"Lagering an American Stout" and another?

Yeast & Fermentation
1

OK, just moved a NB Big Honkin’ Stout to secondary. Brewed per the recipe but moved one hop addition to get the IBU’s to 50 and also used Denny’s Favorite 1450 instead of 1332, due to having a cake from NB’s Rye Stout. Upon racking it looked and tasted great, and seemed like it would have a smoothness beyond that I’d expect in a 7% stout, thus I came up with an idea…

I primaried in a swamp cooler (frozen water bottle method of cooling), keeping temps around 63-65 degrees. Then I cold crashed for two days prior to racking, by doubling the amount of frozen bottles. When I had the beer in secondary I figured I would go straight back to the swamp cooler, and keep the temp around 40 degrees for the three weeks of conditioning. Anyone out there routinely secondary their stouts at temps that cool? What can I expect?

Also, I lost close to a gallon during racking (don’t ask). Will the extra headspace in the carboy be any cause for oxidation concerns?

Thanks.

2

As far as oxidation is concerned, no problem. When my stouts reach final gravity, I will bottle, then carbonate for a few weeks and keep them in the fridge. It’s harder to let them lager for a month but the longer you wait on the stouts, the smoother they become.

3

Thanks for the reassurance.

On another note, I’m one step closer to finding my “house” yeast. I think 1450’ll definitely be my go-to for dark beers, now a batch of APA and IPA to put it to the test.

I’ll probably only use 1056 or S-05 for my cream ale, as it’s an ultra clean US Lager type brew. But if 1450 holds up in pale, hoppy brews, I might exclusively go to it for my American styles. Thanks Denny!!!