First lager - diacetyl rest question

[hawkeyes]

Tomorrow will be the 10th day since I moved my Lager to 50-55 degrees (after fermentation started). According to my instructions, I'm suppose to move it on the 10th day to room temperature for diacetyl rest. It's still bubbling away, should I do it tomorrow like the instructions say or wait longer? Would it hurt the beer to wait until 13-14 days before I moved it to room temperature?

Thanks!

 

[jonmohno]

If its pretty slow i would, but it depends so just use your judgement, thats what i did i just waited til it got pretty slow.There is no timelines exactly for what yeast will do. Just doing it toward the end will be good and do it for at least 2 days.Unfortuantly my first lager which i just did recently is probalby the best beer i have made especialy for just putting together my own recipe. I put more effort into maintaining temps than the actually simple recipe.

 

[DeafSmith]

I believe it's usually recommended to do it when the gravity has moved about 3/4 of the way from OG to FG, or say about 1.020 or 1.022 approx.

 

[hawkeyes]

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[osagedr]

D-rest should be done about 6-8 points above expected FG, which can be determined with a forced fermentation test if you feel it's necessary to be that precise.

A rule of thumb that works for most "normal" gravity lagers is to start the d-rest around 1.020. However, a word of caution: if you are doing a huge lager like a doppelbock, FG could be OVER 1.020, so you'd adjust your d-rest timing accordingly.

You want the d-rest to happen while the yeast is still working, not after fermentation is complete. As I've told others...your hydrometer determines when the d-rest takes place, not your calendar.