Lager fridge temperature

[jd]

Put my first lager down yesterday - have a spare fridge in the garage so it's in there. Turned the fridge down (up?) as far as it would go and the temperature is running between 6.3 and 12.6 deg. C.

The Saflager S-23 data sheet recommends 9-15C so I'm 3C out at both ends.

Do I need to put a timer on the fridge or is it close enough as it is??

[OldEvan]

personally haven't made a lager yet but I would say a timer is probabbly your best bet. My theory is to think about it as a percentage of the total temperature

3 degrees out, with an average recommended temp of around 12 is 25% out

I would think this would be the equivalent of brewing an ale that should be sitting at 22 degrees at 16.5 which is probabbly too low.

Once again, I haven't actually made a lager so Im not sure...just trying to be logical

[lethaldog]

grab a fridgemate from here http://www.mashmaster.com.au they are $47.50 from memory and they are great, takes all the hassle and stress out of fridge brewing

[jd]

Seems like the fridgemate is the way to go - will get one when funds allow.

We got up to 37deg here today - and its pretty warm in the garage where the spare fridge is. The internal fridge temp is ranging from 6 to 16 deg - I've got the fridge turned up as far as it will go.

Does this mean that the average temp in the fridge, and the brew, is about 11deg (6 + 16 = 22. 22 / 2 = 11) and pretty close to what my lager needs, or is it a bit more complex than that?

[Ed]

Timer worked well for me jd, I used that for ages before I got a controller. Must admit, the controller takes any hassle out.

If your fridge is ranging over those temps, then that's seems pretty wild. But the volume of the brew should act as a kind of buffer and it does generate it's own heat while actively fermenting. Anything would be a guess as to what temp it's actually brewing at.

Cheers, Ed

[Dasher]

traded beer with a fridgey mate who built me a beerometer, digital control with fly lead sensor.
Set to 14 degrees turn fridge to maximum the run power for fridge through beerometer which switches power dependant on sensor temp programable too, works a treat.
Just a note you should avoid any devices that try and turn your fridge on and off in short intervals.
cheers,
dasher

[Crowash]

Just a note you should avoid any devices that try and turn your fridge on and off in short intervals

Why's that??

[OldBugman]

Because you'll end up "breaking" your compressor.

I'ts called shortcycling.

try to keep it to run only once per hour.

[Dasher]

stresses the compressor if it cycles to quickly, the beerometer has a minimum delay setting ie. minutes before restart allowed. Fridgey mate suggested 8 minutes.
dasher

[BierMeister]

. The internal fridge temp is ranging from 6 to 16 deg - I've got the fridge turned up as far as it will go.

Does this mean that the average temp in the fridge, and the brew, is about 11deg (6 + 16 = 22. 22 / 2 = 11) and pretty close to what my lager needs, or is it a bit more complex than that?

Jd

It's a bit more complex. How long at each temp? Added influence on temp from internal yeast activity. etc... Do you have a Thermometer on the fermenter? Look at that. If it is staying around a constant temp +/- 2 degrees I wouldn't worry. Yeast likes to work at a constant temp. It's like us. If we get in and out of air conditioned cars/buildings all the time we are more prone to colds etc. One of those stick on thermos would be the go to give you a good enough guage on whats going on. I use an electric thermo with a min/max setting so I know its not getting too out of whack.

As far as a good temp for most lager yeasts. 12 C is an excellent temp and most say ideal. some lagers you can brew at 5 or even lower but 10 or 12 is ideal with 15 being an aprox max to get that true lager taste. Those that go higher will still get a good beer but it will have tastes not consistant with a European style lager. Which is what I assume you are after.

[BierMeister]

personally haven't made a lager yet but I would say a timer is probabbly your best bet. My theory is to think about it as a percentage of the total temperature

3 degrees out, with an average recommended temp of around 12 is 25% out

I would think this would be the equivalent of brewing an ale that should be sitting at 22 degrees at 16.5 which is probabbly too low.

Once again, I haven't actually made a lager so Im not sure...just trying to be logical

I just want to point out that the above is not really correct. People don't be too caught up with all the mumbo about keeping your brew above 20 C or some other temp. Ales will brew at 16 C and lagers at 24C. The temp will determine the all over flavours that the yeasts produce. I won't do a long spiel here, but the higher the temp the more fruity and other flavours the yeasts will produce. In my opinion above 24 is playing with fire, but its just that. My opinion. Generally 18 to 24 for ales and 8 to 15 for Lagers and that will produce a standard style. GENERALLY AND STANDARD STYLE being the key words. Some commercials brew at 5 C that I know of and they sell to the millions.

The idea that 12 is 25% out from 15 and will effect the beer by the same amount is rubbish. It effects the time that the yeast take to brew and the flavour, but really not that much and those that get too paranoid about keeping to an ideal temp that someone (who?) has written down are doing themselfs a dis-service. Experiment.

For the record the manufacturers state that for most Saflagers 12C is the ideal temp.

CONSISTENCY in temp is the key.

End of rant.

[morgs]

Timer worked well for me jd, I used that for ages before I got a controller. Must admit, the controller takes any hassle out.

If your fridge is ranging over those temps, then that's seems pretty wild. But the volume of the brew should act as a kind of buffer and it does generate it's own heat while actively fermenting. Anything would be a guess as to what temp it's actually brewing at.

Cheers, Ed

I agree, 23 litres of wort wont cool or heat dramatically if the temp isnt perfectly stable. eg if the ambient temp fluctuates from say 10-15 degrees over a couple of hours, then i would say the brew would stay relatively constant. The brew being in a plastic fermentor is actually insulated in a way. Plastic being a poor conductor of heat energy.

[Biggles]

I put down my first lager using fridge and fridgemate last night. Fridgemate is set to 12C.
Fridgemate has a differential setting, the lowest is 1 degree, which means 1 degree either side of set value is acceptable. So it turns on as soon as the display reads 14C and off at 10C. I did some experimenting over the last day or so and sticking the thermo sensor to the fermenter side gave good temps of what was actually going on in the fermenter but larger temp fluctuations of the liquid. So I now have a small piece of polystyrene stuck to the fermenter with a groove cut in it against the side of fermenter, to allow the thermo sensor to be held against the fermenter and insulated from the air temp, or be out in the air reading the ambient around the fermenter. Being such a large volume of liquid it takes hours to fluctuate that much, but the air around the fermenter in the fridge changes quicker. Leaving the liquid at an almost constant 12C. Verified by another thermometer.

The stick on stlye thermometer strip is inaccurate by about 2 degrees high when checked against other sources.

End of rant.

[jd]

I got my fridgemate yesterday - excellent service from Mashmaster. Did you have any problems wiring yours up?

[Biggles]

None at all JD, if you have any wiring experience at all it will be easy.
The only tip I can give is, to make the ends of the wires that connect to the back of the unit, a short stripped section, 5mm at most. And twist them up really tight, to prevent any crossing of wires inside where you cant see. And do the locking screws up fairly tight, you dont want 240V wires coming loose.
I used closed end single screw joiners to join the wires and mounted the whole lot in a $3.90 project box from Dick Smith. Be sure to drill cooling holes if the box doesnt have any. Sorry I cant post any pics but its easy.

[jd]

Thanks Biggles - I'll give it a go tonight.

[beerdrinker]

where is the best place to get a mashmaster in the syd area? gettin too hot for ales

[jd]

Go onto the mashmaster site and order one. I got mine in 3 days - too easy.