room temp. lagering

[bperlmu]

There is a Marzen recipe in the complete joy of homebrewing that I am interested in because it says it does well even at room temperatures. I have never tried brewing a lager....what are people's experiences with them, esp. without a means of cold-temp. fermentation? why are some lagers ok to ferment at room temp. while others aren't?

 

[Beerrific]

What yeast does it say to use? To be a traditional lager you need to use lager yeast and lager it a cold temps for a couple months.

For some styles you can get by with using ale yeast because the flavors of the malt and hops really dominate. There is also the option of using lager yeast at ale temps (like in California common beers), but you have to choose the yeast correctly because some lager yeast will give off flavors at ale temperatures.

But, if it is in the Complete Joy of Homebrewing, I would say it is tested and probably pretty good. Marzens are one of my favorite styles. Go for it!

 

[david_42]

I've seen some Marzen recipes that use a German ale yeast (like Wyeast 1007).

 

[GIusedtoBe]

Yeah I was a bit confused by this as well. Papazian is very cavalier about several of the lager recipes fermenting at room temp. "Relax have a home brew" he says. I'm sure he knows what he's talking about but I am going to wait on my fridge before I try to do a lager which is fine because most of my favs are ales anyway.

BTW How important is a temp controller on a fridge? Could'nt the dial guage in the fridge hit the 45-55 degree window?

Regards,
AW

 

[david_42]

WLP862 Cry Havoc - Licensed from Charlie Papazian

Details in another thread.

Most fridges can't run high enough. Even my ancient kegger with a bad door seal, runs 42-43F max.