Is this worth bottling?

[LeoLeaps]

Hi guys,
So it’s been 2 weeks since I started fermenting a lager (was trying to be a Budvar clone).

I’ve just opened the lid and it has a super strong smell of green apples, and there are some weird white things on the top of the solution. I fermented it in a fridge between 9 and 12°C.
There also appears to be a layer of sediment that takes up at least 2-3 litres out of 10... there has been no airlock activity for at least a week now.

Is this batch worth bottling? Will this overpowering smell go away? Would I store the bottles at near freezing or?

thanks for any help
Leo

 

[LeoLeaps]

Image of beer:

sediment:

 

[RM-MN]

The beer looks fine. The white pieces are yeast rafts where the escaping CO2 carried the yeast to the surface. The green apple smell is acetaldehyde, a normal byproduct of fermentation. Let the beer come to room temp for a few days and the yeast should finish converting the acetaldehyde to alcohol. Once that has happened you can slowly chill the beer for lagering, then bottle. The bottles will need to be kept at room temp for about 3 weeks to allow the yeast to carbonate the beer. After that I would chill the bottles as you drink unless you have a very large fridge to store the entire batch in.

 

[LeoLeaps]

Thank you so much for your reply. It answers so many of my questions.

quick follow up - how long should I chill the beer in the lagering stage before bottling, and is it ok just to whack it in a cold fridge or should I decrement the temperature slowly?

When I bottle, should I leave that weird huge sediment layer out? I don’t think my siphon is that tall to be able to leave a whole 3 litres out. I don’t usually use a secondary ‘bottling bucket’ but will if you say it’s beneficial.

sorry, fairly new to all this!
Thank you,
Leo

 

[Calder]

That bottom layer should get smaller as time goes by. You might want to try adding some gelatin (the same stuff you buy in a store for deserts). You can add it while cold and lagering or while warmer (but it is more effective at cold temps). That bottom layer should get down to a liter or less.

Yes, the stuff on the top seems ok to me. A week at room temp should help with the acetaldhyde smell.

 

[LeoLeaps]

That bottom layer should get smaller as time goes by. You might want to try adding some gelatin (the same stuff you buy in a store for deserts). You can add it while cold and lagering or while warmer (but it is more effective at cold temps). That bottom layer should get down to a liter or less.

Yes, the stuff on the top seems ok to me. A week at room temp should help with the acetaldhyde smell.

Do I lager before or after bottling. That is to say, after a week at room temp, do I put it back in the fridge, and if so for how long before bottling?

 

[brownni5]

You can lager in the bottle. You should let them bottle condition at room temps before storing them cold - that's all lagering is - cold storage. Bottle conditioning for me takes up to 3 weeks, though others report shorter times. Let it carbonate then stick them in the fridge. Drink whenever you please.

Moving fermenters from warm to cold will cause suck-back through the airlock, increasing the risk of oxygenation, which in a pale lager, is bad. Unless you can deal with this easily, it's best not to try it.