yeast change

[brutus1255]

I was looking at brewing a Pilsner and due to not having refrigeration space would not be able to keep the beer at the 40 degree level but can maintain at 50-60 degree. First how would this effect the beer using a lager yeast? and second What would be the effect of using ale yeast at the lower temp?

Ed

 

[theredben]

Are you talking about primary fermentation, or cold-conditioning (lagering)?

If you mean primary fermentation, then most yeasts perform best somewhere around 50F.

If you mean "lagering", then 50-60F is a little bit warm, but not too much. If you are able to hold 50F for around 8 weeks or so it would turn out like it normally would. The warmer the lagering stage is, the longer it takes. It would happen faster if you kept it at 40F but 50F is actually quite traditional (lagers were made for hundreds of years without refridgeration technology).

 

[kh54s10]

If you mean primary fermentation, then most yeasts perform best somewhere around 50F.

I question this. It is my understanding that ales yeasts ferment best around 70F. And that the best temperature for the beer is in the low to mid sixties.

At around fifty I would be afraid it would take a very long time for fermentation to finish if the yeast didn't just go dormant.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I question this. It is my understanding that ales yeasts ferment best around 70F. And that the best temperature for the beer is in the low to mid sixties.

At around fifty I would be afraid it would take a very long time for fermentation to finish if the yeast didn't just go dormant.

you're right, for ales. the OP is talking about lager yeast. 50 degrees is about perfect for most lager strains during fermentation.

OP, i agree you can lager warmer than 40 or below, but it will take longer. if you're lagering at 50, try doubling the lagering time. generally at traditional lager temps (30's), you'd lager 3-5 days per 1 degree plato (4 gravity points) i.e. a 1.040 og brew should be lagered for 30-50 days. since you're lagering warmer, go a bit longer that the long end of that.