First lager

[dalex2004]

So i brewed my first lager last week and i'm not sure if everything is on track. It was an oktoberfest and my yeast was wlp820. My OG was 1.061. I pitched at about 50 degrees and fermented around 54. At five days in my gravity was 1.030 so i raised the temp to 61 for a d-rest. Today my gravity is at 1.019 which is my predicted FG. The sample did not taste all that great so i was going to lower the temperature to back around 54 and leave for a couple weeks. Does this sound right or should i start lagering now? Could the d-rest cause an off flavor?

 

[TimBrewz]

In hind sight, you wanted to give the primary about 2 or 3 weeks before raising temp for D-rest. Lagers are a different beast than ales, everything is going to take twice to thrice as long. Your beer will come around, but you need to give at least another week in primary. You are at FG but let the yeast clean up the diacetyl a few more days. Rack to secondary and lager and wait at least 6 weeks before bottling or kegging.

 

[dcp27]

where did you get a predicted FG of 1.019? that seems way too high with an OG of 1.061

In hind sight, you wanted to give the primary about 2 or 3 weeks before raising temp for D-rest.

YMMV, but I don't agree with this timeline. my lagers are generally nearling completion in 4-7 days, fermenting @48F.

 

[TimBrewz]

My timeline is allowing for yeast to clean up any by-products of fermentation, to drop clear and to ensure complete ferment. Mine is the conservative route, but works well. Of course a lager can be at FG in a few days, but sulfur etc need to off-gas. Here is a good resource for you: http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter10-1.html

 

[Freedomfan]

My timeline is allowing for yeast to clean up any by-products of fermentation, to drop clear and to ensure complete ferment. Mine is the conservative route, but works well. Of course a lager can be at FG in a few days, but sulfur etc need to off-gas. Here is a good resource for you: http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter10-1.html

+1

I always follow this rule with my lagers.

 

[SpeedYellow]

If you're worried about diacetyl, just leave it at 65F for a couple more days. If you crash it to 54f quickly, the yeast will just give up-- they can't do large temp drops. An alternative to leaving at 65F would be to slowly cool it to lagering temp, by 2-4F per day or so. That way, the yeast will keep working during the time you're lowering the temp.

 

[dcp27]

My timeline is allowing for yeast to clean up any by-products of fermentation, to drop clear and to ensure complete ferment. Mine is the conservative route, but works well. Of course a lager can be at FG in a few days, but sulfur etc need to off-gas.

I agree with the general timeline, however a D-rest is best done while nearing terminal gravity, not a week later. you want active yeast to complete it. proper pitching rates and lower pitch temps should negate the need anyway

 

[Cyclman]

If anything, don't lower the temp, the yeast might go to sleep. +1 on 1.019 being high for a lager. I'd leave it at D-rest temps until the gravity decreases significantly. Next, time, wait until the gravity is 2/3 or more of the way to FG before a D-rest.

It may come out less clean than if it had fermented at a lower temp, but if you give it time it should still be very nice.