idleclamp
Member
I am finally brewing my first lager and am getting some conflicting advice on how to do it.
After I finished brewing and chilled the wort to about 65 degrees, I put it in my second fridge with a temperature controller and got it down to 50 in about two days. I left it there for 12 days, and the FG was very close to what it's supposed to be. I took it out of the fridge and let it warm up to 66 over the last 3 days. I did this because I was told I needed to for a diacetyl rest. However, in doing research, it seems not everybody does it. Sooo, I don't know if it's necessary or not.
Now I think I'm ready to actually lager. I plan on racking to a secondary today or tomorrow. The biggest question is about cold crashing. I've been told to stick in the lagering chamber (fridge), and let it drop to 34ish and sit for a month. The other method I was told is the temp needs to drop slowly to 34 over the course of a week or so.
So to recap:
1.) Do I need to do a diacetyl rest? If so, did I do it correctly?
2.) How fast do I cool to lagering temperature?
After I finished brewing and chilled the wort to about 65 degrees, I put it in my second fridge with a temperature controller and got it down to 50 in about two days. I left it there for 12 days, and the FG was very close to what it's supposed to be. I took it out of the fridge and let it warm up to 66 over the last 3 days. I did this because I was told I needed to for a diacetyl rest. However, in doing research, it seems not everybody does it. Sooo, I don't know if it's necessary or not.
Now I think I'm ready to actually lager. I plan on racking to a secondary today or tomorrow. The biggest question is about cold crashing. I've been told to stick in the lagering chamber (fridge), and let it drop to 34ish and sit for a month. The other method I was told is the temp needs to drop slowly to 34 over the course of a week or so.
So to recap:
1.) Do I need to do a diacetyl rest? If so, did I do it correctly?
2.) How fast do I cool to lagering temperature?