14 days later

[worpion]

Its been 14 days my Oktoberfest has been in the primary at 54 deg. airlock is bubbling every 90 seconds and there is still some tan colored bits floating ahould i take hydro readings yet

 

[doug293cz]

Its been 14 days my Oktoberfest has been in the primary at 54 deg. airlock is bubbling every 90 seconds and there is still some tan colored bits floating ahould i take hydro readings yet

I would take one now and another in two days to see whether or not you are done, and if not done how fast are things progressing.

Brew on

 

[JayDubWill]

1. Take a gravity reading
2. Warm it up
3. Leave it alone another 14 days

Pick any one.

Seriously though take a gravity reading if you can in a sanitized way. If not, since it's probably 85%-95% fermented warm it up and let it finish, or just let it sit longer. If you used a lager yeast (and I hope you did at that temp) now is the perfect time to get it up to 64-66F for a D-Rest for a week, transfer to secondary and drop 2 degrees a day until you get to 37(ish) and let it sit another month.

 

[danath34]

You can if you'd like. Some people like to take readings as they go along to track the beer's progress. I personally don't even open the fermenter until I'm confident it's done, and about to do something with it (rack, addition, bottle). The way I see it, the more you open it up and touch the wort, the more risks of infection there are.

 

[worpion]

Thanks for the reply's i did use a lager yeast and have had it at the temp range 54 - 56 deg for the 2 weeks i am afraid if i go higher temp i will get some off flavoring i think i will let it go another week and see how it progresses will update in a week

 

[AnOldUR]

... i am afraid if i go higher temp i will get some off flavoring ...

Just the opposite. A diacetyl rest is a way to avoid a common lager off-flavor.

 

[JayDubWill]

Just the opposite. A diacetyl rest is a way to avoid a common lager off-flavor.

+1 to this. Right now is the most opportune time to raise the temp 10-15 degrees and do a D-rest. You're not going to pick up any off flavors at this late stage of fermentation. Diacetyl on the other hand can ruin your entire batch (or at least make it unpalatable). I've found that with WLP-860 Munich Helles lager yeast takes 15 degrees and a full 7 days to clear. The yeast you use may take a shorter time and lower temp. I use the forced diacetyl test for all my lagers after loosing one to it a year or two ago.

Here's a good read on the forced D-rest, but instead of heating to 140 for an hour, I simply microwave ~4oz in a tasting glass for 20 seconds (reaches about 160F) then cover with plastic wrap and let it sit an hour.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/good-read-diacetyl-41041/

 

[JayDubWill]

Sorry, one more thought. Letting the lager sit is another perfectly good option. Breau Kaiser has a really good write up on Diacetyl and reduction time lines. I would still do the forced D-rest before kegging however.

http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fermenting_Lagers