Lagering in a garage

I read several posts on this topic and couldnt find exactly what I am looking for.

Anyways, I just started brewing in February and want to try my hand a some lagers this winter. I have a fermentation chamber and have no issues controlling the the temp. However, I dont want to run the fridge that long if I dont have to. Where I live (Cleveland area) its gets very cold during the winter and the average highs in the winter are generally in the low to mid 30s.

So, would it be okay to just transfer the beer to a keg after fermentation and let it lager in my detached garage for 6-8 weeks? My main concern is that it can get very cold at night, into the teens, and sometimes we have stretches where the high is only in the 20's. If the beer freezes while lagering, will that cause any issues. I know it can kill the yeast, but since im kegging, that doesnt matter to me.

I figure they use to lager this way before refrigeration, so I dont see why it wont work now

I've done this before & it works fine. (Not here in Alabama where it almost never gets that cold, but in Washington state where it does.)

My bet is that even though it gets really cold in Cleveland, inside your garage, especially if it's next to an interior house wall, it won't get below freezing in there.

I'm from columbus and did this 2 years ago with a schwartzbier. Took 1st in NHC 1st round for our region. Freezing wont hurt the beer, but may rupture the keg if it freezes solid.

Ender said:

I'm from columbus and did this 2 years ago with a schwartzbier. Took 1st in NHC 1st round for our region. Freezing wont hurt the beer, but may rupture the keg if it freezes solid.

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Cool! I figured it would work. It usually doesnt get that cold to keep the beer cold enough for long enough to freeze solid, but you never know with the weather up here! If it gets really nasty out, I can just move it to my kegerator (also in the garage) to prevent from freezing

yeah, I know about the cold and snow. From Chardon originally. If you have the kegerator, why not just throw it in there? I know it may not be set to the coldest temp, but it'll do the job too.

Although freezing the beer won't hurt it, I've seen cornies get split. I lager in my garage, but I wrap the cornie in a water heater blanket. That damps out the temperature changes.

I also am from the Cleveland area and have been contemplating this for a while. I know it can be done, but what you're really looking for is consistency. If you go and brew a gold medal winning beer, how are you going to replicate that for next time? Without actually keeping track of the fluctuations up and down regarding temperature, there will really be no way to reproduce it exactly the way it was next time. I know it's going to be cold enough to lager, I just don't know if I'm going to do it that way or just stick with my keezer.

Lately, I've fallen in love with Cleveland's own Great Lakes Elliot Ness Lager. I'm not normally a lager fan but this Vienna amber is just damn delicious!

My tentative plan is to brew the same style early December, primary for two weeks in the 50's and then lager for one-two months in the 30-40 degree range. Having stored beer, soda and water in my garage for the last 6 years I know where the cold/hot spots are. Last year, when it was in the -20s, was the first year I had frozen beverages and pipes. 5.5 gallons is a large volume to freeze.

Ender said:

yeah, I know about the cold and snow. From Chardon originally. If you have the kegerator, why not just throw it in there? I know it may not be set to the coldest temp, but it'll do the job too.

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Because I generally keep my kegerator at 44 degrees. Thats a little too warm for me to lager in

Maybe consider getting a temp controller and plugging it into a light bulb. Place the light bulb in a sealed Cabinet with the beer. When the temp drops to a certain point the controller will turn on the light bulb and warm up the Cabinet. Of course you will need to make sure the controller will work going down as well as up.

I'm in Chicago and really want to get into lagering, but the inconsistencies are what bother me most...

noblesquirrel said:

I'm in Chicago and really want to get into lagering, but the inconsistencies are what bother me most...

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Agreed, thats my concern too. I have a fermentation chamber and can control the initial fermentation. It would just be more energy efficient and save money to lager in the cool garage, instead of the chamber....

I am currently lagering in my garage, well, it's in the primary fermentation stages, been out there for about a week. I have no lagering technology, so I'm relying on the big guy upstairs for good temps. So far in this process I have had a steady temp (gauged from my thermometer in a gallon jug of water) between 47-50%--think thats about perfect for the primary stage. But my concern is the lagering... down here in Carolina, we can get some warm days in the winter, but I'm thinking I can combat that with ice inside the bucket I am using for crude insulation.

If my lagering temp is about the same or a few degrees cooler (hopefully) than than the primary stage, what kind of affect does this have on the brew? I am brewing a German Pilsner that I will eventually dry hop with homegrown Saaz. I can realistically only expect cold enough temps through mid or end of February, so it won't be an extended time for lagering, but I'm hoping that it is good enough. By the end of feb it will have about 7 weeks total for fermenting and lagering. The yeast is currently attacking the sugars in there and I think the primary stage should be done or wrapping in the next few days or a week--leaving about 4-6 weeks for lagering, hopefully at 40 degrees. If this works out as stated, should I expect pretty good lagering results?

Thanks!

I've done it on a concrete slab in a utility room in an apartment and made a very good Kolsch... temps swung about 5-10 degrees during dec jan feb in PA. now being here i the south if I had the same room it would not be possible in SC with the normal 30- 40° daily temp swings. I say go for it. worst that can happen it comes out a bit fruitier and aley, then, meh... call it a Steam Beer/ California Common.