lowlife said:Lagers need fermented at 48-55 usually. I dont think a regular refrigerator gets that warm.
PaulHilgeman said:Here is one my my recent favorites:
5 Gal
7 SRM
30 IBU
1.055 OG
1.010 FG
8oz Crystal 60, Remainder Pilsner Malt to 1.055 (generally 10-11lbs)
1.3 oz Cascade at 90
1 oz Liberty at 10
1 oz Liberty at 0
WY2124, big pitch, ferment at 50 degrees.
I call it SOLID GOLD LAGER for short, or MR. T's SOLID GOLD LAGER for long.
Share with me what a big pitch means
Here is one my my recent favorites:
5 Gal
7 SRM
30 IBU
1.055 OG
1.010 FG
8oz Crystal 60, Remainder Pilsner Malt to 1.055 (generally 10-11lbs)
1.3 oz Cascade at 90
1 oz Liberty at 10
1 oz Liberty at 0
WY2124, big pitch, ferment at 50 degrees.
I call it SOLID GOLD LAGER for short, or MR. T's SOLID GOLD LAGER for long.
Homercidal said:I think you could ferment at 50F fine in a fridge, but it's the lagering at 33 ish that might be a problem. Some fridges I've owned would freeze milk over, so it may be possible if you cranked that sucker down and helped it out with some blocks of ice.
So what happens if you ferment at 50 but are unable to get to 33 or so for lagering. What would be the outcome of your beer.
Yooper said:Well, lagering is part of the flavor profile for sure.
From our wiki, talking about lagering after fermentation is finished:
-haze forming proteins will precipitate and the beer will be stabilized
-hop polyphenols will drop out leading to a milder hop bitterness
-yeast cells sediment which cleans up the beer and removes the yeasty smell and taste associated with young beer
-some of the alcohols, esters and acids in the beer react to create new flavor compounds.
-some yeast activity may be present which leads to further clean-up of the beer
A lager is very crisp and clean, in part due to the actual lagering, while the hops bitterness is smoother (again, due to the lagering).
Well that was a good bit of info. Thanks for the insight.
Yooper said:If you've got some fridge room but not a lot, you could try making the lager and then bottling after the diacetyl rest. Allow the beer to stay at room temperature to carb up, and then lager in the bottle. My fridge is a bit warmer than a lagering chamber at 38 degrees, but it should work if yours is, too.
You'd end up with a bit more sediment in the bottle rather than the carboy, but otherwise I can't think of any negative consequences.
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