So I was looking at BCS’s Tripel recipe, and in the recipe JZ says to lager the beer after its been bottled and carbed. Is there any reason to do this rather than bulk lager it. Since bottle conditioning could take anywhere from 3-8 weeks it will be a bit of a crap shoot and opening of multiple bottles just to check if its fully carbed before I lager them.
Can anyone think of any good reason to do it this way?
Hey Matt,
I’ve seen a few posts where lagering was accomplished in the bottle, so I guess it can be done.
But… I have a few concerns as well.
I like bulk lagering because after all that settling, I can siphon off of the potentially off-flavoring ‘gunk’ that lagering settles out. Besides yeast and left-over trub, there’s the phenols and tannins and other compounds. If it’s in my bottle from in-bottle lagering, even a careful pour might not get rid of as much.
If wondering about the carbonation level is your main concern, you can always use Nighthawk’s trick and bottle one in a soda bottle.
Me, I plan on doing my lagering in bulk. I have room in a cold storage area(ie. my garage), so I might as well use it.
[quote=“mattnaik”]So I was looking at BCS’s Tripel recipe, and in the recipe JZ says to lager the beer after its been bottled and carbed. Is there any reason to do this rather than bulk lager it. Since bottle conditioning could take anywhere from 3-8 weeks it will be a bit of a crap shoot and opening of multiple bottles just to check if its fully carbed before I lager them.
Can anyone think of any good reason to do it this way?[/quote]
Only advantage I can think of is that it frees up your lagering tank, if that is a concern. Otherwise I agree with you, lager it in bulk is a lot lower risk.
After I bulk lager I bottle condition then return the bottles to the lager chest until I drink them.
Man someday I will be able to have a second ferm chamber so I dont have to hold off brewing an ale because I’m lagering something.
Re. a second fermentation chamber – I’m using a “Cool Brewing” bag as a fermentation chamber. I’m now fermenting my first lager in it and it seems to be working as advertised. I have my ferm-wrap and temp controller hooked up to maintain a minimal temp in case I have too much ice in the bag. For about $60 it was about as inexpensive and easy a way to get my fermentation under control as I could find. I’m thinking that it would serve well as a lagering chamber as well. Of course, being from Minnesota, I have access to free ice-making for several months of the year.
Man someday I will be able to have a second ferm chamber so I dont have to hold off brewing an ale because I’m lagering something.[/quote]
I’m really lucky, I have a large upright freezer with a Johnson controller set at 50 for fermenting lagers and aging ales and a fridge with the non freezer section set at 34 for lagering and storing of various odds & ends.
