Fermentation too cold?

[Ryan Lloyd]

I'm making a Dark lager and the recipe says it needs to ferment between 59 and 69 degrees. The warmest my fridge will go is 55 degrees. Is that going to be an issue? Does it need to ferment longer than 2 weeks because of the colder temp?

 

[uweschmitt]

What yeast do you plan to use? 55 F is actually at the higher end for a classic lager fermentation (see also Homebrewing Lagers: Chilling Out).

 

[hotbeer]

Are you using your refrigerator that you keep other food in? If you are talking about a small dorm room size refrigerator then you can use one of these...

https://www.amazon.com/DIGITEN-Temp...689790914&sprefix=digiten,aps,100&sr=8-3&th=1
Many here use a similar thing sold by Inkbird, but they work the same. I have the Digiten. With either you need to be aware of the amperage or wattage required by the refrigerator. Otherwise, it will eventually wear out the controller. Most kitchen size refrigerators will need a unit that handles higher loads. Which they do sell for more money.

Essentially these turn the power on and off when the high/low limits are set. So it doesn't care about the limits of the thermostat in your refrigerator.

 

[Ryan Lloyd]

What yeast do you plan to use? 55 F is actually at the higher end for a classic lager fermentation (see also Homebrewing Lagers: Chilling Out).

I'm using Safale US-05

 

[JohnSand]

I've had off flavors from US05 too cool, even in the low sixties.

 

[uweschmitt]

I'm using Safale US-05

Ok, but this is not a lager yeast. Nottingham Ale yeast might work at your temp and give a slow fermentation, would take a bit longer though. Just pitch 2 packets for a 5 gallon batch. Also attenuates less, so beer might be less dry in the end. Would you mind to share your recipe?

 

[Jag75]

I'm using Safale US-05

That temp range is 54 -77
However the ideal range is 59-72

I think 66/67 is the sweet spot

As stated above . It's not a lager yeast.

BTW- welcome to HBT !

 

[lumpher]

Yeah, I wouldn't use US-05 at 55. The end product would be pretty evil, and would take forever to get that way. I usually ferment US05 at 63 ambient, and let it rise internally. I know that's not an option for you, and as was pointed out, that's an ale yeast. If you want to make lagers, and at that temp, make sure you get lager yeast. Most of them would do great around 50-55.

 

[Ryan Lloyd]

Ok, but this is not a lager yeast. Nottingham Ale yeast might work at your temp and give a slow fermentation, would take a bit longer though. Just pitch 2 packets for a 5 gallon batch. Also attenuates less, so beer might be less dry in the end. Would you mind to share your recipe?

 

[uweschmitt]

LalBrew Köln should also work at your temperature, is also pretty clean at low temp and almost lager-like. For 2.5 gallon batch 1 packet is enough at this temperature.

 

[bike2brew]

I've had off flavors from US05 too cool, even in the low sixties.

What sort of off flavors? Curious because I have fermented @ 64 to 68 and everything has been good. A little slower at 64 but that's expected

 

[JohnSand]

What sort of off flavors? Curious because I have fermented @ 64 to 68 and everything has been good. A little slower at 64 but that's expected

Peach. I've read that others had it too. That was years ago, I've had a ferm fridge for some time. Before that I used yeasts suited to the temp in my basement.

 

[hotbeer]

Nowhere in that recipe does it say this is a Lager, do they?

US-05 has a ideal range of 18-26°C (64.4-78.8°F)

https://distributors.fermentis.com/download/135/english/171/safale-us-05-en.pdf
So just treat it as a ale. You don't really need any refrigeration if you can keep it at a stable temp while it ferments. If your ambient temps can be kept stable at say 69-71°F then even if the beer temp increases while if ferments, it'll only briefly hit near the upper end of the ideal. And you can do a swamp cooler or something if it makes you feel better about it.

Ye olde beers weren't lagers!

 

[Beermeister32]

55F would be a fine temperature, use a pack of W34/70 lager yeast. Save your US-05 for a future ale project.

 

[Beermeister32]

I'm making a Dark lager

This is a lager, let’s use lager yeast.

 

[Bobby_M]

My guess is he was asking for a lager recipe and they gave him that. Perhaps that was a take on an Altbier based on the ingredients and yeast choice but that kit likely goes back old enough that they didn't have a dry German yeast available. K-97 or Koln would have been a good choice. I'd just use the US-05 and ferment it at 65.

 

[wsmith1625]

I'm making a Dark lager and the recipe says it needs to ferment between 59 and 69 degrees. The warmest my fridge will go is 55 degrees. Is that going to be an issue? Does it need to ferment longer than 2 weeks because of the colder temp?

You need a dual stage temperature controller like the ITC-308 or ITC-308 WiFi. I've had both and the WiFi was a nice upgrade.

https://inkbird.com/collections/temperature-controllers
Then add a heater and you can ferment at all temperatures.

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/fermwrap.htm