Diacetyl boil off

[caseyodell]

I'm resigned to the fact that my first lager finished with a diacetyl flavor due to the lack of a rest during fermentation. Is there any chance it can be heated to a certain temp and be boiled off?

 

[Yooper]

I'm resigned to the fact that my first lager finished with a diacetyl flavor due to the lack of a rest during fermentation. Is there any chance it can be heated to a certain temp and be boiled off?

No. Ethanol boils off too so you'll lose the alcohol in your beer, plus change the flavor.

Can you make a small batch of beer and then place your finished beer on the yeast cake? It may not work, but it might.

 

[dmtaylor]

I agree with Yooper. Yeast eats diacetyl. If you add some very hungry very active yeast to your beer, often (but not always) you can convince them to eat the diacetyl. Or if your fermentation just finished in the last few days, maybe all that is needed is another couple weeks for them to finish eating the diacetyl. I've had many batches where after 3 weeks the diacetyl was totally gone. Keep it warm, though, don't chill it yet or the yeast will get tired and quit eating the diacetyl.

 

[caseyodell]

Thank you so much for the replies. Unfortunately I bottled 5 gallons of it and have the other five in a Cornelius keg. Both are currently chilling. It is clear as a bell and I will drink it. Live and learn for next time.

 

[caseyodell]

At least I won't have to give any away!

 

[RM-MN]

Thank you so much for the replies. Unfortunately I bottled 5 gallons of it and have the other five in a Cornelius keg. Both are currently chilling. It is clear as a bell and I will drink it. Live and learn for next time.

Diacetyl is usually broken down by the yeast in a diacetyl rest near the end of fermentation but according to the article below it can continue to be broken down even in chilled beer but is more likely to be broken down at higher temps. You might not gain anything by warming the beer up again as too much of the yeast may have settled out or quit but you don't have much to lose by warming it except time. I'd at least warm up the bottled beer and let it sit at room temp for a month before chilling again to see if you can reduce the diacetyl and if you have other beer to drink in the meanwhile, you might want to try it with the kegged beer too.

http://morebeer.com/brewingtechniques/library/backissues/issue1.2/fix.html

 

[TheBigLebrewsk1]

Open each bottle pitch Brett and celebrate your first sour beer 4 months later.

 

[BrunDog]

The bottled beers, assuming you carbonated them at room temp and gave them some time, should be free of diacetyl. If you chilled them right away, they will neither be free of diacetyl nor carbonated!

 

[shorestyle]

In the future taste test your beer during the fermentation process. If you're still tasting diacetyl towards the end of your ferm, bump up the temp and do a proper diacetyl rest. Diacetyl is a naturally occurring byproduct of fermentation. Naturally, yeast reabsorbes it during the fermentation process. A warmer fermentation will help this process.