I've been reading Papazian's "Complete Joy of Home Brewing" and Palmer's "How to Brew" in an attempt to make some sense of kit instructions, and I am now suffering from information overload. Both books give a cursory overview of the diacetyl "butterscotch" flavor, but neither book goes into the subject in enough detail to be really helpful to a beginner.
I did a search on the forum, and the strings I came across on the subject seemed to imply that diacetyl off-flavors were mostly a lager problem. I don't have a refrigerator to ferment at low temperatures, so I've been making only ales.
I ferment in a cool basement, and I've got a heating wrap for my carboy. The ambient temperature is currently around 60F. I've been turning the heat up to 70F for a day when fermentation slows down to around one burp from the airlock every 20 seconds. I leave it there for ~24 hrs, then let it go back to ambient. Somewhere in the forum I read something that made me think this was a good idea. (That's what I get for doing my own thinking.)
Question(s): Do ales need a diacetyl rest, or is it only a lager problem? If ales need a diacetyl rest, how long should it be, and at what temperature? Does it depend on the type of ale?
I did a search on the forum, and the strings I came across on the subject seemed to imply that diacetyl off-flavors were mostly a lager problem. I don't have a refrigerator to ferment at low temperatures, so I've been making only ales.
I ferment in a cool basement, and I've got a heating wrap for my carboy. The ambient temperature is currently around 60F. I've been turning the heat up to 70F for a day when fermentation slows down to around one burp from the airlock every 20 seconds. I leave it there for ~24 hrs, then let it go back to ambient. Somewhere in the forum I read something that made me think this was a good idea. (That's what I get for doing my own thinking.)
Question(s): Do ales need a diacetyl rest, or is it only a lager problem? If ales need a diacetyl rest, how long should it be, and at what temperature? Does it depend on the type of ale?