oktoberfest decision...

hey,

so i've got an oktoberfest fermenting right now at around 50 degrees. Been there for almost two weeks now. So im starting think about doing a d-rest. I cooled the starter to 60 and pitched when the wort was the same. the fridge i have has a temp controller built in, but its not able to hold the temp at 60 or above for the rest. Would i be better off skipping the rest, or letting it rest at room temp?

whats you room temp? I wasnt going to do a rest with mine but since my basement is always around 65-68 summer or winter when the A/C isnt on so I just took it out for 3 days. When the central air was going last week during the heat wave we had here (98+) it was 60* with all the vents closed, upstairs was 73*

my room temp is 75, so it might be pushing it a little

here's my suggestion: taste it. Does is even NEED a diacetyl rest?

if there's no diacetyl flavor or mouthfeel (slippery) then you probably don't need to bother.

if you do need on, just make a swamp cooler, possibly with a small fan blowing on it to help cool it to 70. also check out my cheap fermenter cooler idea in my signature.

malkore said:

here's my suggestion: taste it. Does is even NEED a diacetyl rest?

if there's no diacetyl flavor or mouthfeel (slippery) then you probably don't need to bother.

if you do need on, just make a swamp cooler, possibly with a small fan blowing on it to help cool it to 70. also check out my cheap fermenter cooler idea in my signature.

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clever idea for the cooler. i'll test it and decide what to do when it would be time for a d-rest. This is my first lager, but after reading around the diacetyl taste seems to be pretty unmistakable. thanks

If you can leave it at 50F for a few more weeks, the yeast will eventually clean up any remaining diacetyl. But, I agree, tasting it is a absolute must.
Here is an excellent resource: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Fermenting_Lagers

Seems like no one (so far) has mentioned the fact that you are currently 3 month BEHIND schedule since O'fest beers are brewed in March...

...I'm still looking for this 'schedule' that some of you speak of....

illin8 said:

...I'm still looking for this 'schedule' that some of you speak of....

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O'fest brews are called Marzens because they are brewed in March (Marz in German).

My local brew pub brews his oktoberfest in july, and it tastes great, as long as you get a few months lagering time on it no big deal.

homebrewer_99 said:

O'fest brews are called Marzens because they are brewed in March (Marz in German).

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In today's day and age, O'fest beers are called Helles.

Besides that, I think the whole brewed-in-March thing is history rather than current practice. Check this out from germanbeerinstitute.com concerning Oktoberfestbier:

"In a modern, bottom-line driven brewery, storing beer in refrigerated stainless-steel tanks for six months is considered a rather expensive luxury. Such extensive lagering is practiced only if it is a brew-technical necessity and the beer's sales can amortize the extra investment. As a result, brewers now package their beers as soon as they are ready. As a general practice, Märzen-Oktoberfest beers that are marketed without the Oktoberfest suffix on the label may now be lagered no longer than six to eight weeks, while beers that carry the hyphenated Märzen-Oktoberfest designation (or the Oktoberfestbier name just by itself) may have stayed in lagering tanks for about 12 to 16 weeks."

So, thanks to "bottom-liners" tradition is passe???

Makes you wonder why they haven't killed Christmas...???

homebrewer_99 said:

So, thanks to "bottom-liners" tradition is passe???

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Nawh, I was just saying that one doesn't have to brew an Oktoberfest in March. Plus, (so I've read) most of the beer served at Oktoberfest today is Helles (which I prefer to Oktoberfestbier anyway!). But I'm all for tradition though, too... hell, my first few German lagers were brewed per the Reinheitsgebot. But saving wort got to be a pain in the a$$, so I switched to corn sugar... I guess I was trying to lower my bottom line!

Take a SG sample. If you don't have a hydrometer, this is the perfect time to get one.

My Okto has been sitting at 48 degrees for 2 weeks and had dropped only from 1.060 to 1.040. Granted, it's still bubbling away......but I would have never known it's not even close to finishing up.

menschmaschine said:

Nawh, I was just saying that one doesn't have to brew an Oktoberfest in March. Plus, (so I've read) most of the beer served at Oktoberfest today is Helles (which I prefer to Oktoberfestbier anyway!). But I'm all for tradition though, too... hell, my first few German lagers were brewed per the Reinheitsgebot. But saving wort got to be a pain in the a$$, so I switched to corn sugar... I guess I was trying to lower my bottom line!

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No arguments here...

Still, I brew mine in March...

I've been to the O'fest over a dozen times and I prefer the O'festbier...:rockin:

homebrewer_99 said:

Still, I brew mine in March...

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It must be pretty satisfying, come September, cracking into a batch of Oktoberfest you brewed in March!

The last one was...