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Never thought I'd have this problem.... Insight please


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#1 johnpreuss

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Posted 23 February 2015 - 09:39 PM

So I used to be the guy that had to fight to keep his fermentation temps down... REALLY FIGHT... swamp cooler swapping out ice bottles 2 - 3 times aday... and today I think I stalled out my lager due to it getting too cold! 

 

So I have a heated room in my garage.  I've been keeping the temp around 52dF but the temps up here dropped sub zero again and the room went down to 46dF so I cranked up the heat yesterday. I have the fermenters sitting on the floor on a piece of plywood.... I should have gotten some foam... the floor temp is 38dF... The airlocks have been slow but I haven't thought much about it... figured it's a lager it won't go crazy like an ale... so I popped the lid on one of the fermenters and it still has krausen on top, so I checked the other fermenter... yup same deal..

 

So what do you do.  up the temp a bit?  Take a gravity reading, then make that decision?  Definately gotta get me some foam sheeting to set those fermenters on.  Any other thoughts on how to move forward?

 

 



#2 HVB

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Posted 24 February 2015 - 05:49 AM

For future fermentations have you thought about wrapping the fermentor with insulation and a heating pad?  I like to control the temp of each fermetnor this way.  I have old heating pads attached to reflextex (sp) insulation with metallic tape and each one is controlled off a ranco.

 

For the beers you have going now I would take a reading to have an idea oh where you are.  If you have a few points left to go maybe leave them ... more than that get the heat up would be my suggestion.



#3 SchwanzBrewer

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Posted 24 February 2015 - 08:45 AM

Yeah, definitely insulate from the floor and I bet you'll be fine with the space heater.



#4 johnpreuss

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Posted 06 March 2015 - 05:27 PM

Well one fermenter is at 1.018 and the other is at 1.020.  Neither had any off flavors but they could definitely benefit from some yeast chewing down another 5-8 points.  Life has been crazy hectic lately... death inthe family, driving back and forth to Wisconsin (16 hour round trip) on the weekends... So I just got the measurement today.  I need to find something to get those ferementers up off the ground.  What about moving them inside?  The floor temp in my hall is 62.... I normally let a lager rise toward the end, would this be the time to do it?



#5 Bklmt2000

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Posted 06 March 2015 - 06:19 PM

Moving the fermenters inside is fine to do at this point, and since your hall temp is 62°F, you should be able to shave a few more points off the OG without issue or off-flavors.

 

Starting lagers cold, then upping the temp when you're ~67-75% of the way to your target FG (a Narziss fermentation) is what I've done routinely in the past; always worked well.

 

Check the gravity once you move the fermenters into your hall, leave them alone for 4-5 days and check the gravity again.  Once it's steady and/or at the target FG, proceed to kegging/lagering, etc.

One question: what were the original gravities?



#6 johnpreuss

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Posted 06 March 2015 - 08:18 PM

One question: what were the original gravities?

 

1.048-9




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