Recently Tasty and Chad have talked about driving fermentations after growth phase. This has coincided with my need to crank out some beers quickly for competition/festival. As a result, I allowed my beers to get through growth phase, then began dialing up my fermentation temps (up to 71-72) sooner than I would following the JZ schedule I have adhered to, and prob will when I am not in a crunch for time. My beers finished and cleared sooner than usual and I am pleased with the finished product.
So this takes me to lager brewing. Is it possible to drive a lager fermentation with positive results? If I were to pitch at 44-45 and allow it to ramp up to 48 on its own until it hits high krausen, can I continue to notch that temp slowly up to 55 with negative effect on my beers versus the set it and forget it at 48?
I know that the easy answer is try it, and I will, but I always try to get as much info as possible before diving in. I am looking for people with experience on this topic to bless me with their knowledge.

Mills
