Lager Schedule?

I am trying to decide how to schedule my lagers.

For the amber in the primary now, I am thinking 10 days in the primary at about 48*, then a 48 hour Diacetyl rest at room temperature, then move to a secondary for three weeks at 38*, then move to a keg for three or four weeks of lagering, again at 38*.

Does that sound right? Would it be better to leave it in the secondary longer, or the keg?

The amber is a Dos Equis Amber clone from AHS, with S-23 yeast.

Cpt_Kirks said:

I am trying to decide how to schedule my lagers.

For the amber in the primary now, I am thinking 10 days in the primary at about 48*, then a 48 hour Diacetyl rest at room temperature, then move to a secondary for three weeks at 38*, then move to a keg for three or four weeks of lagering, again at 38*.

Does that sound right? Would it be better to leave it in the secondary longer, or the keg?

The amber is a Dos Equis Amber clone from AHS, with S-23 yeast.

Click to expand...

I never really "schedule" a lager. They take however long they take. The primary may or may not be 75% done in 10 days. If it is, that's the correct time to do the diacetyl rest. If it's not, you would have to wait until it is. After the diacetyl rest, you should be at FG. If you are, then you can rack to secondary. I lower the temperature 5 degrees per day, once it's in secondary, until I'm at my lagering temperature. I lager at 34 degrees. The lower the lagering temperature, the longer it should take. I lager for about 6-12 weeks, depending on how "big" the beer is and how clear it is.

If I was planning on lagering in the keg, too, I probably wouldn't lager in the secondary.

Problem is, I need the cooler.

I copied your foam "cork" for my igloo cube cooler and better bottle (works GREAT, BTW). I have the primary in it, with a frozen 2 liter bottle.

I want to put another lager in there next weekend, but I will wait until the weekend after, if need be.