Crazy Warm Weather + Lagers = ??

[edw6buffalo]

Hello All,

First off thanks for your wisdom, I have been brewing for a year and my success has been in great part to all of your awesome wisdom. Thanks.

So with this heat wave the past week my ability to ferment my lager at a reasonable temp has gone out the window. I was away on business for the past week got home and in Buffalo we are normally maxing out around 55-50 F this time of year. I left my lagers in a place where it holds those temps well. I come back and its 75f highs . My lagers were finished fermenting, i don't have the ability to cold storage so i was going to let them go a month at 50ish to finish up and now the temps are out of control. I put them in a water bath and have been adding ice (and anything else i can find that is cold).

I used Wyeast 2206 Bavarian lager yeast for a Schwarzbier and a Stout i was doing with lager yeast, what kind of off flavors should i be expecting?

And If i bottle them right now will it do me any good?

Thanks in Advance!
( I feel like the only idiot in Buffalo complaining about the awesome weather....)

 

[brooksy]

Since you don't know what temperatures your beer was at, I'd say there no way to tell what types of flavors might have been created. You might find some (or a ton of) extra esters, or you might have been lucky and nature did a diacetyl for you! Lets hope for the latter!

 

[TimTrone]

Taste them and see what they're like. Hopefully the temp didn't spike until most of the fermentation was over.

 

[edw6buffalo]

Thanks for the replys. I think they were done fermenting, I took readings today and yesterday and they are both definitively done now. The Schwarzbier is tasting good with a little sweetness i wasn't expecting and i plan on checking in on the stout today. I think i might bottle my Schwarzbier early and try to lager them in the fridge using the bottled lagering technique i have been reading about on here.

I guess only time will tell

Cheers

 

[buffalobrewer]

hopefully the first few days were cooler (but I can't remember a cool day in the last couple weeks) and the higher temps came when a diacetyl rest would have been needed.

Riding the motorcycle in Buffalo on St. Patricks day did seem a little strange....

 

[edw6buffalo]

Shorts and putting the shovel in the basement in Feb. was very strange

For all my complaining about the weather and my beer, I sure did enjoy wearing shorts on St. Patrick's day for the first time I can remember.

I just hope I don't have to dump any of my beer, I haven't had to ditch a batch yet....i hope these are drinkable.

 

[TopherM]

Lagers (noun) ferment at 50-55, but they aren't lagers (noun) until you lager (verb) them in the mid 30s for 6-8 weeks.

I personally would never attempt a lager unless I had a temp controlled chamber to lager (verb) in. Your batch wasn't going to be a lager from the start if you didn't have the means to lager (verb) it.

Anyway, the good news is that a lager (noun) that isn't lagered (verb) is still a good beer. Lagering in the mid 30s for an extended period helps the clarity and crispness associated with the lager style. In your circumstance, a lager that isn't lagered is really more of a California Common or Steam Beer. They end up light, can have very good clarity, but lack the crispness of the lager style, which is instead replaced by a slight sulfery aftertaste that is a desireable flavor in that particular style.

So, curb the expectation that you've made a lager, but this should still be a good beer!

 

[shadows69]

I have the same warm weather in pa as well and have 8 5 gals of lager going. I am however over 8 weeks of cold lagering. I still have mine in carboys and the temp is about 50ish. Am I worried? Naah, I think if anything the warmer wether will clean up the lager of what I may of missed during the d-rest stage.

 

[TopherM]

I think you are missing the point. If your beer is conditioning at 50 degrees, you are NOT making a lager, by definition. You are NOT completing the lagering (verb) process required to make a lager. You are just conditioning a lager (noun) at normal fermentation temps, so you are going to be missing the crispness associated with the lager style.

The warmer conditioning will not "clean up the lager." The lower the temp, the SLOWER the conditioning, but the CLEANER the conditioning. Lagering (verb) any beer, including ales, at just a few degrees above freezing makes them as crisp and clear as possible, but it does take more time than standard conditioning.

 

[shadows69]

While what you are saying is correct however, I already did the cold lager stage at 35 degrees for 8 weeks and now back into the 50's thanks to the warm weather we are having. A steam is classified between the high 50's to the 60's I believe without ever dropping the temp below that using a lager yeast. You can also lager in the 40's just won't be as crisp and will be ready in a shorter amount of time. The warmer your lager temp is the shorter amount of time it takes to finish however, the less crisp it will be. That sounds like the answer the poster was looking for in a nut shell.

 

[TopherM]

Got you...I misunderstood that you did this after a proper lagering. The Dude abides.

 

[shadows69]

No problem. Could be that I am typing from my phone and not making any sense.