Does there come a point when lagering becomes ineffective? I have five gallons at 32 degrees for three months now. Is there any benefit to leaving it in the fridge longer?
I’d say that at this point there is no advantage in terms of further lagering. Of course, keeping it cold will help prolong the life of the beer.
What was the recipe? An imperial bock with a 1.140 O G would be better served by a longer lager period than a 1.050 pilsner.
It’s a 1.048 Czech Pilsner.
Get the beer to drinking status! Tradional German lager brewing recommends 1 week lagering per degree plato, so even by that you should be good to go now(with your 12 plato og).
The more frequently you brew your various lager recipes, the more you will figure out how long each of them should be lagered best. For example, I brewed up a new recipe in Feb for a traditional bock that I have not brewed in about 5 years. I had lagered it for about 6 wks prior to entering it in a local competition where it took a gold medal. This week (about 3 months of lagering in the keg) I have found that it has reached its peak and tastes absolutely awesome (even better than when I originally had it judged at the comp). So now I know the next time I brew it where the sweet spot for lagering is.
Brulosopher has set the bar for me:
Really works.