WLP810 Lagering without a fridge

[veedub]

I am thinking about attempting my first lager. I do not own a lagering fridge however my basement is currently been in the 52-54 degree range. I was thinking about doing a Lager with WLP810 San Francisco Lager Yeast. According to there website it will remain lager characteristics up to 65 degrees but will ferment down to 50 degrees. Seems perfect for my temp range in the basement right now. Most all of the other White Labs yeasts have a working range only up to 55 degrees and although my basement has consistently under this temperature lately I think that with the fermentation heat I will be beyond this range albeit only a few degrees (unless lager yeasts don't create the same type of heat ale yeasts do?).

Can I ferment a lager using this yeast at a constant temp rather then slowly lowering it over a few days to mid 50s and then slowly raising it for the Diacetyl Rest I keep hearing about? I was thinking I would do as follows:

Lower wort temp to about 65 degrees. Pitch yeast and move fermenter to basement.

Ferment at ~53 degrees room temp for 14 days
move to upstairs for 2 days for diacetyl rest at about 67 degrees
Keg and condition in my keezer for 2 weeks at about 37 degrees

I was planning on doing a simple extract beer light in color and low IBUs
something along the lines of

5lb extra light DME
1lb crystal 20

.5oz cascade boiled 60 mins
1oz challenger 30 mins

1/2 tsp irish moss

should finish about 4.5% abv 1.015 at 23 IBU according to my calculator.


Either that or I might try a rolling rock clone I found (not my top choice but, its the fiances favorite beer and since I have a keg of an arrogant bastardesc ale about to finish what do I care, I just want to make an attempt at lagering while the temps are agreeable.)


Does this sound like it will work out as a plan or should I scrap it and just stick to ales till I get a conditioning fridge?

Oh one more thing if I keg condition like this should I carbonate while conditioning or just purge off the oxygen and let the beer condition in the keg. And once conditioning is done should I transfer to another keg Id imagine that there will be some sludge in the bottom of the keg after cold crashing it in the keezer for lagering? With my ales I usually secondary in a carboy before kegging but that would take up to much room in the keezer so keg it must be....

 

[Yooper]

You can use WLP810. But since your temperatures are cooler, I'd be inclined to go ahead and use a "real" lager yeast. You could do a water bath in a cooler around the fermenter to hold temperatures, and I think you could maintain 52 degrees without any issues.

You'll need to make a BIG starter to ferment at cooler temperatures, whichever you choose. I'd be less inclined to start at 65 and lower the temp, as sometimes WLP810 is finicky and will stall as the temp lowers. Ideally, you'd start lower and RAISE the temperatures near the end of active fermentation.

I think your rough fermentation schedule is good for nearly any lager yeast.

I don't like your hopping schedule. Cascades at 60 will provide bittering, as will the challenger at 30 minutes, but you've got all bittering hops and no flavor/aroma hops.

I'd either go with one style- German lager, with German (noble) hops, or an English beer with English hops, or American with American hops. The mix is kinda weird.

It depends on which way you want to go, but you've got the right temperatures and malt bill for a good German style lager. Something like this:

1 lb crystal 20L
5 lb Extra light DME (or light if you don't have extra-light)

1.75 oz Hallertauer (60 min) (4.00%)
0.15 oz Hallertauer (15 min)

That will give you a Maibock-ish beer, and something really nice to drink this spring! I'd use a bock yeast, or a Bavarian lager strain with a big starter. I think this would give you a nice beer, and be better than trying to work with the 810 strain in low temperatures.

 

[Gunrunner]

If you were to leave it on the basement floor I bet it would keep it cool enough durring fermentation.

 

[veedub]

thanks for the hops tip to be honest I mostly picked the hops without much real thought based on AA and goal IBUs.

The other recipe I was toying with was:

2lb 10oz Light DME
.5lb rice syrup
2lb 6 row pale malt
1lb flaked corn

.5oz willamette hops 60 mins
.5 oz tettnanger hops 60 mins

1/2 tsp irish moss

What turned me off from this recipe was the corn and rice syrup I know most of the lighter american lagers use corn and/or rice but I have never brewed with these ingredients before and wasn't wild about starting now....

 

[veedub]

If you were to leave it on the basement floor I bet it would keep it cool enough durring fermentation.

It would be on the floor to keep temps lower the floor has been reading around 52 the workbench around 54...

 

[Gunrunner]

The cool concrete will also conduct the heat away and keep it a few degrees cooler. Some people have had to move ales off the concrete to keep them up in temp.