Improvised lager fermenting/brewing

[wwhorton]

I've been brewing ales for a couple of years now with some success. I live in Maryland, on the Bay, in a poorly-insulated, drafty old house. This means that I tend to make estery ales or higher-temp yeast ales in the summer and fall, and lower-temp ales in the winter and spring. The coldest I can get my brewing area in the summer is about 65F using a window unit, but by just not turning on the heat I can drop it to about 60F in the winter. Space is limited, and I don't have a freezer I can use for lagering.

I say all that to say this:

While I'm very happy sticking to ales there are a few lager styles I've always enjoyed and besides, I'd like to broaden my horizons. I'd love to make a schwarzbier, for example. Let's say that I can't get a chest freezer suitable for lagering. I have three options that I can see.

First, use something like Wyeast 2112. It's not recommended for the style, but it's a lager yeast that will ferment in the 60s without issue. The idea is I'd then lager in my refrigerator until my wife gets fed up. I realize the fridge temps aren't necessarily ideal lagering temps, but there it is.

Second, approach the problem from the other end by fermenting outside with a thermostat and a space heater in my shed or something. We've had a crazy winter so far, with temps ranging from the low 70s to the teens, but it seems to have stabilized in the 30s. I could lager outside as well, presumably.

Third, pick a regular ol' lager yeast that can handle slightly above normal temps (maybe like Wyeast 2124) and just live with it at the upper edge of the range, then hope that extensive lagering will clear up any funky flavors.

Any ideas or recommendations would be welcome!

 

[Jimbodaman]

A small, well built, fire resistant box outside with a temperature controller works for me. Super simple, effective and cheap. A plywood box with some cheap insulation and a hair dryer hanging from a hook is all you'll ever need.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Before I had a ferm chamber, I used to ferment in the winter in my unheated detached garage (possibly similar to your shed). I built a small enclosure out of 1" insulation board held together with duct tape. I hooked up a small ceramic space heater to a Johnson controller. In the dead of winter I could set it for 50F for primary, 65F for d-rest and then 36F for lagering. The key is taping the probe to the fermenter and covering with insulation. It controlled the brew temp within 1F +/-.

The insulation board and heater were <$40. The controller was about $80. An alternative to the controller is to set the thermostat dial on the heater to a low setting and leave it for a few hours. Then check the brew temp and adjust up or down. Repeat this until you get a reasonably steady temp at your desired temp.

 

[casualbrewer]

Perhaps you can look at white labs fast lager yeast. You ferment it at room temperature under 1 bar of pressure (14.7 psi). If you keg already then this wouldnt be a big investment. I have been wondering about it myself.

 

[wwhorton]

Thanks for the replies!

I suspect I'll take y'all's advice and do something to the effect of building a plywood box, lining it with insulation, and grabbing a cheapo space heater. I want a Johnson controller anyway since I'm planning on picking up a chest freezer in the future. The long-term goal is to be able to lager in the summer as well, so I'd be spending the money anyway.

The pressurized fermentation sounds interesting, but I don't have a kegging system yet. I'd really like to start kegging, but besides the actual kegs and O2 tank and so forth I'd need a kegerator and a refrigerator for keg storage. That would be difficult but possible for me in terms of space, but I'd have a hard time justifying the cost to SWMBO.

 

[gometz]

Honestly if you are going to do that, especially for a Schwarzbier, I just recommend using a clean ale strain. Schwarbier is somewhat finicky because while it is nice and dark, it should be really dry and crisp. Any lager yeast fermented warm is not going to give you that crispness. I made a Schwarbier using WLP860 (trying to keep my strain alive), and it was too full bodied for the style. If you just want to make a black lager, it might be alright, but again, might as well cold ferment a clean ale or maybe a hybrid/kolsch yeast.

 

[wwhorton]

Yeah, I think I'm going to try to actually get the temps right using one of the methods above rather than just trying to coast by at higher temps or use a yeast that's not really appropriate. I definitely like me some schwarzbier and have a hard time finding them on draught locally, but I'd rather make something else and have it come out right than make a bad schwarz.