lager fermentation troubles

[Buckeye Brewer]

I've been trying my first lager, and after two weeks the gravity reading had only moved a little bit...there was never much activity in the airlock. I'm 99% sure it's because the warmest I could get my refrigerator to was 37-38 degrees, which nearly slowed the fermentation to a halt. Thankfully, since it's winter I have it in the basement now and it seems to be around the right temp. Is this going to work alright? Should I be pitching new yeast? Also, does anyone have any methods I'm not thinking of, for keeping lagers cool, that doesn't involve large amounts of money? Thanks

[Fast_Eddy]

Give it a day to warm up and see if there's increased activity. Chances are it'll kick in. You can also try gently rousing the yeast.

What strain did you pitch? What's your basement temp? What style of lager are you making?

What do you consider a large amount of money? For $50 you can purchase an external thermostat for your frig(a dedicated beer frig, I hope) that will allow you to set and maintain proper temps for lagers.

[Buckeye Brewer]

How would I go about rousing the yeast? I'm doing a light american lager, using a liquid yeast called pretty much the same thing.

$50 dollars is definitely not too much for an external thermostat. Are there any websites, or places to go to find out more info on them, and to buy them?

[Fast_Eddy]

See thread

http://www.realbeer.com/discussions/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1506&highlight=thermostat


For rousing, giving the car boy a gentle couple of swirls will usually do it. If you've carried it down to a basement you essentially roused it already.