Lagering @ 48°

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petep1980

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So, my kegger has 3 settings. They are off, 48° and 30°F apparently. I would like to use it for lagering, and I know 48° is good to ferment lagers, but all the books call to lager in the mid 30s. Vienna seems to be the warmest lagering lager at 40°.

Since almost ALL styles of beer can be served around 48° I'd like to dry and lager around that temp. Will I need to add time to the lagering stage, will I have a tough time obtaining the crispness I want?
 
You really should get colder than 48F. Lagering should be done at as close to 32F/0C as you can get. At 48F you are just doing an extended secondary. Why not use the 30F setting and keep an eye on it. A beer of ~5%ABV will go below 32F without freezing.
 
The only issue is that I would like to have beer on tap during the lagering process, and I don't want to serve that at freezing. I may just have to hit up bottles then during the entire process.

Well you've convinced me to stock up on bottled beer.
 
How about wrapping your kegs with insulation to keep them a bit warmer while you drop the temps? Never tried it but sounds like it might work.
 
Why do you want the beer on tap during lagering? The beer should finish lagering before being served. Those temps are almost perfect for making lagers. 48°F for primary and 30°F for lagering. The typical beer freezes at ~28°F, so 30°F should be fine.
 
Why do you want the beer on tap during lagering? The beer should finish lagering before being served. Those temps are almost perfect for making lagers. 48°F for primary and 30°F for lagering. The typical beer freezes at ~28°F, so 30°F should be fine.

The beer I want on tap would be another keg of ale.
 
If you can swing it, you could use 38-40 degrees as a lagering temperature, as well as a serving temperature. If your kegerator won't keep that temperature, maybe an external controller could help.

That would be the best option. Get an external controller.

Johnson Controls A419 - $60-80 on Ebay. You'll get the best of both worlds.

Lagering at 40 would be fine. (see here How to Brew - By John Palmer - When to Lager)
 
Well, I think for cheaper on craigslist I could pick up a frigde. I may explore that option because it means I don't have to touch the temp in the kegger pretty much forever. Almost every beer can be served at 48°. Minus mega American Lagers.
 
Well, I think for cheaper on craigslist I could pick up a frigde. I may explore that option because it means I don't have to touch the temp in the kegger pretty much forever. Almost every beer can be served at 48°. Minus mega American Lagers.

Yeh my keezer is at 45F. I love it there for everything. Even white wine.
 
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