Too Cold for Lagers??? HELP

[captianoats]

I know, you're all jealous, but here's my dilemma.

Due to the holidays and visiting family, SWMBO moved the mini fridge fermentation chamber out of the house to the UNHEATED garage. It's been staying in the low to mid 30s in there. Great for the lagering faze, not so much for the initial ferment.

My question is, can I use a brew belt (or other heating device) to bring the temps up to the 50-55 degrees I need for the ferment? I have a temp controller, so I can control max temps, I just want to make sure a brew belt can provide enough heat to make it to the minimum temperatures before starting a batch.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[BigFloyd]

It doesn't take much to reach and maintain that sort of temp increase inside an insulated container like a mini fridge. You should also have no trouble bringing it up later for the d-rest in the low 60's.

If you pitch plenty of yeast and oxygenate the wort (both critical for a lager), having a pitch temp of around 45*F and starting the ferment in the 48-50 range will give you a cleaner lager ferment than the mid-50's.

What yeast are you using? What size/type of starter?

 

[captianoats]

I was going to make a Vienna lager and use WLP830 or something similar. I usually make a 3L starter the day before