Next chilling question - lager pitching at 74F

[billvon]

With the water temps I have, I can get 5 gallons to 74F in about 10 minutes with a Chillzilla. For the ales I do, I just oxygenate and pitch the yeast right then and there. Then it goes in the fermentation chamber which gets set to whatever is appropriate.

But what about the lagers? I could come up with a second stage cooler, or use an ice precooler, but the last thing I need is yet another trip to the store to get ice. What about cooling to 74F, pitching the starter, then cooling it the rest of the way in the fermentation chamber? The chamber can generally swing it about 20F in 12 hours, so it would be down to 55F before any serious fermentation starts.

 

[Malticulous]

In the summer I put my lagers in the lagerator and pitch the next day. Now it's cold out I put the fermenter in a water bath out in the brew shed. It's cools it down to 50 in just a few hours so I pitch at 60F. There is no way I would put any yeast in wort at 74F.

 

[avidhomebrewer]

For a lager, I'll cool down to about 65 or so then leave it outside of the fridge in the basement until fermentation starts. Once that occurs, I'll move it to the fridge that is about 45. I don't get any suckback because fermentation has started already and there is no fear of pitching the yeast into wort that is too hot either.