I think this touches a few topics, so I'm putting this in General....
My question is how stable do I need to keep the temperature after all the fermentation is done? I have a single fridge (freezer+Johnson Control thermostat) which I'd like to use for a lagering program of something like:
1) pitch at the cool end of that yeast's spectrum (say 7°C/45°F)
2) warm by steps over the course of a ~14 day fermentation to end near the high end or at least +6°C/+10°F above the start temp
3) cool by steps to a good cold lager temp of ~1°C/33°F for however many weeks.
Ok, so while that's going, what if I have another carboy in there that has already done it's fermentation and is supposed to be lagering? Will this rise in temp have any/much affect? How about bottles, ales or lagers, that have been fully fermented, aged, bottled, fully carbed (say 3 weeks @ 20°C/68°F), can they handle going from 1°C/33°F up to nearly 15°C/59°F and back down over the course of a month or so?
Thanks for any input. I could always trim the extremes a little and keep the fridge more like 7°C/45°F and just ferment and lager and store at that consistent temp and if I need a diacetyl rest, just bring the carboy out to the ambient or a swamp chiller for a day.
It's just nice to have the ability to lock in temps, but I'm not sure I have the knowledge to use my power wisely yet.....
My question is how stable do I need to keep the temperature after all the fermentation is done? I have a single fridge (freezer+Johnson Control thermostat) which I'd like to use for a lagering program of something like:
1) pitch at the cool end of that yeast's spectrum (say 7°C/45°F)
2) warm by steps over the course of a ~14 day fermentation to end near the high end or at least +6°C/+10°F above the start temp
3) cool by steps to a good cold lager temp of ~1°C/33°F for however many weeks.
Ok, so while that's going, what if I have another carboy in there that has already done it's fermentation and is supposed to be lagering? Will this rise in temp have any/much affect? How about bottles, ales or lagers, that have been fully fermented, aged, bottled, fully carbed (say 3 weeks @ 20°C/68°F), can they handle going from 1°C/33°F up to nearly 15°C/59°F and back down over the course of a month or so?
Thanks for any input. I could always trim the extremes a little and keep the fridge more like 7°C/45°F and just ferment and lager and store at that consistent temp and if I need a diacetyl rest, just bring the carboy out to the ambient or a swamp chiller for a day.
It's just nice to have the ability to lock in temps, but I'm not sure I have the knowledge to use my power wisely yet.....
