lager at room temperature

[Caffinehog]

Well, I don't have the facilities to lager, but I do enjoy a good bock or pilsner. Since I'm stuck at room temperature, can anyone give me a good idea how that will affect the final beer? Should I use ale yeast? Lager yeast? California Common (steam beer) yeast? How will each of these affect the final beer?

[Tweek]

using a lager yeast at room temperature will give you an ale like end product. Increased temperature leads to increased esters. If you use the california common strain it will produce a cleaner beer at higher temps but you will still get esters at room temp (70F I am guessing)

[toneyc]

See this thread:

http://www.realbeer.com/discussions/showthread.php?s=&threadid=700&highlight=lager+yeast

One of these days i need to figure out how to put stuff behind the link.

:)
Toney.

[Beerconnoisseur]

You can try a Kölsch or even an Alt yeast strain. These will ferment at higher temperatures (65-69° F), but will give clean, lagerlike ales.

Even if you don't have a spare refridgerator/temperature controller combo, you can still try a lager strain, by keeping the fermenter covered with a t-shirt in a small trash can filled with water (preferably sanitized). Adding ice to this periodically may help as well. The only drawback is you will have to keep more of an eye on the temperature than you would with a different setup.

Personally, I like ale yeasts better than lager yeasts. The reason is: if a lager yeast doesn't finish fermenting in a reasonable amount of time (more than 2 months), then you have to start thinking about filtering the yeast out, which requires kegging or more equipment. So at that point, you may as well get a dedicated refridgerator for your keg(s)... which gives you a fridge with which to brew lagers! AHHH! See the vicious cycle? :p

[Caffinehog]

Hehehe.... I already have a dedicated mini-fridge for my 3 gallon kegs that are soon to be put into service. Sadly, it only fits one 3 gallon keg, which will be put to frequent use, so no lagering will occur.

Thanks for the advice, though! I think I'll try a Kölsch yeast and turn the thermostat down. (I'm single... I can do that!)

Thank you!!!!!!!!