Lagering in a chest freezer... is this too cold?!?

[Mike-H]

Ok, I want to do some lagers, like heinekin etc... Well, I just figured out I can fit 2 5 gallon carboy's in my chest freezer that I keep my kegs in. I keep my kegs at 29degrees air temperature which equates to about 32+ liquid temp (water JUST BARELY freezes, beer doesnt)... Is this too cold to lager or is it perhaps, perfect?

 

[Yuri_Rage]

That's a bit cold for most lagering. 45 is probably the lowest you'd really want to see. Look into a RANCO ETC-111000 type temperature controller. It plugs in between your freezer and the wall, and uses a separate temperature probe to sense when to let the freezer have power. You should be able to lager at any temperature at or below room temperature with that setup.

 

[Mike-H]

I have the temperature controller.... I use it for my kegs, but I dont want my kegs at 45 degrees Oh well

 

[Yuri_Rage]

If you're just storing the kegs, you don't have to almost freeze them. A nice cool place is just fine until you're ready to drink. 45-65 will work great for that purpose.

 

[Mike-H]

hehe i'm not storing them, I drink from them My chest freezer = my tap system. I also thought maybe I could lager in it, but I dont want to drink beer at "lagering" temperatures.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

You drink some COLD beer! And I was once chastised for 36-39 degree serving temps!

 

[Mike-H]

Damn straight. I've drank a lot of beer in my life and I dont care what anyone says I like it COOOOOOOOLLLLLLDDDD!

 

[Yuri_Rage]

To get back to the point - I don't think you'll find many lager yeasts that will ferment at temperatures that low. You could certainly try lagering the beer in your keg freezer (Witch's Tit Lager?), but you probably want to ferment a bit higher.

 

[AdIn]

Let me disagree. You want to do secondary fermentation around 42F but you want to lager it close to 32F. While doing secondary fermentation yeast should digest those long sugars, that's why you need temperature to be close to when yeast performs best. How long - it depends on composition of your wort. More dextrenious beer - longer secondary fermentation. When lagering you want all proteins, tannins and yeast cells precipitate out of the solution therefore temp should go down.

 

[Mikey]

Ok, I want to do some lagers, like heinekin etc... Well, I just figured out I can fit 2 5 gallon carboy's in my chest freezer that I keep my kegs in. I keep my kegs at 29degrees air temperature which equates to about 32+ liquid temp (water JUST BARELY freezes, beer doesnt)... Is this too cold to lager or is it perhaps, perfect?

Are you talking about the fermentation phase of making a lager style beer, or the actual lagering ie 'secondary' phase/cold conditioning?

Fermentation is done at around 50 degrees F, lagering is done at 30-34F

 

[mysterio]

Ideally, you should set your thermostat to 10C (50F) for the fermentation period, and then about 0C (32F) for the lagering (storage) period.

 

[boo boo]

Damn straight. I've drank a lot of beer in my life and I dont care what anyone says I like it COOOOOOOOLLLLLLDDDD!

I like mine cold also, so it looks like it's you and me vs everyone else here.

I agree with mikey..fermentation at the recommended yeast profile tempertures and lagering at or as close to 32 to 34f should get you there.