bock fermenting. took sample. advice?

[fatinma]

9 days into my primary fermenting of my "yummy bock" type of lager, I opened up the bucket and withdrew enough of a sample to check for gravity.

Here are some concerns or comments that hopefully can be answered, and alleviate me of any further overthinking.

1. OG was 1.060. I checked the sample today (being the 10th day) and it is at 1.023. Still too high, but I did notice a fruity smell to it (almost like apricots). Should I continue fermenting at 50 degrees for another 10 or 11 days or should I bring the fermenting up to 70 degrees for 2 days or so for a diacetyl rest? I took a sip of the sample and I think it tasted quite well, but a bit young still. Not too noticeable of any buttery or banana flavors i believe are associated with diacetyl. Should I just skip the d-rest at this point and continue fermenting?

2. I noticed today that after listening for a few minutes, I didn't hear (or see) any further bubbling, so I assume that the fermenting has at least slowed down. I guess I just need assurance that this is ok, and let it continue to do its thing, right?

3. I opened the bucket, so of course some oxygen must have gotten in. With the CO2 still layering the top of the beer, I imagine it is ok to just close the top of the bucket, put the airlock back on and let it just ferment away? Whatever oxygen that did get in while testing isn't enough to worry about, right?

 

[rsmith179]

Lagers can take quite a while longer to ferment in the primary compared with ales obviously. If your gravity is still up there, I would reccommend continuing with the laggering process until you hit your target gravity. Then you can bring it up in temps for a few days for the diacetyl rest.

Just because you don't see or hear anything, doesn't mean that the yeast aren't still doing their thing. Just put the lid back on the fermenter and don't open it for another 1-2 weeks to take another hydro reading. This will give you the best indication as to when it's finished.

Regarding opening the lid and introducing oxygen, don't worry about that too much. You'll be just fine. The CO2 is actually heavier than air anyways, so you should still have a good top coat of CO2 on your beer. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[fatinma]

It has been almost 3 weeks now in primary. The FG reading I took last night was 1.018, which is close to the 1.012-15 FG. My OG was on the higher end of the given range, so I am going for 1.015 as my FG.

i moved the primary to a warmer area in our house (about 68 degrees) and plan on letting that sit for a couple of days to finish out and do a D-rest if needed.

i guess if I take a gravity reading for 3 straight days, and my OG doesn't decrease any, should I consider it done fermenting and move on to the next step?

What if my gravity does slowly creep further down in the next couple of days, should I keep it at room temperature, or should I move it back to 50 degrees?

 

[Yooper]

You can leave it at the diacetyl rest temperature until it's finished. Then rack and begin the lagering. I like to start the secondary/lagering period by putting it at 50 degrees, and then dropping the temperature by 5 degrees per day until I'm lagering at 34 degrees.