Warmer Lager Temperatures

[JWR_12]

Hi! So I don't have a fridge to lager in. My basement, right now, hovers in the low 60s Fahrenheit (about 62-64). I also have a storage shed that gets quite cold, like the upper 30s. I've been looking at Fermentis lager yeasts, and to my surprise their recommended range seems quite warm, like 58-64. Can you really lager at those temperatures? I had always thought lagering required temps in the 40s and 50s. I could maybe find a space that's in the upper 50s most of the time. I'm in particular hoping to brew an Anchor Steam clone, now that Anchor is gone :-(

 

[Minbari]

Fermentation and lagering are two different things.

Allot of people say that 34/70 works just fine in the 60s.

You could definitely lager it in your shed as long as it doesn't get below 30F much. You don't want it to freeze

 

[JWR_12]

Ahh! Boy, was I confused. I'll read more into this, for some reason didn't perceive this difference between lagering and fermenting. Must read more!

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

34/70 is one of the best yeast to use as a “warm” lager yeast.

Lagers are fermented between 45-55F. Then after fermentation is completed, the beer is cooled to near freezing temperatures for 3-6 weeks. This long storage at near freezing temperatures causes the yeast, polyphenols (tannins) and excess proteins to drop to the bottom. It also helps the beer flavor to mature.

You can ferment in the low 60’s with 34/70 and get decent results. If you ferment under pressure (15psi or so) at those temperatures, it helps the yeast ferment cleaner. Lagers are typically very “clean”, meaning there is very little flavor contribution from the yeast.

 

[Herm brews]

I am wondering about my upcoming Vienna Garage Lager. Using Fermentis 34/70 in the utility/fermentation closet at 60F +/- a few degrees will be fine. Since I have only 2 fermenters, and don’t want one of them tied up for a month and a half to 2 months, I was considering lagering in bottles. My garage should have temps in the range of low 30’s to 40‘s. Would this be an advisable method?

 

[Minbari]

I am wondering about my upcoming Vienna Garage Lager. Using Fermentis 34/70 in the utility/fermentation closet at 60F +/- a few degrees will be fine. Since I have only 2 fermenters, and don’t want one of them tied up for a month and a half to 2 months, I was considering lagering in bottles. My garage should have temps in the range of low 30’s to 40‘s. Would this be an advisable method?

You can, just pour carefully to keep the "stuff" out of the beer.

You can always get a keg just for this purpose too (poor man's bright tank)

 

[Herm brews]

You can, just pour carefully to keep the "stuff" out of the beer.

You can always get a keg just for this purpose too (poor man's bright tank)

Are you trying to lead me down the rabbit hole?

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

I am wondering about my upcoming Vienna Garage Lager. Using Fermentis 34/70 in the utility/fermentation closet at 60F +/- a few degrees will be fine. Since I have only 2 fermenters, and don’t want one of them tied up for a month and a half to 2 months, I was considering lagering in bottles. My garage should have temps in the range of low 30’s to 40‘s. Would this be an advisable method?

Beer will lager just as well in a bottle as a bright tank, you will just need to fully carb the beer prior to lagering. I lager fully carbonated in the primary fermenter, after a couple of weeks I transfer to a keg and finish it up there. Most lagers are done lagering in 3 to 4 weeks.

As Minbari suggested, kegs are pretty nice. It's a fine rabbit hole to go down.

 

[Josh Hughes]

I like 34/70 in the 60s fine.

 

[Josh Hughes]

I am wondering about my upcoming Vienna Garage Lager. Using Fermentis 34/70 in the utility/fermentation closet at 60F +/- a few degrees will be fine. Since I have only 2 fermenters, and don’t want one of them tied up for a month and a half to 2 months, I was considering lagering in bottles. My garage should have temps in the range of low 30’s to 40‘s. Would this be an advisable method?

Yes

 

[Minbari]

Are you trying to lead me down the rabbit hole?

I would never!

 

[Herm brews]

Beer will lager just as well in a bottle as a bright tank, you will just need to fully carb the beer prior to lagering. I lager fully carbonated in the primary fermenter, after a couple of weeks I transfer to a keg and finish it up there. Most lagers are done lagering in 3 to 4 weeks.

As Minbari suggested, kegs are pretty nice. It's a fine rabbit hole to go down.

