fermenting lager in 5 gal. carboy

[Gvan84]

hi everybody, im about to start a Brewhouse lager kit and i want do it in the mini fridge but i only have a 5 allon carboy. could i add less water to the wort for primary fermentation to allow for more headspace then add the rest of the water at start of secondary?

 

[beersk]

No, I wouldn't do that. You could probably ferment a lager in a 5 gallon carboy. You might have an issue pouring the wort in and having it foam out. But if you're doing a partial boil it shouldn't be a problem then. My lagers typically create about an inch of krausen, so you wouldn't have much for blow off. But a blow off tube would be good in case. Lager it on the yeast cake with a solid, undrilled bung in place of the airlock after primary fermentation is done.