Lagering Questions

[animaldoc]

As mostly an ale brewer, I am doing my first lager in ... oh .... 12 years or so. Granted, took a 10 year hiatus, so for all intents lets call this my first lager. Brewed BCS Munich Helles according to recipe, hit the numbers pretty well. Cooled wort to 45 overnight in temp-controlled fridge, pitched 4L starter of Wyeast 2308 Munich Lager and allowed to free rise to 50F. High krausen around 18 hours. Held at 50F now for 3 weeks using thermowell to monitor temp. Assuming fermentation has finished ..... will check before I take any action .......

Should I be performing a diacetyl rest or should I just cool and keg then lager? If I cool and keg, should I slowly ramp down (2F per day) or crash cool? Should I tranfer then cool or cool then transfer? Should I be able to taste diacetly at this stage to know if I should do a diacetyl rest? I've never tasted diacetyl knowingly or in an identifiable quantity .... does it really taste like butter?

--- Scott

[Chupa LaHomebrew]

At this point warming it up isn't going to hurt. You could transfer it to a keg, it's a good chance to taste the beer, and then decide if you need to do a diacetyl rest. It will still clear up even if you have racked it off the yeast cake. Or if you're in no rush, you could let it warm up to 60 before racking.

[Crackin]

Let it warm up for a few days, 58-60 degrees, then crash cool it. After it is cold, for a day or so, rack to keg, and lager for 1 month, cooler the better.

[ajdelange]

Should I be performing a diacetyl rest or should I just cool and keg then lager? If I cool and keg, should I slowly ramp down (2F per day) or crash cool? Should I tranfer then cool or cool then transfer? Should I be able to taste diacetly at this stage to know if I should do a diacetyl rest? I've never tasted diacetyl knowingly or in an identifiable quantity .... does it really taste like butter?

--- Scott

Does it taste or smell of diacetyl? If not then there is no need for a diacetyl rest. Even if it does, long lagering should reduce it. OTOH, raising the temperature for a couple of days is cheap insurance.

Diacetyl smells the way movie theatre lobbies used to smell. The oil they used to put on popcorn contained some diacetyl which gave it the buttery flavor and aroma so you have in fact probably tasted and smelled diacetyl at some time in your life. Diacetyl is one of those compounds that some people are sensitive to and some people are not.

Also, bear in mind that beers like Pilsner Urquel and Budvar contain diacetyl at or slightly above taste threshold (about 0.2 mg/L) and it is part of the profile of those beers.

[Mylo]

Let it warm up for a few days, 58-60 degrees, then crash cool it. After it is cold, for a day or so, rack to keg, and lager for 1 month, cooler the better.

No, no. Don't crash cool it. Save that technique for ales. I agree with AJ. If it doesn't have a strong smell or taste of diacytl, then just start your lagering. If you crash cool it, you'll drop too much yeast. You need that yeast around to clean up after itself.


Mylo

[Crackin]

Sorry Mylo. I was just passing on the information that Jamil and Palmer gives us, which I kinda sometimes trust. If the beer is not finished fermenting, or the yeast has not finished cleaning up after itself, then you should not lager it yet. When it has finished, then throw it in the lager fridge and forget about it. Lagering is not a process during which the yeast do anything to the beer, except drop out. The yeast should have finished all their work before lagering.

Or, maybe Mylo knows better.