Not Enough Cooler Space

I brewed 20 gallons of my lager today. Its a great recipe that I've gotten tremendous positive feedback on. Unfortunately, I only have room in my temp controlled cooler for two carboys - I normally only brew 10 gallon batches. I stuck the other two in my basement, which should keep it around 60 overnight. Suggestions for the morning? I could just let it go and see what i get, or put it in an ice bath. I'm up for an experiment either way.

At present, the two leftover carboys are still sitting on the basement floor. I might try some tricks like water bottles, but the krausen isn't getting too out of hand - yet.

I think it would be cool to ferment one at 65 and the other at a daytime high of 75 and then compare them on this thread. :rockin:

What yeast strain did you use? Some lager yeasts are more temp tolerant than others. I've had some downright nasty lagers that people fermented warm, but I've had some good ones too. 34/70 is one that gives good flavors at 65. Its not lager like, but it gives a nice honey like flavor with a slight fruitiness.

I made 20 gallons, and split it up into four carboys with four yeasts. I've got a blend of White Labs and Wyeast Octoberfests, plus Wyeast 2035 in my lagering fridge. They've been there for 15 days. I also used Wyeast 2000 (Budvar), and 2007 (Pilsen) for the other two. Today I took measurements and drank samples. Here are my notes:

6/20/12 = 2035 @ 1.020 - Very hoppy, with a "sharp" edge - close to Yuengling
6/20/12 = Octo @ 1.024 - Hops more controlled, sweeter/smoother
6/20/12 = 2000 @ 1.020 - Milder/smooth body, acidic/unpleasant aftertaste - ferm @ 70
6/20/12 = 2007 @ 1.018 - Same smooth front end, acidy/hoppy backend - ferm @ 70

Starting gravity was 1.057. The two warm fermented beers taste a lot more ale-like, meaning they have a much smoother body and mouth feel, but I also tasted a lot more unfermented stuff in the background. Given the fact that all four are basically in the same gravity range, I plan to rack them today into corny kegs, because I can fit four of those into my lagering fridge, then tomorrow I'll start the drop to lagering temperature. I'd be more inclined to leave one off and see what happens, but the back-end taste isn't pleasant, and I'm really hoping I can lager it back out.