Lager hit 1.007 - Is it too Late for Diacetyl Rest?

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angry_gopher

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This is my first attempt at making a lager. Brewed 11 days ago and was expecting 2 weeks of fermentation before doing the rest, checked the SG today and it's 1.007 (OG was 1.047). Tasted the sample, dry, thin body with a hint of sulphur taste.
 
First lager? Hence your premature expectations... it will not taste good, or remotely like it eventually will, at 11 days.

It’s not too late at all for a d-rest. Mind you, a d-rest is usually just precautionary, not necessarily mandatory. If the yeast were treated kindly, they will not have felt abused and won’t have produced diacetyl in the first place. So don’t sweat it. Raise the temp to 65 and let sit for 2-3 days. That will also help clear the sulfur. But so will sitting at 50°. It’s just a matter of longer time at the cooler temps.

I keg my lager after two weeks of primary. I find that, nearly without fail, it takes another 2-3 weeks in the cold (lagering!) until it suddenly gets that flavor, texture, and carbonation that make me say YEAH, that’s bloody good. And then it only gets better for at least a couple more months.

Patience.
 
This is my first attempt at making a lager. Brewed 11 days ago and was expecting 2 weeks of fermentation before doing the rest, checked the SG today and it's 1.007 (OG was 1.047). Tasted the sample, dry, thin body with a hint of sulphur taste.

There is an optimum gravity for reducing the diacetyl (if you have diacetyl) but at any point after that optimum the yeast will reduce it if given the right conditions. People have reported that diacetyl will even be reduced or eliminated after the beer is bottled. Do your diacetyl rest now, maybe for a little longer than you planned to give the reduced amount of yeast still suspended more time to finish the job.
 
First lager? Hence your premature expectations... it will not taste good, or remotely like it eventually will, at 11 days.

It’s not too late at all for a d-rest. Mind you, a d-rest is usually just precautionary, not necessarily mandatory. If the yeast were treated kindly, they will not have felt abused and won’t have produced diacetyl in the first place. So don’t sweat it. Raise the temp to 65 and let sit for 2-3 days. That will also help clear the sulfur. But so will sitting at 50°. It’s just a matter of longer time at the cooler temps.

I keg my lager after two weeks of primary. I find that, nearly without fail, it takes another 2-3 weeks in the cold (lagering!) until it suddenly gets that flavor, texture, and carbonation that make me say YEAH, that’s bloody good. And then it only gets better for at least a couple more months.

Patience.

Thanks! I appreciate your input. I'm hoping this turns out as well as my first blonde ale - which in my conceited and biased opinion was perfect!
 
There is an optimum gravity for reducing the diacetyl (if you have diacetyl) but at any point after that optimum the yeast will reduce it if given the right conditions. People have reported that diacetyl will even be reduced or eliminated after the beer is bottled. Do your diacetyl rest now, maybe for a little longer than you planned to give the reduced amount of yeast still suspended more time to finish the job.

Thank you! I wasn't sure if I had passed the point that DR would be useful.
 
I'm sure it will turn out great.

Don't get me wrong; if you keg the beer after 2 weeks of primary fermentation, it will be drinkable as soon as it carbonates. But trust me, and you will see for yourself - as the weeks pass, it will condition and change for the (far) better.

At 3 weeks after putting it on gas in the keezer, it blossoms. This is my experience so far with all the lagers I've brewed, including the 4.4% "little pils" I've got on tap right now.

Every time I have a pale lager on tap, it ends up being my favorite beer to drink. I really should brew them all the time.

Keep us posted!
 
At 3 weeks after putting it on gas in the keezer, it blossoms.

Amazing how that happens. Love those lagers. It's not even viable until 3 or 4 weeks in the keg, then BOOM, the angels start singing. A good Kolsch is the same way. They need time to feel the love.
 
It produced a lot of rotten egg smell

Welcome to lagers :) Don't fret the sulfur. It's very volatile and does goes away. I'll never forget my wife opening my fermentation chamber once and yelling out "Jesus, I think the dog ate some eggs and crapped in your fridge!". But the beer turned out just fine.
 
Just following this up, racked the beer into a keg 2 days ago. As I mentioned before, it's fairly dry with not a lot of body. Definitely not a disaster by any means though. Very drinkable and it's kind of grown on me, even with the mild banana undertones that I'm not generally a fan of.
 
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