Do you lager in primary or secondary?

Lager beers also typically incorporate long-term secondary conditioning. This often lasts weeks or even months longer than a typical ale fermentation. The result is that lager beers usually have a much cleaner, crisper aroma and flavor profile than can be produced by top-fermenting ale yeast at warmer temperatures.

Can you lager in primary fermenter?

Wait until you see some fermentation activity before you move it to the cool spot you have cleared out for it. Let the primary fermentation go for 3-4 weeks until there is no airlock activity left. Then, rack the beer to a lagering vessel. This can be another fermenter or a spare keg.

What does lagering mean?

: to store (beer and especially lager) at cold temperatures during a period of aging often accompanied by a secondary fermentation to improve flavor and clarity The basic American beer is properly described as “lager,” which means that the brew has been fermented in the bottom of a tank and then stored—lagered—for two …

Is lager top or bottom fermented?

Ales are fermented with top-fermenting yeast at warm temperatures (60˚–70˚F), and lagers are fermented with bottom-fermenting yeast at cold temperatures (35˚–50˚F). On the other hand, lagers take much longer to ferment (up to 6 to 8 weeks) because they are cold fermented.

What is the process of lagering?

Lagering is a form of beer maturation on the yeast that usually lasts for several weeks, if not months, at or near-freezing temperatures, after fermentation and before filtration and/or packaging of the beer. See ale, fermentation, and lager. Perhaps the best known lagered ale styles are altbier and kölsch.

How important is lagering?

Lagering reduces any acetic and lactic acids, for instance, to fruity-tasting esters, whose effects on beer flavor tend to be marginal, because they have a much higher taste threshold to humans than do their precursors.

Do you need an airlock for primary fermentation?

While not required, using an airlock during primary fermentation will allow excess CO2 to leave the fermenter and prevent oxygen and bacteria from entering. Even though you don’t have to use an airlock during fermentation, most people choose to do so as a cheap insurance policy against infection and blowouts.

Why use a carboy for secondary fermentation?

Those homebrewers who favor secondary fermentation offer some great reasons for racking to a carboy for bulk conditioning. Moving homebrew off the yeast reduces opportunities for yeasty off-flavors such as those associated with autolysis. Aging in a secondary results in clearer (brighter) beer.