Bock fermenting temperatures

[wxman73]

Hi

I want to make a bock beer but have no way to control the temperature it ferments at. I understand that it need to ferment around 50F. My basement is about 65F. Thats about the closest i can get to it. Do you think that it will be ok like that?

Thanks

 

[Kershner_Ale]

Unfortunately no, a Bock fermented with lager yeast, like WLP833, at 65 F is going to leave you disappointed. Try putting your fermenter in a tub of water and using frozen water bottles to chill it down to 50 F. Lager yeast is more sensitive to temperature fluctuations so it can be hard fermenting this way and maintaining a consistent temperature. Temperature fluctuations can shut the yeast down leaving you with an under-attenuated beer. It wouldn't hurt to do a test run to see how many water bottles are needed to reach fermentation temps. Probably 2-3. It's a labor intensive process as you'll need to swap out water bottles 2x / day until fermentation is complete. As you reach terminal gravity you can ramp up fermentation temps by 5 - 10 degrees. Good luck.

 

[wxman73]

Thanks Kershner. I will run some test runs ysing water in the fermentor.