ThePonchoKid

Recipes 

Just wondering when a good time to d-rest my brew is? 1.052 with 34/70 at an ambient of 52F. It's been in for a week now and bubbling for 5.5 days. Looks like it's starting to slow.

Does this Tuesday sound good?

I don't have a refractometer and am unwilling to take gravity readings because they draw out way too much brew for multiple day readings.

slomo

Recipes 

Lagers take time. I think the last d rest I did was after week two

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drhookmec

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I'd do a d-rest now,
When doing lagers you really need to pay attention to gravity when it reaches 75% done it's time to raise temp for the d-rest.

I wouldn't worry abought the little bit of beer lost doing a reading.

ThePonchoKid

Recipes 

I do. It's a pain because it draws too much pressure on the air lock, forcing you to remove it sometimes, and it's lost beer man!!! lol

For 20-30$ for a refractometer... I'll be getting one next week. Problem solved

Thanks for the d-rest suggestion. I'll take it out tonight. It likely it at around 75% now


ONE OTHER QUESTION


After the d-rest is it alright if I put it back in to the 52F chamber while I do another lager? Then once that one is finished drop them both to 34F? I only have one temp controlled chamber.

If it's critical that I drop to lagering temps immediately after d-rest I could probably keg the first one and toss it in my main fridge

drhookmec

Recipes 

Yes, you should be fine, By then fermentation should be finished
and at that point temp. doesn't really matter that much
and will not harm your beer.

hope it comes out good...

Tim

chumpsteak

Recipes 

Maybe not. Refractometers don't work well with alcohol and you have to use a converter to come up with a true value. Also, I have both a hydrometer and refractometer and I'm having a hard time getting consistent readings with the refractometer and find myself using the hydrometer anyway to get a more accurate reading.

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drhookmec

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Good point!!

From what I've read refractometers are only good for starting gravity readings.

dadshomebrewing

Recipes 

only in a home brew forum could a bunch of guys be posting about "pullling out" with the complete encouragement of the moderators, and the respective Persons Who Must Be Obeyed.

ThePonchoKid

Recipes 

So how do you measure if you want to use a small enough amount that you're not drawing on the airlock?

chumpsteak

Recipes 

Not sure what you mean by drawing on the airlock but I have a wine thief and a relatively small hydrometer tube that a good pull from the wine thief fills up. I only ever take 1 gravity reading though after I know fermentation is finished, and I keg so I don't have to worry about bottle bombs anyway. As for the D-rest, I can't speak about lagers, but I always raise the temp of my ales a few degrees after fermentation is about 75% complete or when the kraussen mostly drops.

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