40C days.

Fridge temps being the ultimate, but not everyone has a cool room ;)
 
Anno said:
ahh right, i'll get them out when i get home, thanks for that. what about those 40*C plus days. i have no other things at my disposal other than wine fridge?
No problems leaving them in the wine fridge if that's what you want to do, they'll just take a bit longer to carb up.
My bottled beers are sitting on a concrete floor in my garage & this Summer, we experienced severe hot weather, 40+deg for several days in a row.
I bottle in dark bottles & keep them out of any direct sunlight & have not encountered any problems doing it this way.
I only put my bottles in the fridge after 8 weeks & when I'm ready for a drink.
What you are doing will be fine if you have the room.
 
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