Thanks for that info on carbing before lagering. That is what I suspected, but neglected to ask. So best practice in my case is to ferment and bottle as usual, giving the bottles at least a week to condition in the relative warmth of the house, then let the bottles lager in the cold garage?

 

[Herm brews]

I would never!

I have been looking into kegging. It takes me a long time to decide what I want for breakfast, so kegging might take a good while longer to figure out. I am aware that I could get new Torpedo kegs in 2.5 gallon size at lhbs for ~$110, but then comes all the other necessary equipment.
Rabbits, they are everywhere!

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

Thanks for that info on carbing before lagering. That is what I suspected, but neglected to ask. So best practice in my case is to ferment and bottle as usual, giving the bottles at least a week to condition in the relative warmth of the house, then let the bottles lager in the cold garage?

Yup. You could do it in a refrigerator if you have room.

 

[Donoroto]

I have been looking into kegging. It takes me a long time to decide what I want for breakfast, so kegging might take a good while longer to figure out. I am aware that I could get new Torpedo kegs in 2.5 gallon size at lhbs for ~$110, but then comes all the other necessary equipment.
Rabbits, they are everywhere!

Of course, used 5 gallon kegs can be had for $50. The real issue is how big is too big? As a bright tank, 5 is fine, and you can carbonate it like a big bottle. I will say that bottling carbonated beer from a keg is a challenge. Not a big challenge, but a challenge nonetheless.

But the rabbit hole will later need a way keep it cold for serving, a CO2 tank for pressure, and more.

 

[Herm brews]

Yup. You could do it in a refrigerator if you have room.

No room in our relatively small fridge. I usually don’t keep more than a six pack of cans in our fridge. I put my bottles in 2 or 3 at a time for serving.

 

[Minbari]

I have been looking into kegging. It takes me a long time to decide what I want for breakfast, so kegging might take a good while longer to figure out. I am aware that I could get new Torpedo kegs in 2.5 gallon size at lhbs for ~$110, but then comes all the other necessary equipment.
Rabbits, they are everywhere!

ya, but you dont have to buy new. 5gal cornies are $60 used. and you dont HAVE to buy anything else. just use it to lager

 

[Herm brews]

ya, but you dont have to buy new. 5gal cornies are $60 used. and you dont HAVE to buy anything else. just use it to lager

At the homebrew club meeting that I attended tonight, there was a used 5 gallon corny keg that was given away as a raffle prize. The guy seated right across the table from me was the winner of said prize.
So if I were to get a keg to use for lagering, how do I serve the beer or transfer it if nothing else is needed? Help me here, I see rabbits.

 

[Minbari]

At the homebrew club meeting that I attended tonight, there was a used 5 gallon corny keg that was given away as a raffle prize. The guy seated right across the table from me was the winner of said prize.
So if I were to get a keg to use for lagering, how do I serve the beer or transfer it if nothing else is needed? Help me here, I see rabbits.

couple different ways. you can rack the beer into a bottling bucket and bottle it like you do now. but if you were gonna use it purely for a bright tank. I would punch a hole in it near the bottom and add a bulkhead to bottle straight from it.

 

[Sunfire96]

I often bottle from the keg, it's very simple. The beer lasts for months, if not a year, and is still plenty carbonated without oxidation. I use a picnic tap and my bottle filler. No counter pressure equipment at all. I no longer have picnic taps, so I bottle from my faucet taps like filling a growler.

Herm, if you're going to the trouble of buying kegging equipment, just get the whole kit and kaboodle. Get a 5 gallon keg, even if you don't fill it all the way with beer. Get a 5 lb tank for CO2. Dispense/bottle with a picnic tap. Find a free/used fridge online. Heck, you could even get a floating diptube (~$20) and start fermenting and serving from your keg, and carbonate via spunding (spunding valve ~$30) which saves money on CO2.

I've lost track of the number of times in this hobby I thought I'd cheat the system by only upgrading part of my process to eventually spend money down the line to upgrade every dang part.

I buy my kegging supplies from kegconnection.com. It's a family business that had great customer service. The kegs come cleaned and pressure tested, which no other online store does. They will answer any questions you may have, in addition to instructional videos on their YouTube page. Here's their entry level kegging kit:
https://www.kegconnection.com/1-faucet-basic-homebrew-kegerator-kit/