How cold is too cold for a lager?

Emo · Post by **Emo** » Tuesday Jun 26, 2007 9:57 pm

I'm looking at taking advantage of the cold Melbourne weather and making a lager. I'm planning on putting the fermenter in the garage where it gets pretty cold at night. Current night temperatures of 7 degrees. Is that too cold?

Rysa · Post by **Rysa** » Tuesday Jun 26, 2007 10:04 pm

I've had mine in the shed for the last month or so and they've sat between maybe 9 and 12, 8C at worst.
Our nights have been around 1 to 3C and day around 10 to 12C.
Have been fermenting no worries without any great fluctuation.

Pale_Ale · Post by **Pale_Ale** » Tuesday Jun 26, 2007 10:10 pm

You should be fine but obviously it will result in a much longer fermentation time

Depending on the yeast you may be within the ideal range or just below. Fermentis recommends 9C at the lowest for S23, W34/70 and S-189 but they brew lower than that.

Also bear in mind that fermentation generates heat so your beer would probably sit 1-2 degrees higher than the ambient temp.

The night temperature is all very well, but how cool is it during the day? Ideally you want the temperature to stay as constant as possible. A garage has less insulation than the house which means it is more likely to fluctuate. You may want to observe the day temperatures.

Emo · Post by **Emo** » Tuesday Jun 26, 2007 10:16 pm

Thanks for the info. I've got a cold dark corner in the garage so I don't think that daytime temp will be too bad. Perhaps as high as 14 degrees.

Trizza · Post by **Trizza** » Wednesday Jun 27, 2007 12:53 am

I'm with pale ale,

I've got a lager in the garage atm, and its fermenting nicely at 11 degrees, maybe 10 at nights and 12 during the days, but it's still relatively constant.

It might take ages, but the results have got to be worth the wait. This weather has got to be very close to perfect for brewing lagers (in Melbourne at least

)

I'm planning for 2 weeks primary, 2 weeks secondary for this brew and the next 2 lagers after that.

Trizza.

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Wednesday Jun 27, 2007 9:49 am

It's getting down to -5*C here, and my pilsner is chugging along happily. Obviously it is not at -5*C itself. It is inside a cardboard box on my back deck. 5*C is fine for Saflager, as long as you are prepared to wait a while

Mr_Booze · Post by **Mr_Booze** » Wednesday Jun 27, 2007 3:28 pm

I've taken the wise advice of people on this site and have been madly brewing lagers for the last month or so. I'm in Auckland, New Zealand and the temp in my garage has been 12˚ during the day, getting down to around 9-10˚ (maybe even slightly lower) at night.

I don't rack, so will 2 weeks in primary be enough time for the yeast to do its job before I bottle? I'm thinking it will be, just want some reassurance, really....

Rysa · Post by **Rysa** » Wednesday Jun 27, 2007 3:45 pm

From my limited knowledge i'd say so, as long as your FG is stable.
I've been leaving mine for 14 to 16 days at around 10C and they've been fine.

Trough Lolly · Post by **Trough Lolly** » Wednesday Jun 27, 2007 4:59 pm

I have a Dortmunder conditioning in the garage here in Canberra - it fermented happily at 10C in the same room. It's an excellent time to be fermenting in the garage and leaving the fridge for more important tasks like serving up the kegged and carbed beer!!

Cheers,
TL

Trough Lolly · Post by **Trough Lolly** » Wednesday Jun 27, 2007 5:01 pm

Mr_Booze wrote:I've taken the wise advice of people on this site and have been madly brewing lagers for the last month or so. I'm in Auckland, New Zealand and the temp in my garage has been 12˚ during the day, getting down to around 9-10˚ (maybe even slightly lower) at night.

I don't rack, so will 2 weeks in primary be enough time for the yeast to do its job before I bottle? I'm thinking it will be, just want some reassurance, really....

Lagers typically take twice as long in primary as ales - so two weeks in primary is normal. If you're bottling straight out of primary, check the gravity and only bottle when you've got a stable FG - I'd recommend you get an extra fermenter and rack the beer off the primary yeast cake and let it condition in the cold for another 2-4 weeks before bottling, but as long as you have a stable and low bottling gravity you should be ok.

Cheers,
TL

Adzmax · Post by **Adzmax** » Tuesday Jul 10, 2007 12:37 pm

I'm about to pop a larger on tonight. I've got a consistent 13c in my Laundry which I've been monitoring with a digi thermometer. I'll be using Saflager-S23 and reading the data sheet they say ideally 12c. I'm guessing 13c will be close enough until I get myself a fridgemate. I'm thinking I might gain a few extra degrees with fermentation activity though?

Trough Lolly · Post by **Trough Lolly** » Tuesday Jul 10, 2007 9:25 pm

Brew on son! And don't sweat the Sulphur from the S-23 - it's a good sign that the lager's going well!

Cheers,
TL