Lager Brewing Advice

[Morrey]

Greetings. To date I have only done Ale style (yeast) brews mainly due to the fact I had no real method to keep temps low unless I used my kegerator. But, that is used for serving and kept around 40F. I am in SC so we have no real stable, cooler temps to consider.

I recently bought a Thermo Star temp controller and am also buying a chest type freezer. The 15 cu ft layout is perfect for arranging a series of FV's, carboys or kegs side by side. In short, my equipment is lining up.

I want to formulate a "game plan" that stages my beers in the proper temperature sequence. With that said, can someone suggest an easy reference that outlines my basic timelines for lager fermenting, resting, lagering..etc. Basically an overview of a generic lager beer production and associated temps?

THANKS!!!

 

[McKnuckle]

Well, here's a thought about using your kegerator for dual purposes:

Pitch the yeast at 55F, and put the fermenter into your kegerator. Set the temp to 46F. Not so bad... you'll still enjoy the served beer. Your lager will stabliize around 48-50 once fermentation kicks in. Leave it for a week, then remove and start raising temp to 60ish to complete ferm and have a diacetyl rest. Once that part is done, cold crash in the kegerator - now set to 40F again.

The now famous "Brulosopher quick lager method:"
http://brulosophy.com/methods/lager-method/