Temp problems

I live in South Florida and I went out and bought a digital thermo to see what settings my fridge was at. Lowest 33 Highest 40...What can I do if i want to lager a beer at 50?

Also, if i leave my beer out to ferment at room temp. My ac is set on 70 is that sufficient to do an Ale?

70 is fine for most ales.

To lager, you need to build a fermentation chamber. There are many threads here discussing different ways to do it. If you have a fridge just for brewing, you can buy a Johnson temperature controller that will allow you to set your fridge at higher ranges, perfect for lagering.

Stupid reply but how will a johnson temp controller raise the temp to 50 if the on the lowest setting my fridge will only reach 40 at its peak?

To lager, you really need a dedicated fridge with an external temp controller, like a Ranco. As for the ale, the beer will be fermenting a few degrees higher than room temp because of all the metabolic activity going on in there, so as long as your yeast is OK up to 75F, it'll be OK. You may get a few extra esters, but that could be good depending on the style. My first few batches were fermenting just above 70F and they were good beers.

Shamrock28 said:

Stupid reply but how will a johnson temp controller raise the temp to 50 if the on the lowest setting my fridge will only reach 40 at its peak?

Click to expand...

The controller has it's own temp probe and cuts power to the fridge when it has reached the right temp.

They don't make fridges that go up past 40 because of the potential to grow mold. Not a problem for us, because we're not opening the door all the time, and there are likely periods where the fridge is empty for a while. All the Johnson/Racos do is tell your fridge to shut off at 50 rather than 40.