Bottle conditioning - a de facto diacetal rest?

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Gordie

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Just wondering if the fermentation cognoscenti have an opinion on this.

It occurs to me that bottle conditioning at cellar temperature should have the same effect as a diacetal rest, except its a fermentation under pressure and I'm not sure if the yeast have to off-gas the by products of the rest or not. I bottle condition everything and have never run into a stick-of-butter-beer but don't know if the two would have anything to do with each other.

Anyone?
 
Hey Gordie - as far as I'm aware, pressure doesn't really have much to do with diacetyl mop-up. The gases are still released by the yeast, it just dissolves into solution under pressure instead of escaping out your air-lock.

Cellar temp is usually colder than a diacetyl rest usually is (around 18-20C), but the time it takes for your beer to cool might be acting as a mini-rest. Diacetyl production is very dependent on yeast strain - if it's not doing anything you don't want it to, be happy!
 
It might just be aging and conditioning, but I've aged out diacetyl from my beers. It's certainly not as fast or efficient as a couple day diacetyl rest with bulk beer. It might just be because the yeast is already somewhat dormant in the bottles and thus takes longer. It probably took the better part of 4 or 5 months before people really could not notice it anymore.
 
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