wyeast 1968 - London ESB - Diacetyl rest

I brewed an ESB on Saturday and pitched Wyeast 1968. It is bubbling happily away in the fermentation chamber at 64 degrees. The Wyeast style guide says that this strain needs a diacetyl rest. Do I need to raise the temperature to 70 degrees after fermentation ends for the diacetyl rest, or do I just leave it at 64 degrees for an extra week or so. I was planning on three weeks in the primary and then straight to keg for carb and then consumption.

Perfect. That's exactly what I'll do when I get home tonight.

BigFloyd said:

With 1968 ESB, it's not so much giving it a "D-rest" or cleanup (which you would be doing anyway by following the above profile) as it is an effort to keep it from prematurely focculating out before it's done fermenting. It has a tendency to fall out early at the lower end of its temp range.

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this! i pitch 17-18 C and start warming slowly, within 3-4 days i want it 21-22 C, and i'm not afraid to give it a good swirl to rouse the yeast. i have had bad diacetyl with this yeast, so taste it before you declare it done! actually, while i'm rambling on, i once grew a big starter, made two different worts and split the starter between them. similar SG, same temp regime, one finished 'clean' (as far as you can call 1968 clean) as i expected, and the other full of diacetyl! the moral- follow good practice to get the yeast to finish out, but rely on your senses at the end.

I've got an esb that's just finished carbing up in the bottles, and I definitely have some diacetyl in it. I fermented it at 17 Celsius, then after 5 days or so, brought it upstairs to my 20 degree living room for another 11 days or so. I wasn't aware that this yeast was prone to it, but luckily the esb style allows for some D, and my brew tastes pretty darn good anyways. Good to know for next time though.