Lagering Without The Gas

[The Big Burper]

Hello chaps,

I was replying to a post today about kegs and lagering, and got to thinking
Can you lager a lager in a cube or summat without adding gas or
any sugar.

See I keg, and I thought maybe I could store a proper lager at the proper
temp without gas, and keg up when it has had the proper time.

Or is gassing part of the lagering / conditioning phase?

Any ideas?Dave

 

[Bribie G]

I cold condition for up to a fortnight in a jerry can, after the primary fermentation has basically stopped and the beer has started to clear out from the top layers. Rack into cube leaving very little headspace. Then I put it in the cold fridge with the cube lid (no airlock) tightened then released just a wee crack in case there is residual fermentation. Then when the cube is down to about 2 degrees the next day, screw it up tight and it will just sit there cleaning itself up. I've never gone over a couple of weeks as yet but if I was serious about it, sure it would work for a month or more. For a kits n bits a couple of weeks would be more than enough. I've got a brew lagering ATM but it's in a 25L fermenter with airlock, not a cube, however it will have been there for 3 weeks when I bottle on Monday so same principle really.

Edit: on a couple of occasions, in order to flush the headspace I have dropped a couple of sugar cubes into the cube (you could use bottle lollies as well or a bit of dissolved dex) and left overnight before chilling just to produce a bit of extra gas to flush. Such a small amount doesn't affect the finished beer in any discernible way.