Lagering methods

[SaisonMan]

Thanks for this. It never would have occurred to me that a keg on the hump in my keezer would be that much warmer. That would matter a lot for lagering.

 

[gewehr43sniper]

i don't brew lagers, but i have an upright freezer with an inkbird and a heating pad

 

[Deadalus]

I haven't fermented at lager temperatures but I do have a 4-keg keezer that I set to 37F degrees. The three floor kegs stay nice and cold, but the hump beer sits much warmer, maybe 50F degrees. So I always make sure to have a temperature and carb appropriate beer in that keg. Currently a Best Bitter, recently a Porter.

Do you have an added computer type fan inside?

 

[Deadalus]

I have a mini fridge and a wine chiller that I use for fermenting lagers. They are directly controlled by Inkbird temperature controllers. I bought the fridges used and they weren't much at all. You just have to find the right size for your fermenters. Mine will fit 6.5 gallon carboys. The wine chiller can fit two ball lock kegs so I guess I could ferment a 9 gallon batch in the two. I am planning on trying some in keg fermenting at some point.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Do you have an added computer type fan inside?

Yes.

 

[SanPancho]

I’d like to make lagers at some point. I’m curious what method people here use — freezer/refrigerator with a temperature control or fermenter setup that has a coil, pump, cooling source and temp control? What are the benefits/drawbacks of either? Is there a fermenter setup that won’t break the bank? On some of these fermenters, it seems like the heating/cooling accessories cost more than the fermenter itself

if you can ferment under pressure the lagering isnt nearly as long. on the order of a week or two.

yes, you can ferment in the same chest freezer/keezer you are serving kegs out of if you use a heating wrap on your fermenter and then an insulating layer over the heat wrap so it doesnt put out too much heat into the box. not ideal, but you can get a 50ish ferment going in a box thats set for 39/40 serving temp pretty easily. but depending on what fermenter you're using you might need a big ass box. if you're willing to ferment in a corny its super easy. and if you're hung up on getting a full 5gal batch, morebeer sells a 6 gallon corny now so you can ferment in it and wind up with 5gals.

i've got a side x side fridge i fooled around with and now i've got ferment chamber on big side, and the freezer is still freezer. (hops mostly, fruit purees, dry yeasts, etc) have an x1 unitank that fits the fridge side, with a good amount of storage space left in that chamber.

 

[Basspaleale]

Here's what I do and it's worked for over two years (year round and I live in Oklahoma). Buy a large garbage can, insulate the interior sides and top. Purchase a Cool Zone jacket at Gotta-Brew.com. I brew 10 gallon batches so I use a half barrel for by fermenter but 5 or 6 gallons will work as well. I have a six gallon plastic container with a 60% mix of glyco/water sitting in my freezer (you can use your keezer) I have an Inkbird controller for cold and heat. I ferment at 48, raise to 68 and then crash to 38 before transfering to serving kegs. You'll need a submersible pump for glycol, a chicken coop black lamp for heat and silicon hoses to run from keezer to jacket. I purchased the pump from Gotta-Brew and the lamp from Tractor supply.

 

[SaisonMan]

So here’s where I’m at. Yesterday, I shut the refrigerator off, kept the freezer at a medium setting and left it overnight. The temperature this morning in the fridge was 55. That’s on the high end of what I want for lagering. I’ve set the freezer to its lowest setting to see if that makes a difference.

If that doesn’t work, I’m probably going to buy a heating jacket and a controller, set the fridge back to a normal setting and then heat the fermenter to 45-50. We’ll see what happens.

 

[brewbama]

I’d like to make lagers at some point. I’m curious what method people here use — freezer/refrigerator with a temperature control or fermenter setup that has a coil, pump, cooling source and temp control? What are the benefits/drawbacks of either? Is there a fermenter setup that won’t break the bank? On some of these fermenters, it seems like the heating/cooling accessories cost more than the fermenter itself.

I ferment in an old refrigerator I bought for $50 used when I got married 31 yrs ago with a temp controller on it. 55°F Lagers, 65°F Ales.

 

[jtgoral]

I lager every beer. My kegerator holds 4 kegs but has only 3 taps. The 4th keg connected to CO2 waits for its turn to be tapped for over 1 month. This is minimum time for lagering.