Racked Lager Too Soon?

[HopTonger]

Being rushed is never a good thing with brewing. Unfortunately, I was, and didn't do a gravity check on my Dunkel until after I racked it to the secondary - OG was 1.054 but only 1.021 once I racked it. The good news is that it's still got some activity in the airlock in the secondary. I had it up to 64deg for a diacytel rest - what is my best chance to get more attenuation from this point? Drop back down to mid-fifties and wait a week? Leave at 64deg and wait a week??


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[beersk]

Leave it, don't drop it back down. Sounds like you racked too soon. But you probably also didn't give it enough oxygen and/or yeast to begin with. My oktoberfest spent a week in the primary, then I kegged it. It tastes fantastic. But I gave it A LOT of fresh harvested yeast, 90 seconds of pure o2 and fermented at 50F. I raised it 5 or degrees after a few days, then again after a few more days.

 

[hunter_le five]

At this point, I think I would just leave it at 64°F until it has had a chance to attenuate completely. At least it fermented most of the way at the proper temp. Lowering the temp back down now certainly won't help the yeast with this.

 

[Cyclman]

+1, D rest should bring the beer to its FG.

 

[HopTonger]

1.018 after another week at 63deg...BUT....still have airlock activity. Roughly 3 gurgles a minute. Keep her steady at temp until airlock fades?
I feel so needy with advice on this one... thanks so much for the input on my patient...still has a pulse!



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[shtoive87]

Leave it until you have a steady fg. No need to play with it. There shouldn't be any off flavors at this point.


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[HopTonger]

Roger that. Much appreciated.


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[ScrewyBrewer]

Since Lager yeast is bottom cropping and you've left most of it behind when you racked the beer off to a secondary I wouldn't expect to get a nice crisp clean lager type finish in this batch. It may not be your best batch of beer, but it will be beer and you may even like the malty sweetness so all is not lost.

 

[SconeyR]

Sorry to resurrect this thread but I wondered how things ultimately turned out. Sounds like I have the exact same problem you did and am not sure what to do with my lager.

 

[HopTonger]

I just saw this - sorry. Unfortunately, i chalked it up to learning. There's better beers to be had than choking down a bad one.
I've learned a lot since this post. Lager beer is finicky, but there's a couple tricks I honed in on to get it right. First, LOTS of yeast. Make a 2L starter. Plenty of O2 - I picked up a Northern Brewer Oxygenator (uses a disposable O2 canister you can get at Lowes/Depot) - and - pitch your yeast at fermentation temp (50deg). That means making your starter - let it fully develop, then stick it in the fridge a couple days prior and then bring it up to 50deg on brew day - brew, then chill to fermentation temp ASAP -

 

[HopTonger]

(Cont'd)... Lastly, never rack to the secondary until you hit terminal gravity. Drop the last few points off using a diacytel rest. If you're gravity stalls on primary, try yeast energizer and gently rouse the yeast. If you rack prematurely, very doubtful you'll reach a true final gravity and likely will end up with off flavors from the yeast not being able to clean up.