2nd all grain question

My father is a die hard bud drinker,so for my second all grain i dicided to do a cream ale. I have two questions. 1st its starting to get cold in new england and my basement is arond 56 degrees should i use my 1056ale or my safelager 23 at this temp? 2nd is it posible to do a step mash in a 5 gallon bevrage cooler @122 then @153 ? This is what the recipe calls for. Any help would be great thanks.

I would think 56 is cutting it close, you gotta remember that active fermentation produces heat so you would be in the low 60's during fermentation. If I remember correctly either of those yeast is 60-70 preferred fermentation temps. Try to warm it up just a few degrees with a space heater and you'll be golden.

Yea, you can do step mashing in a cooler, just have to make sure your water is the right temp when adding it to the cooler to raise the mash temp