First lager

[mdawson9]

Hey guys. Have my first lager fermenting now. A German pils. I know I need to do the diactyl rest at the end of primary fermentation. It's been in the primary for 12 days at 46-50 F. Bubbles have slowed way down but still has krausen on top.
My question is 1) should I bother taking gravity reading when krausen hasn't fallen and 2) when do I know to do the diactyl rest?
Thanks for the help!!

 

[kombat]

Take a gravity reading NOW. If it's been 12 days, you've likely already missed your window for the d-rest. The rule of thumb is to do the d-rest once your gravity is 2/3 of the way toward expected F.G. So if your O.G. was 1.040 and you expect it to attenuate down to 1.010, then that's a change of 30 gravity points, so you'd do the d-rest after it's dropped 20 gravity points, or down to 1.020.

 

[mdawson9]

Take a gravity reading NOW. If it's been 12 days, you've likely already missed your window for the d-rest. The rule of thumb is to do the d-rest once your gravity is 2/3 of the way toward expected F.G. So if your O.G. was 1.040 and you expect it to attenuate down to 1.010, then that's a change of 30 gravity points, so you'd do the d-rest after it's dropped 20 gravity points, or down to 1.020.

Thanks for the reply. So when is it too late? When I'm at FG?

 

[kombat]

I would never say it's "too late" to the point where it's not worth at least trying it, but the optimal point is at 2/3 of the way to F.G.. By all means, warm it up to room temp now for a couple of days, then move it into the fridge to lager for a few weeks, and I'm sure it'll still be delicious. I just meant, for next time, check your gravity after 5 or 6 days, and if you're 2/3 of the way to F.G., do your d-rest then.

 

[Cyclman]

You can always d-rest, the yeast is still active, just not as much. If FG is reached, rest it for longer before lagering it. Yeast are still working, just not fermenting.

 

[mdawson9]

Checked gravity last night and its at 1.016. OG was 1.053 and FG is estimated at 1.011. It's mostly been in the mid to high 40s so I'd imagine that's slowed yeast down. I'll start bringing the temp up. It did not have any diactyl favor that I could detect last night. Butterscotch right? I did not detect that. Tasted pretty good. Bready base, little sweet finish and a decent hop bitterness.