gio
Well-Known Member
It seems like every beer I brew these days has too much diacetyl. My experience so far:
- The first time I noticed diacetyl was a Dogfish Head 90min IPA clone I brewed. This was a double IPA that I left in the secondary for 4 weeks. I believe the problem was that I only left it in the primary for 4 days because the fermentation was so rapid that it was at its target gravity by then. I regret racking it so early because I believe I didn't give the yeast long enough time to clean up. Perhaps I also overpitched?
- The next diacetyl problem I had was with an American lager. I chilled the wort to 50 before pitching, but I had made the starter at room temperature. I didn't check gravity until almost 2 weeks after I pitched and by that time I had hit my target gravity and it was too late for a diacetyl rest. The aroma of butter was overwhelming. I tried to remedy it by adding more wort (basically DME plus water) and letting it ferment again at room temperature. I did this 3 times over two weeks at 65 degrees and ended up using nearly a pound of golden light DME. It seemed to help at least a little bit although I have yet to taste the finished beer as it is still lagering.
- The next beer I made was another double IPA (Oskar Blues Gordon clone). It perhaps fermented slightly warm (got up to 74-75 when it should have never gone above 72) and I noticed a moderate amount of diacetyl after the first week in primary. I pitched a little bit of sugar and prayed that it would clean up. It is sitting in secondary now and I hope it will turn out ok.
- Finally, I made a very straightforward hefeweizen (40% pilsner, 60% wheat and wyeast 3068). I fermented it a little warmer than usual (70-72) because my last hefeweizen was fermented at 62-64 and it was rather bland. I was hoping for a more flavorful beer at a warmer temp. No, I didn't get a banana bomb but instead I got more dreaded diacetyl. I want a weihenstephaner clone and I'm always so far off (I use decoction mashes and everything!). Diacetyl again... its not so bad that the beer is undrinkable, but I wouldn't call it a great beer. Certainly it is nothing like Weihenstephaner (I wonder if they use any light crystal malts or something because it seems to have so much more substance and flavor).
So basically ever beer the past couple months except for my Belgian quads seem to end up with at least some diacetyl. The only thing I can guess is that my fermentation temperatures are slightly higher nowadays now that it isn't winter anymore. Or maybe I am just really really sensitive to diacetyl. To put things in perspective a friend had a keg of dock street pilsner recently and I felt it was completely disgustingly undrinkable because of the amount of diacetly in it. Imagine taking a bag of uncooked microwave popcorn, filling it with warm water and pouring it into a glass. Yeah, that's what it was like. At least it makes me feel better that this happens to commercial brewerys too. The question is now what can I do to avoid it?? Any suggestions?
- The first time I noticed diacetyl was a Dogfish Head 90min IPA clone I brewed. This was a double IPA that I left in the secondary for 4 weeks. I believe the problem was that I only left it in the primary for 4 days because the fermentation was so rapid that it was at its target gravity by then. I regret racking it so early because I believe I didn't give the yeast long enough time to clean up. Perhaps I also overpitched?
- The next diacetyl problem I had was with an American lager. I chilled the wort to 50 before pitching, but I had made the starter at room temperature. I didn't check gravity until almost 2 weeks after I pitched and by that time I had hit my target gravity and it was too late for a diacetyl rest. The aroma of butter was overwhelming. I tried to remedy it by adding more wort (basically DME plus water) and letting it ferment again at room temperature. I did this 3 times over two weeks at 65 degrees and ended up using nearly a pound of golden light DME. It seemed to help at least a little bit although I have yet to taste the finished beer as it is still lagering.
- The next beer I made was another double IPA (Oskar Blues Gordon clone). It perhaps fermented slightly warm (got up to 74-75 when it should have never gone above 72) and I noticed a moderate amount of diacetyl after the first week in primary. I pitched a little bit of sugar and prayed that it would clean up. It is sitting in secondary now and I hope it will turn out ok.
- Finally, I made a very straightforward hefeweizen (40% pilsner, 60% wheat and wyeast 3068). I fermented it a little warmer than usual (70-72) because my last hefeweizen was fermented at 62-64 and it was rather bland. I was hoping for a more flavorful beer at a warmer temp. No, I didn't get a banana bomb but instead I got more dreaded diacetyl. I want a weihenstephaner clone and I'm always so far off (I use decoction mashes and everything!). Diacetyl again... its not so bad that the beer is undrinkable, but I wouldn't call it a great beer. Certainly it is nothing like Weihenstephaner (I wonder if they use any light crystal malts or something because it seems to have so much more substance and flavor).
So basically ever beer the past couple months except for my Belgian quads seem to end up with at least some diacetyl. The only thing I can guess is that my fermentation temperatures are slightly higher nowadays now that it isn't winter anymore. Or maybe I am just really really sensitive to diacetyl. To put things in perspective a friend had a keg of dock street pilsner recently and I felt it was completely disgustingly undrinkable because of the amount of diacetly in it. Imagine taking a bag of uncooked microwave popcorn, filling it with warm water and pouring it into a glass. Yeah, that's what it was like. At least it makes me feel better that this happens to commercial brewerys too. The question is now what can I do to avoid it?? Any suggestions?