Lagering
- Thread starter rds4ou
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dlaramie08
Well-Known Member
I would definitely go basement over garage. Maybe shut all of your heat registers so none of the heat goes down there. The basement would be more stable. What is your average temp in the basement?
dlaramie08
Well-Known Member
Oh your post said garage or basement. That made me believe you had one. If a garage is all you have then that's gonna be your only option if you really want to do lager. Will it be alright? Probably not but that depends on the temps of your garage.
dneubeck85
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Your garage will be completely fine! Do u think thy had temperature control hundreds of years ago when they lagered in caves?
dlaramie08
Well-Known Member
The temperature control was a cave. Caves don't have wild temperature swings like garages do. But all this doesn't matter if you really want to make a lager. As long as you can find a fridge to put it in after it's done fermenting the you're set.
Yes, they might.
You could try putting the fermenter in a cooler, with a water bath, to minimize the fluctuations and make sure to maintain 48-52 degrees for fermentation.
I used to do ambient fermented winter lagers. They turn out alright if you use a lager yeast that isn't too temp sensitive and it will work fine. saflager 34/70 and wy2124 bohemian work well....some people like wy2112 cal lager but I've never had a beer i liked that was fermented with it. I did a few with wy? bavarian lager but it was too fruity. To protect against the temp swings, insulate the keg or carboy. Wrapping it in blankets or placing it in a tub of water will smooth out the temp changes.
Ostomo517
Well-Known Member
You can also use White Labs San Fransisco Lager yeast, its a bit more forgiving temp wise can go up to 65°
estricklin
Well-Known Member
After your fermentation is out of the way, say the first week or 2, you could move your bucket or carboy into your refrigerator by taking the middle shelf out, IF your SWMBO will let you get away with it.
Bamsdealer
Well-Known Member
Either will work. Just pick the place with a temp as close to 50 as possible. Fill a tub with water to buffer temp swings during fermentation. An old sleeping bag or comforter will add in extra insulation. Swap out a couple 20 oz frozen water bottles or warm water if needed and you're gold.
Monitor your brew once in the morning and once in the evening and you can easily stay within a degree or two of 50.
Monitor your brew once in the morning and once in the evening and you can easily stay within a degree or two of 50.
FuzzeWuzze
I Love DIY
My garage worked great for lagers, it was like 29-40 out and my garage stayed a constant 48-52 when the door was closed. Which put my beer at around 50 most of the time according to my thermowell, it drifted up and down a degree or two here and there but it was very very slow drift..like i'd maybe lose 1/2 a degree overnight when it got really cold.
It takes either a very large temperature differential between the liquid and surroundings, or a very long time for the temperature of 5 gallons of anything to change. The garage routinely got down to 30 when i opened it to brew, when i'd go upstairs to look at my temperatures they maybe dropped 1 degree over the 4 hours...
It really depends how well insulated your garage is i suppose..between my gas furnace, and a PC server running out there it maintains temps pretty well...that said i do want a ferm chamber...once i move my current keg freezer inside and turn it into a keezer, ill have room for another temp controlled freezer in its current spot.
It takes either a very large temperature differential between the liquid and surroundings, or a very long time for the temperature of 5 gallons of anything to change. The garage routinely got down to 30 when i opened it to brew, when i'd go upstairs to look at my temperatures they maybe dropped 1 degree over the 4 hours...
It really depends how well insulated your garage is i suppose..between my gas furnace, and a PC server running out there it maintains temps pretty well...that said i do want a ferm chamber...once i move my current keg freezer inside and turn it into a keezer, ill have room for another temp controlled freezer in its current spot.
Bamsdealer
Well-Known Member
After primary fermentation you want to move it to a secondary for cold conditionong below 40 for a month... Then bottle. Leave the bottles at room temp for a few weeks till theyre carbonated to your liking. Chill and drink.
The other option is to bottle after primary and then let them carbonate for a few weeks. Lager the bottles below 40 for a month then drink.
The other option is to bottle after primary and then let them carbonate for a few weeks. Lager the bottles below 40 for a month then drink.
Ostomo517
Well-Known Member
Dont forget diacetyl rest!
masterfool101
Well-Known Member
To expand on what Yooper said, one solution I've seen regularly used is to go get a "tub" from walmart (or similar store) that has plastic sides large enough to come about 1/2 - 2/3 up the side of your fermenter. Fill it with water around your fermenter, and add ice as necessary to keep the temperature in the range of 50 degrees. The extra thermal mass of the additional water will make large temperature swings unlikely, even if the temps in your garage vary by as much as 20 degrees from day to night.
Note that you will have to regularly drain water and add ice (or hot water, if it gets way too cold) to keep this solution going. A floating thermometer can help with this. Depending on your ambient temperature, and the fluctuations in your garage, you may need to "maintain" the tub 2 or 3 times a day. However, if the garage temperatures are usually pretty low, and only vary by 10 degrees or so, you might not have to maintain the system too often.
