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Lagering and bottling

the_chalk_outline

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Noob question but I can't seem to find this particular answer anywhere.

I'm making my first Pilsner and it's fermenting away nicely. In about 3 or 4 days (That will be the 2 week stage) I'm going to bring the temp up for the Diacetyl rest.

After that, as far as I can tell, as long as the batch has cleared nicely I can bottle it and carry out the lagering process in bottles?

Is this correct or do I have to rack to secondary for the lagering process? Doesn't that also mean I'm in for a really long carbonation process as all the yeast will have dropped out?

Your help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

TCO
 
I generally check the gravity before I raise the temp, but you will almost certainly be OK raising the temp after two weeks of fermentation.

I would not bottle until I had the same gravity reading (in the vicinity of your predicted final gravity) over a three-day period. Clearing is a good indication that fermentation is finished, but it's not as comforting to me as repeated gravity measurements.

You might be interested in the following link: http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fermenting_Lagers
The charts about 2/3 of the way down are especially useful.
 
If your fermentation temperature has been at or below 50F, you probably don't need a diacetyl rest. Lager yeast doesn't produce any when it's at the proper temperature and pitching rate for an extended period of time.

You can force diacetyl, if it's there. 

Take a small sample (1.5 oz) and split it into 2 equal sized samples. Place one on the counter to come to room temperature. With the second, heat it in the microwave until it's at about 100F to 140F, then agitate it to aerate it. Cover both and let them sit for 15 to 20 minutes.

If you detect diacetyl in the room temp sample, fermentation isn't complete. Depending on activity, the yeast may need to be rousted.

If you detect diacetyl in the heated sample, you'll need a diacetyl rest (or to extend it). Hopefully, it just smells like stale beer. If it's clean, no diacetyl rest is required.

Pro-tip: Yeast has an easier time reducing diacetyl when the rest is above the pitching temperature for the yeast. So, it's always a good idea to chill wort deeply before adding lager yeast.
 
I pitched 3 packets of Mangrove Jacks Bohemian Lager yeast (couldn't do a starter as I had an unfortunate accident with my flask and my ceramic hob) and it's in the fridge at a permanent 12 degrees C.

@ durrettd. Thanks fella that's an astounding resource.

 
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