Did I leave my lager in primary too long?

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bunggo

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Hi,

I am making my second beer (first lager). It is a Brewers Best dortmunder gold lager kit.

I made the wort and put it in a primary for 3 weeks at a fairly constant 54 degrees. I have moved it to a carboy, and been lowering the temperature on it daily for one week.

My problem is that I've kept it on the patio in a box to help maintain the temperature, but the temperature has gotten sunny here for the last couple days and I think my beer has probably gotten up to the mid to upper 40's, then back down to the lower 40's over night.

I asked my local brew store about this, and they pretty much claimed bloody murder saying that the beer is probably ruined, and I must bottle it to save it if it isn't already ruined. I read that people just let it lager for a long time though... so I'm confused.

Any guidance?
- Bunggo
 
bunggo said:
Hi,

I am making my second beer (first lager). It is a Brewers Best dortmunder gold lager kit.

I made the wort and put it in a primary for 3 weeks at a fairly constant 54 degrees. I have moved it to a carboy, and been lowering the temperature on it daily for one week.

My problem is that I've kept it on the patio in a box to help maintain the temperature, but the temperature has gotten sunny here for the last couple days and I think my beer has probably gotten up to the mid to upper 40's, then back down to the lower 40's over night.

I asked my local brew store about this, and they pretty much claimed bloody murder saying that the beer is probably ruined, and I must bottle it to save it if it isn't already ruined. I read that people just let it lager for a long time though... so I'm confused.

Any guidance?
- Bunggo
Click to expand...

Take a deep breath. Your beer isn't ruined. :)

I'm no expert by any means, but I'm fairly sure if you just deduct those scant hours your beer wasn't at the optimal temperature and add it to your lager schedule you'll be fine.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 
I would agree. Remember that you have 5 gallons of mass that will hold temperature for quite a while. Plus, you said that you had a box over it. The box will act as a bit of an insulator and help even out any ambient temperature swings. If you wrap then whole thing in a blanket, even more insulation and protection against ambient temperature swings.

RHAHB!!
 
I decided to transport it to my mother-in-laws house, and she's going to keep it in her refrigerator (38 degrees). I'm going to bottle it in 2 to 4 weeks. It actually did feel quite cold still.
 
I'm sure your beer is perfectly fine. As a general rule of thumb, it's best to keep at a pretty constant temperature and you don't want it going through large swings in temperature (say 70 during the day and 55 at night). It sounds like you will probably be fine and you'll end up with a great tasting brew.
 

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