Want to get into lager style beers, what type of fridge is used?

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cutchemist42

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So right now, not only am I shopping around for a fridge stuitable for a kegerator, but I want one big enough for my carboy. Now I've seen people take those Sanyo and Danby mini fridges and turn them into kegerators, but would those work out for lagering?

Thanks.
 
Unless you have your heart set on a kegerator, my advice would be to buy something bigger that will hold multiple kegs/fermenters/carboys. Popping a picnic tap on a keg is simple and easy to clean. I started with just a used chest freezer with external temperature control; still using it three years later (although I've added a pretty significant amount of cooling space to my setup).
 
My setup is a hybrid setup.

I use wine coolers with Rancos for the fermenting and then keg to lager in my kegerator (which is a 5 CF GE chest freezer). Works awesome.
 
Never owned a chest freezer, can you adjust it to not be freezing temps?

Yes. With an external temperature controller. I use a LOVE controller on my kegerator. Also, don't cut into a chest freezer like that instructable says.

Search "keezer" on these forums and you'll find a metric boat-load of legitimate instructions.
 
Interesting!, I have done Lagers for the last 6-8 months using my stand fridge but without any "external" control and it works fine (well... I think so) Would that 2-4 degrease that it seem to fluctuate (thermometer outside the bucket) really mater? I would think the thermal mass of 20L of beer would "buffer" it, not so? and I manage to ferment @ a good 8-10'C and then turn it down to 0-2 'c for lagering
Input anyone?
 
http://winnipeg.kijiji.ca/f-chest-freezer-Classifieds-W0QQKeywordZchestQ20freezerQQSortZ3

You think any of these could work? Never owned a chest freezer, can you adjust it to not be freezing temps?

I've found this on the internet...

http://www.instructables.com/id/Convert-a-chest-freezer-to-kegerator-or-fermenter-/

Ha! Didn't notice you were a fellow Winnipegger until I saw your Kijiji link. Exactly where I got mine. Yes, your chest freezer doesn't have to freeze stuff. It's not the best for it, but mine was used when I got it and has lasted three years. Lots of brewers do this. Yeah, converting to a kegerator is relatively straightforward, though I have zero inclination myself. Opening the fridge or freezer and using a picnic tap is easy.
 
So quick searching and I like the idea of this...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00368D6JA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Just wondering though, how would I handle the probe? Would it be crushed if the door closed on it?

Thousands of people use that just fine. Usually the doors on freezers and refrigerators have a soft "weather stripping" on the seals of the door, so that would absorb the "crushing" you speak of.

I put my probe in a glass of water to help temper temperature swings, others tape it to their fermenters or kegs.
 
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Ha! Didn't notice you were a fellow Winnipegger until I saw your Kijiji link. Exactly where I got mine. Yeah, converting to a kegerator is relatively straightforward, though I have zero inclination myself. Opening the fridge or freezer and using a picnic tap is easy.

Haha didn't notice either, until I looked under your avatar. Yeah It doesn't necessarily need to be a full blown kegerator. Just looking for someplace to keep my keg cool but also allow me to ferment at cold temps. I think I'll just do the chest freezer with temp control.

A picnic tap isn't too small of a beer line? I heard there can be foaming problems if a beer line is not long enough?
 
Haha didn't notice either, until I looked under your avatar. Yeah It doesn't necessarily need to be a full blown kegerator. Just looking for someplace to keep my keg cool but also allow me to ferment at cold temps. I think I'll just do the chest freezer with temp control.

A picnic tap isn't too small of a beer line? I heard there can be foaming problems if a beer line is not long enough?

Well you can come to my house and I'll pour you a foam-free beer from my picnic tap anytime you like. You get good at it after the first thousand pints! Holding the glass at the right angle is the key.

You should plan to come out to a Winnipeg Brew Bombers meeting sometime--always looking for new members!
 
Well, if you're talking about fermentation temperature it's one thing, lagering temp is another. And if you want it in the same fridge as you're serving beer from, you need to be sure that you like serving your beer at the temps you need to use.

Fermenting lagers is generally in the 48-52 deg F range. Depending on the adjustment range of your kegerator thermostat, its highest temperature might not be that high, and then you're stuck with an external temperature controller.

The lagering phase itself can be done in a standard serving kegerator. Lagering is generally better at lower temps, so I'd try to set it as low as you prefer to serve your beer. If you don't mind serving your beer at 35 degrees and letting it warm in your glass, then I'd shoot for this.

But I generally recommend a fridge dedicated *purely* to fermenting. If you're not temp-controlling your ale fermentation, you should be. Spend less time worrying about over-sizing your kegerator (at higher cost), and get yourself a $50-100 fridge off craigslist and external temp controller to cover your fermentation.
 
I use a dorm fridge. My plastic bucket fits nicely into the fridge and the internal temp control lets me keep the temp at 50 degrees. Once the primary fermentation is complete, I set the beer in the laundry for a diastyl (not sure about spelling) rest for a couple of days, then off to the keg and kegerator for lagering. Work very well for me.
 
Well you can come to my house and I'll pour you a foam-free beer from my picnic tap anytime you like. You get good at it after the first thousand pints! Holding the glass at the right angle is the key.

You should plan to come out to a Winnipeg Brew Bombers meeting sometime--always looking for new members!

Yeah I actually came across the Winnipeg Brew Bombers site off a link on the Grape and Grains site. I saw the activities for the club are done for the year but will definitely check it once it gets going again.
 
Yeah I actually came across the Winnipeg Brew Bombers site off a link on the Grape and Grains site. I saw the activities for the club are done for the year but will definitely check it once it gets going again.

Awesome! Email the president (Mark Borowski) and tell him to keep you in the loop. The club is really going to pick up over the next few years with some good leadership in place. Half Pints is going to host a pro-am competition this year--if you are interested there will be opportunities to help out in various ways with the festivities!
 
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