Okay, so I brewed up an Oktoberfest on 3/12. I used 6.6 lbs of extract and some steeped grains and was expecting an OG of 1.054. Either I didn't mix it up well, or something was off, because I hit 1.045 @ 68F.
I initially expected my FG to be around 1.011. Today, noticing that airlock activity had basically stopped, I pulled the ale pail out of my lager-chamber.
For my initial fermentation I set the fridge thermostat as warm as I could, but ambient temp seemed to be about 42F at the bottom of the bucket and 52F at the top. I didn't know what the actual temperature of the brew was until today, when I cracked it open to take an hydrometer sample.
So three things.
1. This scared the crap out of me, and the smell about knocked me out. Didn't smell bad, just very very beery.
2. The hydrometer sample read about 45F. The ideal temp for my lager yeast, WLP830, is 50-55F. It was probably sitting around 45 since the morning after pitching four packs of the yeast (it was bubbling away at the time I put it in the lager chamber). Hydrometer read 1.012 at 64F, so more like 1.013, but I noticed a lot of CO2 coming out in the tube and some bubbles might have lifted the hydrometer a bit, so its basically at or just about at its FG.
3. So I plan to lager it for a few months. Should I wait a week before I rack it? Would it be a problem if it weren't done fermenting? It's only been on the cake for about 3 weeks. I could wait one more, but it would be convenient if I could rack it now without any negative consequences. But in either case, should I do a diacetyl rest? And for how long? I tasted my FG sample, and I didn't notice any bad flavors. It tasted pretty smooth, actually.
Any advice would be welcome!
I initially expected my FG to be around 1.011. Today, noticing that airlock activity had basically stopped, I pulled the ale pail out of my lager-chamber.
For my initial fermentation I set the fridge thermostat as warm as I could, but ambient temp seemed to be about 42F at the bottom of the bucket and 52F at the top. I didn't know what the actual temperature of the brew was until today, when I cracked it open to take an hydrometer sample.
So three things.
1. This scared the crap out of me, and the smell about knocked me out. Didn't smell bad, just very very beery.
2. The hydrometer sample read about 45F. The ideal temp for my lager yeast, WLP830, is 50-55F. It was probably sitting around 45 since the morning after pitching four packs of the yeast (it was bubbling away at the time I put it in the lager chamber). Hydrometer read 1.012 at 64F, so more like 1.013, but I noticed a lot of CO2 coming out in the tube and some bubbles might have lifted the hydrometer a bit, so its basically at or just about at its FG.
3. So I plan to lager it for a few months. Should I wait a week before I rack it? Would it be a problem if it weren't done fermenting? It's only been on the cake for about 3 weeks. I could wait one more, but it would be convenient if I could rack it now without any negative consequences. But in either case, should I do a diacetyl rest? And for how long? I tasted my FG sample, and I didn't notice any bad flavors. It tasted pretty smooth, actually.
Any advice would be welcome!
