Any benefit to lagering "warm"?

I have a German Pils currently lagering in my garage. Been there a few weeks. Unfortunately, the temperature has been climbing recently and is now 46F. I had hoped to keep it cooler for longer, but I guess Spring really is almost here. So, is there any benefit to keeping it at this temp at this point? Or should I just skip ahead and bottle it ahead of schedule?

Get it cold, it can bottle lager.

Cyclman said:

Get it cold, it can bottle lager.

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Well, I don't have the space to lager all the bottles either. If I bottle, they'll just sit at the same temp or warmer until I throw a few at a time in the fridge.

So, I guess my question is whether it is worth bulk aging in the mid-40s for another few weeks. If not, I might as well bottle them now and drink them sooner.

JLem said:

Well, I don't have the space to lager all the bottles either. If I bottle, they'll just sit at the same temp or warmer until I throw a few at a time in the fridge.

So, I guess my question is whether it is worth bulk aging in the mid-40s for another few weeks. If not, I might as well bottle them now and drink them sooner.

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As long as your temps don't go beyond mid 40sF I think you'll be OK. The lagering effects at those temps will occur more slowly than if you were 10 deg colder but there should still be some positive effects on the beer.

BigEd said:

As long as your temps don't go beyond mid 40sF I think you'll be OK. The lagering effects at those temps will occur more slowly than if you were 10 deg colder but there should still be some positive effects on the beer.

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Thanks. I'll leave it alone for a little while longer. If temps start to creep too far up, I'll bottle. I need to get myself a dedicated fermentation fridge!

BigEd said:

As long as your temps don't go beyond mid 40sF I think you'll be OK. The lagering effects at those temps will occur more slowly than if you were 10 deg colder but there should still be some positive effects on the beer.

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I thought I had read that things went quicker at higher temps, but better at lower ones. Maybe I was wrong.

Don't worry about it. If you fermented clean, and are simply aging, then I wouldn't worry about being a bit warm. For a couple years, I would brew lagers while my basement was cold enough, but had no real way to lager them, other than to just wait and wait and wait while they sat in kegs. This was sometimes up to 4 months, with temps getting up to 70 F in the basement. Finally as space became available, they would go into the kegerator for two weeks of "lagering" in the mid-40's and then I'd start drinking. They would turn out great!

Of course now I'm set up to brew lagers, and properly lager them all year round

tennesseean_87 said:

I thought I had read that things went quicker at higher temps, but better at lower ones. Maybe I was wrong.

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Things like fermentation might but lagering does not.

Palmer's How to Brew:

Nominal lagering times are 3 - 4 weeks at 45°F, 5 - 6 weeks at 40°F, or 7 - 8 weeks at 35°F.

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I knew I'd read it somewhere. You may still disagree, and I have no experience to contradict you, but I just needed to vindicate my memory.

Well, this recent cold spell has allowed me to keep this beer lagering between 42-45°F. Silver lining for otherwise miserable weather conditions. I'm hoping to bottle this weekend.