trace of diacetyl in my Alt

[schroeder]

This is my first alt.
fermented at 62F for 2 weeks.
racked into cornies held at 44F for 1 week, then dropped to 40F for 1 week ( I was cautious with my fridge because I had some previuos issues with freezing beer)
wyeast 1056 american ale (harvested from previous beer) - not so good at 40F

I pulled a sample from the top of the corny and it was very clear, but some yeast has settled into the bottom of the keg because if I charge with co2 and pour a sample it comes out cloudy, so there is still some yeast in the corny keg

I notice some diacetyl in the flavour of the beer. It is still very drinkable, pretty good in fact...but not style appropriate. I think 2.8 vol of co2 and the associated acidic bite will help give it a cleaner character, but.

NOW! on to my question...
If I rewarm this beer for a week will the yeast become reactivated enough to consume the diacetyl, and after that will I be able to re-rack it, crash it and condition for another 2-3 weeks to hit the style...
... or just drink it and chalk it up as a learning experience

I have a limited time before i have to package 3 different batches, label and ship out for christmas gifts, and I probably don't have time to make another Alt from the ground up.
BTW I would not be at all embarassed to serve it as is once carbonated, not even to my homebrew buddies. I just want to know if I can improve it.

 

[RobertRGeorge]

What you are proposing seems to me to be in theory what I understand to be the solution for Diacetyl elimination. I'd give it a try and be optimistic. Also, I have made beers that I have thought unsatisfactory because of the same issue, and served them to others who have said they liked them a lot, so it may be a case of overly sensitive taste buds on my part, or other people are just less sensitive to the flavor. I'd bottle it up thinking that most people will be thrilled to get a home made gift that also gives them a nice buzz.

 

[schroeder]

What you are proposing seems to me to be in theory what I understand to be the solution for Diacetyl elimination. I'd give it a try and be optimistic. Also, I have made beers that I have thought unsatisfactory because of the same issue, and served them to others who have said they liked them a lot, so it may be a case of overly sensitive taste buds on my part, or other people are just less sensitive to the flavor.

From what I've read I also concluded that this would theoretically work, but I'm not even convinced that I should try it. I also am very sensitive to diacetyl, in fact there are a few local microbrew beers that are quite popular that I don't have a stomache (tongue) for since I can taste diacetyl in them. I don't consider my current attempt to be offensive however, I would just like it to be a bit cleaner.

Maybe I'll just suck it up and carbonate and bottle it as is, and for my next Alt (when I get around to it) try to improve it.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[RobertRGeorge]

Well, it will cost nothing to try your procedure, and you will have some information to use next time. Unless I was eager to get drinking, I would take the extra couple of weeks to try it. If there's a 3-gallon carboy or a couple gallon jugs available you could split the batch and still have some bottled right away.