Would a Diacetyl-Rest be Proper? Help Appreciated!

Hello everyone -- let me just cut this short by explaining I had just started a Roasted Brown Ale concoction (if it can't even be classified as such), with 22% Roasted Barley, 22% Munich Malt, 14% Flaked Oats, 12% Maple Syrup, 11% Toasted Malt, 11% Dextrose, 7% Brown Sugar, and 6% Coffee Malt. It's been in primary (carboy) for a little over five days now; I've been checking on it every so often, but not enough to actually let in so much light it would be ruined weeks before the racking and bottling steps of the process. Upon one of my checks, I could smell the undeniable presence of diacetyl in the fermenting beer in the carboy. I think I'll let it sit for a few days longer, but I've never actually done a diacetyl-rest before so I was thinking if it was mandatory for my predicament at the moment. There's definitely a butter/caramelized popcorn sensation when I go in for a sniff, but I've never had the trouble of trying to get rid of the stuff in any of my previous batches so I'm a little inexperienced with this procedure. I believe if it's an ale you're brewing, and after a certain amount of time has passed, and after a few tests to make sure it is in fact "dicaetylized", to pour the beer in back in the brew kettle/cooking pot and heat it to ~60 F/~15 C and let it it sit for 24-72 hours -- correct? There is also the possibility of lagering the beer, but honestly I'm going for more a fruitier, nuttier beer so if I were to lager it, most of these flavors may very well get destroyed in the process. So, very simply, what should I do? All my previous batches never had a diacetyl smell to them, so I'm going to need a little help. THANKS!!! :cross:

Don't worry about diacetyl. All you will taste is roasted barley.

Never pour beer unless it's into a glass to drink.

944play said:

Don't worry about diacetyl. All you will taste is roasted barley.

Never pour beer unless it's into a glass to drink.

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Okay. So just be patient and after its designated amount of time for primary, rack to secondary and then go from there? I guess patience really is a virtue, then. But could you maybe explain/be a little more specific on why I shouldn't worry about the diacetyl?

Just curious, have you done a diacetyl-rest before, and if so, was it necessary?

Thanks.

Peets,
Junior Member - Homebrewtalk.com.

I do a d-rest on lagers just because it's easier than not on my system.

With 22% of the grist as RB, you aren't going to taste anything else.

First off, welcome!!

Second, the brew's only been fermenting for 5 days. Leave it alone.

You have maple syrup and brown sugar in there that's going to take a little longer to ferment out.

Most brewers who do a D-rest take their brews out of a cold chamber and let the brew come to room temperature for 24 to 48 hours so the yeast can become more active and clean up after itself.

In effect you are already doing a D-rest at room temps.

Since you are tasting the butter flavor already let it sit another week or so while the yeast cleans up after itself (absorbs the diacetyl) and completes fermenting.

I kegged (and carbonated) a brew that later acquired diacetyl (butter flavor). I took the keg out of the keezer, de-pressurized it, opened it, poured in 1/4 packet of dry yeast, replaced the pressure relief valve with a small length of tuging and an airlock then let it sit in the garage for a week. When I came back I took a sample and the butter flavor was all gone.

What temperature are you fermenting at that you would need to heat it to get to 60 degrees? Or were you just trying to explain what you think a d-rest is to make sure you have it right?

JoMarky said:

What temperature are you fermenting at that you would need to heat it to get to 60 degrees? Or were you just trying to explain what you think a d-rest is to make sure you have it right?

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Yeah, I was a little confused on how it worked is all; it's been fermenting at room temperature (~72 degrees °F) for six days. As I said, my previous batches didn't include a diacetyl smell to them so I had no idea what I should do about it. I guess I'll take the advise of my senior Brewtalk brethren and just wait a tad longer and see what happens. Thanks, mates -- you guys rule!!!

I shall update the turnout.

homebrewer_99 said:

First off, welcome!!

Second, the brew's only been fermenting for 5 days. Leave it alone.

You have maple syrup and brown sugar in there that's going to take a little longer to ferment out.

Most brewers who do a D-rest take their brews out of a cold chamber and let the brew come to room temperature for 24 to 48 hours so the yeast can become more active and clean up after itself.

In effect you are already doing a D-rest at room temps.

Since you are tasting the butter flavor already let it sit another week or so while the yeast cleans up after itself (absorbs the diacetyl) and completes fermenting.

I kegged (and carbonated) a brew that later acquired diacetyl (butter flavor). I took the keg out of the keezer, de-pressurized it, opened it, poured in 1/4 packet of dry yeast, replaced the pressure relief valve with a small length of tuging and an airlock then let it sit in the garage for a week. When I came back I took a sample and the butter flavor was all gone.

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Yeah, on the 9th day (yesterday) I did a test by racking a very small amount of the beer from the carboy into a snifter and took a sip. The buttery flavor is really strong, so I put the carboy back in my closet and lowered the temperature a bit. I'll wait about the same amount of time before I pull it out again. Thanks for the advice, though!

You may have to add a bit (1/4 packet) more fresh yeast. I usd Nottingham with success to remove the diacetyl flavor.

I have a feeling you'll have bigger taste issues in this batch than just diacetyl...

twenty-two percent roasted barley.

good god.

homebrewer_99 said:

You may have to add a bit (1/4 packet) more fresh yeast. I usd Nottingham with success to remove the diacetyl flavor.

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"homebrewer_99:" I'll definitely try that; I'll go to the Brewer's Connection and get some fresh-ish English Ale yeast and see if this works. It could actually be the yeast's fault as well, as the man behind the counter said some of them (Safbrews) may be expired; but I was told this after I had come back to buy some Munich after I had already bought a Safbrew packet, and that time nobody said anything of whether it is bad or not, so I assumed it was perfectly reasonable for use. It started fermenting like mad so I tended not to think of if it were defective or not and just let it be. I'll try a more-expensive yeast which I'll pitch immediately. Thanks for the recommendation.

And to "motobrewer" -- I tend to like the taste of roasted barley, actually, so I used it a lot of the stuff in this batch. I used some Turbinato as well, but I think I might've forgotten it to put it on the list. To each his own, pal, to each his own..

hey, do what you want, but you have to admit it's a crapton of roasted barley.

have you made this before?

i'm interested in hearing now it turns out. what was the OG and batch size?

motobrewer said:

hey, do what you want, but you have to admit it's a crapton of roasted barley.

have you made this before?

i'm interested in hearing now it turns out. what was the OG and batch size?

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Of course it's a crapton of roasted barley, but I've always enjoyed the taste so I went for it.

No, I've never made a beer with a base-malt of roasted barley, nor have I done this kind of beer before. I have, however, made plenty of Belgian Sours and Fruit Beers that turned out just fine. It was hopped with Perle:.50 oz., (60 min. and 30 min.) and Mt. Hood: 1 oz., (20 min.)

The OG came to about 1.053 or so. It was a 3 and half gallon batch.

I'll let you know how it goes, thanks.

any word on the diacetyl rest or lack thereof? How did the brew turn out?

I guess you pitched a Lager yeast although I didn't see mention of any temp other than 60F for the rest. I usually ferment my lagers at 48-52F until they hit final gravity and then I gradually raise the temp to 58-62F over the several days before racking them to secondaries and cold lagering in the fridge at 36F.