Temperature control for lagering in winter

[tommythunderstorm]

Hello,

I'm planning on doing a 5 gallon lager batch when winter comes. I live in the greater chicago area of Illinois, so with cold winters I know I will be able to do a lager without much extra effort.

My question is this: do you think my temperature won't be too cold if I ferment and store the wort in my garage during the winter? I know the garage temp will be warmer than outside, but the doors open at least a few times a day to the outside. Should I put a warm blanket Around my storage vessel? Any thoughts?

 

[Oventoasted]

Where ever you place it where you think it will be cool i would also place a glass of water with a thermometer in it. so, you can keep a better eye on the changing temps. i've not lagered without my temp controller and fridge. not sure if it will be difficult to maintain.

 

[WI_Wino]

Attached garage? Might be warm enough but it gets damn cold in Jan/Feb.. I would pick up a ferm wrap/heating belt of sorts and a temp controller. I made my own DIY with an STC-1000 and project box but if I needed one today I would buy an inkbird.

 

[tommythunderstorm]

Yes the garage is attached, that sounds like a good idea wih the water and thermometer. Would I have to adjust the form wrap if the temperature changes? I'm assuming it will constantly add some heat depending on the power I send through to it?

 

[WI_Wino]

That's the point of the temp controller. It only sends out heat when needed. It has a sensor you tape to the side of your carboy/bucket/corny keg. Insulate that with a bit of bubble wrap or foam. Then plug in the ferm wrap to the temp controller. When the controller sees the temp drop past your set point, it turns on the heater. When it gets to the set point it turns off.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011296704/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[TheHopfather]

Ferm wrap AND temp controller. An Inkbird will maintain whatever temperature you set the unit to. If it gets too cold it turns on the ferm warp, when its warm enough it turns the ferm wrap off. Pretty fool proof.

 

[mongoose33]

I live in southwest Wisconsin; our winter regime will be similar to yours.

I have an attached 2-car garage but it's insulated, walls and ceiling. It virtually never drops below freezing in there, as it well should not; I have a sink in there.

The temp in there will vary depending on outside conditions, and whether and how much we've driven the cars to heat them up before parking in the garage. It is those cars and the heat they give off after driving that keeps the garage above freezing.

I don't know what you're going to get as far as temperatures, and they'll probably vary by 10 degrees over time. Further, and I'm no expert on lagers, but most lagering temps I seem to see are in the upper 40s and 50s, eventually crashing down lower (in some cases).

I'd think you'd want to hold your beer at temperatures that are recommended for the recipe, not just put it out there in the garage and hope it all works out right.

In addition to the advice above--I have two inkirds--you might consider a setup where the fermenter is inside a cardboard box and a heater of some type, connected to a controller, is used to keep the inside of the box and your beer in a specific temperature range. Here's a link to a number of such devices on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=reptile+heating+

BTW, here's a pic of how I add a ferm wrap to my fermenter; I use this to bump the temp up after several days of fermentation to allow the yeast to finish.

The ferm wrap is wrapped around the fermenter and held in place w/ a couple of bungee cords. The temp sensor is held against the fermenter by the blue foam in which I have cut a small relief to accommodate the sensor. In my case, I put a large cardboard box over it to keep light away.

 

[Sadu]

+1 to the temp controller. If you are able to do the wiring yourself (ie follow some basic instructions on youtube) then a STC1000 can be bought for $8 on aliexpress. I have had success with lagers using a swamp cooler and aquarium heater on a temp controller. The advantage of the swamp cooler is that you can stick ice in the water if you find it getting too hot at any point.

 

[tommythunderstorm]

Wow this seems exactly like what I need! Thanks for all the helpful tips everyone! I have electrical outlets set up right in my brewing table corner in my garage so I should be set to get the equipment. Thanks again for the help