Brewing lager at low temperatures, any joy??

[hopsbee]

Hi all,

First batch of Coopers pale aussie ale done, turned out alright i think. Just leaving it few weeks after bottling.

Has anyone brewed lager at lower temperatures, i've heard some people saying you can do some european ones as low as 13 degrees, is this correct? I hope it is as i can then get a batch on the go in the garage and all.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Good Ed]

Lager yeasts work at lower temperatures than ale yeasts. I'm not sure what they give you with your kit as some "lager" kits come with an ale yeast. Get a packet of Saflager S-23 yeast and you can brew a true lager, the recommended fermentation temperature is 9-15C, ideally 12C. Good luck :

 

[hopsbee]

Thanks for that, just looking at other options for my brewing. For brewing in general now, is temperature really that critical or is it more important that its constant rather than an exact temp ie can i brew pretty much anything in the spare room that is always around 18 degrees?

Obviously fermenting times for different types may vary, i used airing cupboard for first batch which is about 23 degrees and my missus wants it back much to my dismay!! :lol:

 

[Eric_S]

Temps are everything! Now that it's warmign up somewhat, I've stopped making "lager" type brews and will make lighter summer ales.

I used Saflager yeast in the 0-10c range and the beer came out good. not sure I'd want the temps to be much higher as the yeast won't work so well and you'll get other flavours (although you may well like the difference in taste).

I don't think you want to be brewing anything much over 20c in any case.

 

[hopsbee]

Righto, thats good to know. So lager during the winter months in the garage would work then? I just assumed it would be too cold. I'll stop using the airing cupboard then and go for a mix of spare room (around 17=18 degrees for wine and ale) and garage in colder months (lager).

 

[Aleman]

Temperature is critical for clean crisp lagers.

I tend to ferment mine at around 9C . . .but in order to do so you have to pitch LOTS of yeast . . . 3g per litre of dried yeast, If I was pitching at 16C I could get away with 0.8g per litre.

Using a genuine lager yeast at ale temperatures will produce a lot of funky flavours . . . much more so that using an ale yeast at the lower end of its fermentation range (say US05 at 18C)

 

[hopsbee]

How do you brew at those low temps? How do you keep it around 9c? I'm new to all this. :wha:

 

[Good Ed]

You need a fridge, and ideally some form of temperature control see here http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=23585

I'm lucky as I have a cellar that gets down to 10-12C over the winter and is about 15C in the summer

 

[hopsbee]

Wow, some good engineering going on there.

So in theory, if I can run some tests in a fridge with a thermometer in water and record readings over a few days, say they fall between 5-10c consistently then that's ideal for lager??

Or is that too simple? :hmm:

 

[battwave]

Look out for your cold room for next winter. I've got an unheated north facing porch which holds a pretty constant 10 to 12 degrees in winter. A dark fleece over the fermenter keeps the light out and gives even more temperature stabilisation. My primary has a thermometer in the bung. I managed four lagers during the coldest part of the winter, and I'm looking forward to some warm sunny evenings!

As one of your other replies says, now it's warmer (only just!), it's time to move onto pales and blondes. US05 loves the current sort of 17 degrees ambient.

 

[pittsy]

Look out for your cold room for next winter. I've got an unheated north facing porch which holds a pretty constant 10 to 12 degrees in winter. A dark fleece over the fermenter keeps the light out and gives even more temperature stabilisation. My primary has a thermometer in the bung. I managed four lagers during the coldest part of the winter, and I'm looking forward to some warm sunny evenings!

As one of your other replies says, now it's warmer (only just!), it's time to move onto pales and blondes. US05 loves the current sort of 17 degrees ambient.

Where you living 17c ,its more like 9/12c here , in fact get a lager on ASAP , I will be . It's gonna be cold this month with poss snow and I've heard it will be very hot in July , who knows with our bloody weather :?

 

[hopsbee]

It's cold here and all.

In theory then, will the fridge idea work if I could maintain around 10c?

Then, bottle or keg? Bottled my first batch, how long will lae/lager keep in a keg?

I'd like to keg some for parties etc, which then leads me onto which keg?

Sorry for the quizzing but new to all this and learning some good stuff here.

 

[battwave]

Look out for your cold room for next winter. I've got an unheated north facing porch which holds a pretty constant 10 to 12 degrees in winter. A dark fleece over the fermenter keeps the light out and gives even more temperature stabilisation. My primary has a thermometer in the bung. I managed four lagers during the coldest part of the winter, and I'm looking forward to some warm sunny evenings!

As one of your other replies says, now it's warmer (only just!), it's time to move onto pales and blondes. US05 loves the current sort of 17 degrees ambient.

Where you living 17c ,its more like 9/12c here , in fact get a lager on ASAP , I will be . It's gonna be cold this month with poss snow and I've heard it will be very hot in July , who knows with our bloody weather :?

That's an inside temperature - yes agreed, i'm not going to be in my shorts and sandals in the garden at the weekend :-)

 

[pittsy]

It's cold here and all.

In theory then, will the fridge idea work if I could maintain around 10c?

Then, bottle or keg? Bottled my first batch, how long will lae/lager keep in a keg?

I'd like to keg some for parties etc, which then leads me onto which keg?

Sorry for the quizzing but new to all this and learning some good stuff here.

yes fridge will be ideal but if your using plastic kegs best not for lager , bottles would be best suited as you can't get enough pressure for a lager , it will be a bit flat ish