Is there such a thing as too long a diacetyl rest?

Working on a lager. Sat in primary for two weeks. Brought it up to 64 degrees for a D rest. Work/life schedule got hectic. Been sitting at 64 degrees for about 8 days now. It's going into a secondary for lagering this evening.

Any ill effects from this? I searched the forums and found people do a D rest for 2-7 days (most recommend 72 hours). I haven't read anything bad about keeping it at a D rest for too long. But no one has clearly explained what would happen if it rests for too long, or rather, keeping the beer at a warmer than ideal fermenting temperature for an extended period of time.

And I haven't tasted it or taken an SG since bumping it to D rest. Smells good through the airlock. We'll find out tonight.

I've never gone longer than 5 days with no ill effects so I can't say what 8 days might do. Keep us posted... Cheers!!!!

So how did it turn out? I have a lager that I'm putting into diacetyl rest this weekend and planning on brewing an IPA on my day off on monday. I have one fermentation chamber that can heat or cool, but need the heat to bring the IPA to 70. So I was debating on letting the lager rest for about a week till the weather around here warms up a bit more. Or until the IPA is done then put the lager in the fermentation chamber to slowly chill.

So I'm very interested to see how this worked for you

Unfortunately, do to some serious life problems that are not relevant to the beer or this thread, this lager is still setting in d rest.

So I brewed this on 1/16/11. Brought to d rest on 1/31/11. Now it's 2/19/11. I'm half tempted to just bottle it and try again. 15 days at 58 degrees. 19 days at 64 degrees? Could be an okay ale at this point. Or should I let it sit another week or two at current temp and then bottle?

Anyone have 2 cents to spare? It's clearly not a lost beer. Just don't know if it's still worth going through the lagering process and time to get a so-so lager or cut my ties and get a so-so ale.

Go ahead and lager it. You've just done some conditioning on the front end. It should be fine.

I'd just go ahead and lager it. I doubt if it will have any effect on the beer at all.

I went ahead and tossed it in secondary this evening. SG was at 1.010. Haven't seen any bubbles come out of the airlock, but I can see some minimal movement in the carboy. Smelled pretty good. Oddly enough, I didn't think to taste it. I was kind of surprised at how clear it already was. We'll see how it comes out.

And it freed up a primary so I got to brew another batch tonight. It's nice when you finally have some time to brew.

SilentAutumn said:

Oddly enough, I didn't think to taste it. I was kind of surprised at how clear it already was. We'll see how it comes out.

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Doesn't surprise me: before I dryhopped my last IPA, it was as crystal clear as you could get. Lagering doesn't add to clarity as much as making flavors crisper IMO. Since the D rest is about finishing up the fermentation at a warmer temp, I don't think there's too many problems at keeping it there for a longer time. As long as you're equally lazy about the lagering time at least

davesrose said:

As long as you're equally lazy about the lagering time at least

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If laziness was a sport, I would be professional with multiple championships. But I'm in no hurry with this beer. I'm hoping it'll be ready by late May or early June.

I have a follow-up question on this beer if anyone can help.

Since it was kept at d rest for so long and basically fermented out to FG, is there any reason to take a step down approach with temperature or can I just put t in the fridge at 34 degrees right away?

My understanding is that you ferment the beer to about 80% completion, bring to d rest, then start dropping the temp gradually from d rest. This is done so that the yeast will remain active, not go dormant or get shocked from large of a temperature shift, and be able to complete fermentation.

Well, since I'm at FG (and current temp is 50 degrees) and fermentation is complete, can I just skip to 34 degrees? Or is the step down still necessary since the yeast may not be actively fermenting, but consuming byproducts that would otherwise produce off flavors?

You can take it down right away. The beer is at FG, so the lagering is for clearing and cold conditioning, like dropping out hops polyphenols. I'd go ahead and lager it for 6-8 weeks.

Thanks for the quick reply! Dropping the temp right now.

Another quick note. I just checked on the carboy and due to the dramatic temperature change from 59 degrees down to 35 degrees, there was some suck back on the airlock. Not a problem since I use whiskey, but something to consider if someone stumbles upon this thread and has water in their airlock.

SilentAutumn said:

Another quick note. I just checked on the carboy and due to the dramatic temperature change from 59 degrees down to 35 degrees, there was some suck back on the airlock. Not a problem since I use whiskey, but something to consider if someone stumbles upon this thread and has water in their airlock.

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That happens all the time. You can take off the airlock and use sanitized foil to cover the fermenter when reducing temperatures if that happens!

it's already been through the the d-rest, so just drop it down to chill-temp, and let it sit there for a little while and smoothe more if you can stand it

Have you bottled/kegged this yet? How did it come out?

EricT said:

Have you bottled/kegged this yet? How did it come out?

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Yup bottled it. It tastes good, no off flavors. It's taking an extremely long time to carb. I don't know if I'll get proper carbonation on it. I just primed and bottled without adding any extra yeast. It's amazingly clear though.

Good to hear, I have a helles bock I am doing a D-rest with and based on the amount of Diacetyl I am getting, it may take a while.