I've bottled and primed my first lager. Now what?!

[cornishpasty]

Hi!

I've been brewing ales for 2 years, around 20 brews, so still lots to learn.
I've just bottled my first lager, and so far so good!
My question: should I leave it at ~room temp for a couple of weeks to let some conditioning/carbonation happen, as I normally do with ales, then move to my fridge to lager?
Or should I just go straight to lagering?
If it's relevant, it's a Czech pilsner, I used saflager W-34/70 and fermented at 15degC. I did a rest at ~17degC for 3 days before priming with DME and bottling.

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[Minbari]

Personally i lager before packaging, but you want to lager it now. Should be kept under 40F for 4-6 weeks min

 

[J A]

Bottled homebrewed lagers are a little tough to pull off. It's definitely best to let yeast settle and clear before bottling to minimize trub in the bottle but it'll happen eventually.
Yes let it carb up at room temp - preferably on the cool side. When you get a couple weeks in, put one in the fridge to chill thoroughly and check it for carb level. If that's good. Put the batch in the coldest fridge you have. Better if they're 35 degrees or so. They'll settle in a few weeks and you can start checking. Pour carefully and pour the whole bottle at once down to an ounce or two. With any luck, the yeast is compressed and you won't get a completely cloudy glass.
Good luck!

 

[Donoroto]

Do let it carb up first, then leave it to clear after. Cold helps it clear faster (weeks instead of months). Lagering is a mechanical process, where gravity does all the work.

Lagering cold first never lets the yeast do the carbonation, and when you eventually warm it, the yeast is too tired.

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

Carb first. Make sure it’s fully carb’d before lagering. Just put it in the refrigerator and let it set 4-6 weeks. Then enjoy. I rarely let it set that long before trying it.

 

[dmtaylor]

I often get extra sulfur and/or diacetyl right after bottling. Keeping the bottles warm in the 60s F or at room temperature for 3 weeks helps the yeast reabsorb these off-flavors in the bottles. I would only chill a bottle or two a few hours before tasting one to see how things are going. Keep all the rest of the bottles warm for several weeks. That's been my experience with bottling many many lagers. After you have confirmed good carbonation and no off-flavors, then you can lager your bottles as you see fit, or just cellar them in the 50s or 60s because 50 bottles or whatever takes up a lot of space in a refrigerator. They will still "lager" close to room temperature. Lagering is really just aging, more than it has anything to do with chilling.

 

[cornishpasty]

Ok, thanks for the advice.
I will let them sit at room temp for 2 weeks and then chill one and check for carbonation and take it from there.
I'm already pretty happy with the clarity at least - it's probably the clearest beer I've brewed after only 48h in the bottles (I have one clear glass).
Then they can sit in my fridge as low as it goes for several weeks...well, until I want to ferment another lager