Fridgless lager

[chrishanson]

A fridge/freezer for temperature control is on the future list but it's just not in the cards right now but I'm really wanting to do a lager.

I believe with a water bath, ice and placement I can get a fermenter down to the mid 40s low 50s for fermentation, the real challenge is going to be lagering. I have an unheated garage that I'm considering putting the fermenter in (probably in a water bath to help with temp swings) but the air temp this time of year can fluctuate between 20s and 60s.

How big of an issue would the swings be during the lagering period? Obviously, we're coming into winter where the temperatures would be lower on average but would probably still swing quite a bit inside the garage. Would it be a better plan to wait until the temp is consistently lower and have to think about keeping it warm instead of cold?

 

[Spectre216]

It might be best to wait until winter, and then stick in a tub of water outside with an aquarium heater and a temp controller to keep everything just above freezing. Apply this with the quick lager method and you should be good to go, just have to wait until it gets colder outside. Otherwise you could always try conditioning it at room temp, but I don't know the effects it would have.

 

[Cyclman]

I've fermented lagers with frozen water bottles in a bucket, time consuming but it worked great.

I know you can condition at higher temps it just takes longer. I don't see how fluctuations could hurt the lagering- it might just slow it. Keeping the fermenter in a water bucket would give thermal mass and reduce fluctuations, as would keeping it in a cooler.

 

[MikeInMKE]

You could lager in the bottles/keg.