Fermentation/lagering in the same chest freezer?

I'm in the process of converting a chest freezer into a kegerator, which I want to use to also brew lagers. Because of space issues, I don't have room for separate fermentation and lagering vessels. I was thinking if I could set my chest freezer for about 50 degrees for the fermentation, transfer to a carboy after the diacatyl rest, then drop the temp down to 40 degrees for the lagering phase of the beer. It would mean changing the serving temp of my beer, but I'd really like to make lagers and am willing to deal with it. Any suggestions?

That's what I do. Depending on what kind of lager you're brewing and the yeast strain, you can probably ferment with the freezer set down around 43-45. Then just drop it down over a couple of days to lagering temp and transfer to your lagering vessel (or transfer first and then chill, whichever you prefer). Fermenting/lagering closer to the bottom of the range will make the whole proccess take longer of course, but it might be an okay trade-off to keep your serving kegs a little cooler.

rtp-brew said:

That's what I do. Depending on what kind of lager you're brewing and the yeast strain, you can probably ferment with the freezer set down around 43-45. Then just drop it down over a couple of days to lagering temp and transfer to your lagering vessel (or transfer first and then chill, whichever you prefer). Fermenting/lagering closer to the bottom of the range will make the whole proccess take longer of course, but it might be an okay trade-off to keep your serving kegs a little cooler.

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That's what I think I'll do. I have a 7.0 cu ft chest freezer, so I can fit 3 cornies and a carboy or 4 carboys, so I figure I'll find a lager strain where I can ferment around 50, transfer to a corny, and lager about 40.

This is what I am doing at the moment. Also, there is no reason you can't lager at 50, might take longer for it to drop clear but...

Beerrific said:

This is what I am doing at the moment. Also, there is no reason you can't lager at 50, might take longer for it to drop clear but...

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Thanks Beerific, that's also what I was wondering. From what I've read about lagering is that the temperature is flexible, but the time period might change.

why don't you keep your fridge at 45ish and just ferment, lager, and serve at that temp?