Guys
Happy New Year.
I made a Lager on 12/24 outdoors- I live in NY. Its COLD right now- below freezing
I have this shed /shack outside- its weathered- and beaten up- but is warmer than the outside-
I created a fermentation chamber out of a 2 door cabinet I had- and insulated the inside- wrapped a blanket around that sucker- and its been going off really well since I put it in on the 24th.
Here are my issues: used s23 dry lager yeast- 24 hour prior- did a starter
The yeast ideally wants to be in the 48-50 temp range- im probably hitting around 44 at best. I might even be cooler- its nearly IMPOSSIBLE to tell- as the outside of the carboy is colder than the inside- throwing off the temps.
I have a infrared temp reader I took from work to read server temperatures and crak unit temperatures- I wasnt able to penetrate the plastic and get a core reading of the beer.
I brewed 50 gallons this summer. This is my first lager- and my first outdoor experiment. Will the cooler temps take longer to ferment? I know that its fermenting and doing well- the chamber smells like beer- the kreusen is nice- the yeast are dancing up and down- to my amazement.
Should I keep strict to my 14 day primary- 48 D rest - 30 days secondary at 35 or whatever cold as hell temp I can get this thing at... Should I extend the primary due to the colder fermentating temps -- or do I want to get this beer off the trub asap?
Happy New Year.
I made a Lager on 12/24 outdoors- I live in NY. Its COLD right now- below freezing
I have this shed /shack outside- its weathered- and beaten up- but is warmer than the outside-
I created a fermentation chamber out of a 2 door cabinet I had- and insulated the inside- wrapped a blanket around that sucker- and its been going off really well since I put it in on the 24th.
Here are my issues: used s23 dry lager yeast- 24 hour prior- did a starter
The yeast ideally wants to be in the 48-50 temp range- im probably hitting around 44 at best. I might even be cooler- its nearly IMPOSSIBLE to tell- as the outside of the carboy is colder than the inside- throwing off the temps.
I have a infrared temp reader I took from work to read server temperatures and crak unit temperatures- I wasnt able to penetrate the plastic and get a core reading of the beer.
I brewed 50 gallons this summer. This is my first lager- and my first outdoor experiment. Will the cooler temps take longer to ferment? I know that its fermenting and doing well- the chamber smells like beer- the kreusen is nice- the yeast are dancing up and down- to my amazement.
Should I keep strict to my 14 day primary- 48 D rest - 30 days secondary at 35 or whatever cold as hell temp I can get this thing at... Should I extend the primary due to the colder fermentating temps -- or do I want to get this beer off the trub asap?