Lager conditioning too warm

[xpers]

I did a Coopers Australian lager about three weeks back. When bottled it went into the spare bedroom which is quite warm for a week, and then the plan was to put it in the garage which is the coolest place in the house. The trouble is since then the temp in the garage has been between 20-24C.

The lager is nice but there is a slight syrupy after taste to it. Is this due to the high temp in the garage or is it normal with this kit??? Unfortunately there just isn't the room in our fridge to pack it in there and leave it for a few days. The wife says the food is more important so I am lucky if I can get some in for 24 hours or so....

I was thinking of buying one of those big cooler boxes and some of those blue freeze bricks and put some beer in the box and swap some of the bricks over from the freezer each day to keep it cooler. Not sure if this would work though.

[Gill]

I'm having some of the same issues - we're still at the warm conditioning stage with my Caxton's Pils, but in about a week we're supposed to be transferring it to somewhere cool. Which at the moment would mean out of Edinburgh, as it's been sweltering (sweltering being a relative thing, I'm a redhead and don't do heat).

I had the idea of putting damp tea towels over the box I keep the bottles in, and changing them twice a day. Bit of a hassle, but the evaporation and so on might cool the area a little. I know that putting bowls of water to evaporate on a windowsill can make a surprising difference to the heat in a room, so maybe it would work?

'Course, I'm a total newbie, so take anything I suggest with a fistful of salt. Good luck with the lager, let me know how it turns out!

Gill.

[sparky Paul]

I'm having some of the same issues - we're still at the warm conditioning stage with my Caxton's Pils, but in about a week we're supposed to be transferring it to somewhere cool. Which at the moment would mean out of Edinburgh

It'll be a bit cooler from tomorrow.

To be honest, I just store lager at ambient, then refrigerate for a few hours (or a day or two) before opening. Works for me, it certainly makes a passable lager, although a lager yeast and a low ferment temperature does make a big difference...

[Gill]

To be honest, I just store lager at ambient, then refrigerate for a few hours (or a day or two) before opening. Works for me, it certainly makes a passable lager, although a lager yeast and a low ferment temperature does make a big difference...

That's good to know. To be honest, I'll be happy if this first brew of mine just comes out gluggable and reasonably enjoyable on a warm evening. I had a sup of the leftover unconditioned beer after bottling, and it was quite pleasant tasting, so I'm gently optimistic. I made up the kit just 'as was' this time, adding all the hop extract as I like my beers hoptastic, but I've already decided to brew another lager in Autumn or Winter when it's cooler, and use some Saflager and Saaz instead of what's in the kits.

Gill.