Partial Lagering - Worth it?

[peilhauer]

Hi, I don't have a good lagering setup, but I would like to incorporate lagering into a brew session. Is it silly to put a carboy in the refridgerator for a week or so, and then let it finish outside at room temperature?

 

[Yooper]

Well, no. But maybe. I'm not sure what you're asking.

If you're asking about taking a finished ale and then "lagering" it, then yes. Cold crashing an ale will result in a "cleaner" taste and a clearer brew. It's not really lagering, though.

If you put the beer in the fridge before it's finished fermenting, that would be not recommended though. That would simply cause the yeast to go dormant. That would cause multiple problems, like a stuck fermentation.

So, I guess my answer really depends on what you are asking!

 

[peilhauer]

I guess I am talking about cold crashing then. I have room in my main fridge (set at about 43) to put in a 3 gal carboy, and room temp for me is about 65. So, I should ferment at room temp or slightly lower, and then cold crash in the fridge.

I was thinking that fermenting at fridge-cold levels could be a partial way to lager. In the case of your Marzen recipe, you ferment 10 days @ 50, then lager @ 35. You're saying it would not be recommended to start fermentation @65 for a day or two, then move to the fridge @45.

 

[samc]

Just thought I would mention that your fridge for food storage should be between 35-38F, not 43F.

As to lagering, you need to use lager yeast.

 

[firebird77]

You're saying it would not be recommended to start fermentation @65 for a day or two, then move to the fridge @45.

In general this would not ever be recommended because you are bridging between the fermentation temps for lagers and ales. No matter what yeast you are using that would not be advisable (the exception would be steam beer). Assuming you are using an ale yeast, you would only want to drop the temps below the 60's after fermentation has completed, verified of course by a hydrometer.

 

[Yooper]

I guess I am talking about cold crashing then. I have room in my main fridge (set at about 43) to put in a 3 gal carboy, and room temp for me is about 65. So, I should ferment at room temp or slightly lower, and then cold crash in the fridge.

I was thinking that fermenting at fridge-cold levels could be a partial way to lager. In the case of your Marzen recipe, you ferment 10 days @ 50, then lager @ 35. You're saying it would not be recommended to start fermentation @65 for a day or two, then move to the fridge @45.

In general this would not ever be recommended because you are bridging between the fermentation temps for lagers and ales. No matter what yeast you are using that would not be advisable (the exception would be steam beer). Assuming you are using an ale yeast, you would only want to drop the temps below the 60's after fermentation has completed, verified of course by a hydrometer.

Right. If you're using lager yeast, you want to ferment at 50 degrees. Not in the 60s, and not in the 40s! Lagers require more attention to fermentation temperature, since too warm will cause fruity esters and off-flavors and too cool will cause the yeast to go dormant.