Lagering Temperatures

I'm seeing a wide variance in my researching on what temperature range I should aim for when lagering. It's a doppelbock by the way.

What would be the difference between a lagering period of low 30s vs high 30s?

Good question. There seems to be a differing view on what happens during lagering floating around here and I was thinking about posting a thread to see if we could get it sorted out. Some think the yeast are involved. Some seem to think it is a chemical reaction with certain things precipitating out.

Chris White states in his book that yeast won't do much once you get below 40. I've seen some say that the precipitation happens faster the lower the temp.

Pick a number and stick to it. 30 different people will give you 25 different answers. My magic number is 34-35f.

I also believe the colder the lager the smoother the final product. Of course it will take a bit longer.

I've heard the colder is smoother but takes longer as well. I do 34F for 2 months. Doppelbock would be more like 6 months for me.