Lagering in warmer fridge question?

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Jakeintoledo

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I have a question about lagering an Oktoberfest....I fermented, did a diacetyl rest on and am now lagering a batch of beer, and did a grav check today. it's at 1.014, which is where I roughly am shooting for. I only have one fridge in which to lager, and I was hoping to do a double batch of the same beer this weekend. My fridge can contain two Carboys and probably a couple of Corny kegs. I was thinking about putting the existing batch into a Corny keg to lager in the fridge, but the fridge will be coming up to ferment and Diacetyl temps while the lagering batch is still in there. I have a home-made temp controller that can get the fridge up to room temperature if I need it, which definitely comes in handy with temp control of the beer's environment.

My question is this: will the higher temps do any harm to the beer? I don't want to create any fruity esters that higher temps + lager yeast might create, but I'm already into secondary and I don't think that's a huge threat, given the gravity. I'm also concerned about making a Corny bomb (though I've never used a corny keg, so maybe that's not realistic).

Thoughts are welcomed....I'm headed over to my LHBS to pick up the ingredients and the corny keg if this will work.
 
I wouldn't worry about a "corny bomb". Corny's are generally rated to 100+ psi (at least the ones I have are stamped around there).

Though I would be worried about doing a warm lager - I don't think you'd get a very clean lager character and would end up with some off flavors.
 
I don't know how bad it will be. Maybe not even perceivable after only two weeks.

If you're willing to take the risk try it out and maybe everything will taste just as great as you're expecting. I've never tried it, and only have lagered a few times so hey, give it a go and report back how it worked! I've run in to similar problems in the past and just held off brewing until the lagering was done. So if it works it would be good to know.
 
I think you will be fine. Off flavors are mostly produced during the first week. That is why you can raise the temp for a diacetyl rest at the end. After that the yeast should be done with most their work. Lagering is more about inorganic processes. I bottled my lagers before I started kegging, and would leave them at room temp for a couple weeks to carb. up and never had problems.
 
Lagering is what smooths out and "crisps" up the flavor and finish of a lager. I'd prefer lagering near freezing to make the finest lager possible.

During lagering, the cold temperatures cause polyphenols to drop out, and that's what gives the distinctive clean, crisp lager taste and finish.

I'd much rather see lagering done for a few weeks at 34 degrees than raising the temperature before the lagering is done. My rule is "colder, longer" rather than lagering at a warm temperature for a shorter time, though, and I normally lager near freezing for one week for every 8-10 points of OG. For a 1.060 lager, that would be 6-8 weeks at 34 degrees.
 
The reason I'm planning on bringing the temp up is so I can also do a ferment / diacetyl rest for two other carboys, being that i only have the one fridge. My intention is to raise the temp for a couple of weeks for the second double batch I'm doing, then drop it down and let it sit and chill for two months at or near freezing.
 
You should be fine. In Bavaria they lager in caves which are typically in the high 30s-low 40s, and they obviously produce fantastic beer. I think the whole near freezing thing is a little exaggerated, lagering at 38 F is the least of your worries.
 
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