Bramstoker17
Well-Known Member
So here's my situation. I've got a five gallon batch of IPA going already, but I have a mr. beer keg open, and that means wasted opportunity. I usually use the thing for small/test batches. I'm in the mood to brew a lighter oktoberfest/slightly darker helles, but I've never done a proper lager before.
Here's my question. I live in a condo on the second floor. I have a staircase directly to the outside in my condo, no common hallway with other units or anything, if that makes sense. We don't keep the heat on in the staircase, so it gets pretty cold this time of year in our coat closet at the bottom of the stairs. I'm wondering if I could stick the Mr. beer keg in there to ferment with lager yeast, do a d rest, and then stick it in the fridge to lager it. the only thing I'm worried about is temp fluctuations....and my wife being pissed about a keg in the fridge for two months, but I digress....
Would this be worth trying in order to get a true lager, or should I just use Kolsch yeast to get it close and keep it simple? My normal temp control method with the Mr beer keg is to keep it in a cooler with frozen water bottles. That will be enough for any ale yeast including Kolsch, but I'm not sure I'd be around enough to keep swapping bottles to keep it in lager temps just using my cooler. Thoughts?
Here's my question. I live in a condo on the second floor. I have a staircase directly to the outside in my condo, no common hallway with other units or anything, if that makes sense. We don't keep the heat on in the staircase, so it gets pretty cold this time of year in our coat closet at the bottom of the stairs. I'm wondering if I could stick the Mr. beer keg in there to ferment with lager yeast, do a d rest, and then stick it in the fridge to lager it. the only thing I'm worried about is temp fluctuations....and my wife being pissed about a keg in the fridge for two months, but I digress....
Would this be worth trying in order to get a true lager, or should I just use Kolsch yeast to get it close and keep it simple? My normal temp control method with the Mr beer keg is to keep it in a cooler with frozen water bottles. That will be enough for any ale yeast including Kolsch, but I'm not sure I'd be around enough to keep swapping bottles to keep it in lager temps just using my cooler. Thoughts?