New brewer question

[MichiganMike]

Hello everyone! I am sure this question has been asked. I did do a google search and am not very clear on what to do.
This is my first batch that I have brewed, I am using brewers best German Oktoberfest and I followed the recipe and things seem to be okay for now, but the recipe states that "the yeast can be used as a lager or an ale". I have my fermentor sitting in my basement at a constant 62º which the beer has been in since January 1st. I noticed fermentation started after 72 hours. So today i noticed that fermentation has stopped (from as far as I know), the directions say the yeast will ferment out in 10-14 days.
The question is that I was to lager the beer in the temperature range of 35-42º can i just place the fermentor in my garage since the temp here all week is supposed to stay in that range? Do i need a secondary fermentor or is it okay in the one its in now? Should i take a FG reading first before putting it outside if that is even okay?
I guess im kind of lost. I don't mind the ale but if i can lager i would like to go that route.
Any advice would be great and thanks for reading my post.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

After 10 days it may be done with primary fermentation, but the only way to know is to verify by checking the gravity. Assuming it is a combination yeast then if it is within 5pts of FG you could move it to a cooler temperature.
However for true lagering you are talking about 2 to 5+ months of secondary fermentation. If you plan to lager for more than about 3 weeks I would transfer to a secondary. I've never had a problem, but leaving the beer on top of all of the dead yeast for an extended period can produce odd flavors. If you're not going to lager for an extended period then it won't really make a difference because lager yeast work at a much slower rate than ale yeast. Lagering for a week is basically a long "cold-crash" to get particles to settle out and make your beer clearer because a week or two isn't long enough for any noticeable lagering to occur.

 

[danimal615]

+1

Leaving it sit on that yeast cake for months might be a bad idea. I'd secondary it for a few months.

 

[MichiganMike]

Okay thank you very much, I really don't have a second fermentor I do have a second 5gallon bucket that has a spigot on it that supposed to be for bottling. Would that be okay to use as a secondary? If so I could easily use that for 2 months. Also do I need to add more yeast or just let it sit until it reaches the FG?

 

[runkelia]

I made that mistake with a kit for a "Continental Pilsner" that I received for my birthday.
The kit said it was a lager yeast that works in ale temps.
I won't make that mistake again. The beer wasn't ruined, but had a mild plastic aftertaste.
I drank it all anyway. I didn't transfer to secondary just went from Primary to bottles.
Lesson Learned: stay away from any lager yeast unless you can ferment at lager temps.

 

[MichiganMike]

Yeah lesson learned for sure, I can lager but am new so don't really want to mess it up.

 

[danimal615]

My bottling bucket has too much headspace so i never tried it. I would use a carboy if lagering for a long time. The buckets are great, but i would worry about the plastic allowing oxygen in over long periods of time.

 

[Homercidal]

Well, the big question is what exactly is the yeast? A lager yeast that can ferment at ale temps, or an ale yeast that can ferment at lager temps?

At this point it's academic, but it would be nice to know. According to the PDF online, it seems to be an ale that can ferment at low ale temps with lager yeast characteristics. So fermenting at 62 is probably a good thing. Now you need to find out if it's done fermenting, or just slowed down to a crawl. Take a hydrometer reading and see where it's at. If it's low enough, you can safely rack to a secondary vessel (I don't normally secondary most ales, but if you are lagering I would recommend it and I'd probably do it myself.)

According to the directions, you would rack to a carboy or other suitable vessel and then drop the temp 1-2 degrees a day until you reach 35-40F and then lager 4-6 weeks. If you don't have equipment to control the temps, just try and get them as low as possible without shocking the yeast.

And relax, and enjoy the hobby. Sounds like you are likely going to make a nice beer!

 

[MichiganMike]

Thanks homer I will check the SG and if I can pick up a glass carboy. I can get the temp to about 36 and keep it there for a while. Thanks again for everyone's help.
I am enjoying this hobby very much so far. I just like to learn as much as I can.
P.S. I used to live in Big Rapids (I like your bulldog

 

[MichiganMike]

Okay so tonight i checked the SG and it was 1.022 and the FG is supposed to be 1.016-1.013 so im well on my way I think. I started the lagering process also. I am a little worried thought I had a little accident that I hope will be okay. I over pushed my rubber stopper into the carboy filled with the beer of course. Opinions do you think it will be okay? It was sanitized right before going in.

 

[runkelia]

I've done that. The fun part is getting it out.
I got mine out with a dishtowel - there are youtube videos to illustrate.
It shouldn't affect your beer.

 

[MichiganMike]

I've done that. The fun part is getting it out.
I got mine out with a dishtowel - there are youtube videos to illustrate.
It shouldn't affect your beer.

Haha thanks! Im really looking forward to trying to get it out

I saw a video on youtube on using a plastic produce bag that I will try. I am going to wait until i rack to bottles. The article i read last night said that almost everyone does it one time. I honestly was floored when it happened though, live and learn