Repitching rate after lagering

[lordnoise]

I've a Pilsner (23 ltrs) now in a secondary at 4 deg C in a wine fridge. Its had 2 weeks fermenting at 12 deg and finished nicely at 1010 (S23 yeast). The beer is already pretty clear and after a further 4 weeks lagering I guess there will be little or no yeast left when I bottle. Can anyone tell me how many grams of S23 I should repitch with to guarantee decent carbonation ?

[clogwog]

I know it is not the prevailing wisdom on this site, having been shot down about this issue once before.

However, my experience (note the my) is that even after lagering at 2ºC for up to 7 weeks, I've bottled my brews without aditional yeast, and they've carbonated just fine.

[lordnoise]

I've read a few conflicting views on this topic. Common sense says that there will be at least some yeast left in suspension but you might expect quite a delay in it carbonating to a decent level. Did you notice any difference in the time it took to carbonate over a non lagered beer ?

[wilfy1970]

I have read in a few books about the practice in Belgium of putting the bottled and primed beer in a warm room to speed things up directly after bottling. I experienced this when I left 2 cases of primed beer in my conservatory at the end of last year for a week. A fantastic lacey head stayed right down to the last sip for all of the bottles in those two cases. I think its something you would have to take notes on and give it a bit of the old trial and error. Obviously too hot and you'll bugger the beer up.