Quick lager fermentation question on timing

[anico4704]

I pitched a 1.047 lager on this past Sat at 1am. It appears to be winding down now so I am going to take a hydro reading and do a d rest for the next 3 days if the hydro comes back at 75% done. This would put me at the 8 day mark after the d rest and then I will start dropping the temp slowly. Does this seem fast? Am I supposed to drop the temp and lager right when it hits fg with the d rest? I have heard it takes like 10-14 days just to get to the drest. I pitched at 53 and have fermented at 53 the entire time so far

 

[Yooper]

I pitched a 1.047 lager on this past Sat at 1am. It appears to be winding down now so I am going to take a hydro reading and do a d rest for the next 3 days if the hydro comes back at 75% done. This would put me at the 8 day mark after the d rest and then I will start dropping the temp slowly. Does this seem fast? Am I supposed to drop the temp and lager right when it hits fg with the d rest? I have heard it takes like 10-14 days just to get to the drest. I pitched at 53 and have fermented at 53 the entire time so far

That seems about right, especially for a lower OG lager.

I don't drop the temp very slowly, but I always rack after the diacetyl rest to avoid lagering on the trub. You probably want to do a diacetyl rest as a matter of course as a new lager brewer. They can't hurt, no matter what, and can really help if you're not an expert in detecting diacetyl in smaller amounts and early stages.

It normally takes me about 5 days to finish primary fermentation, give or take, depending on the yeast strain and the OG of the beer.

 

[Blarneybrew]

I envy you diligent record keepers.

I just watch the bubbling airlock and raise it to 65 when it's slowed. Seems to be at around five days, and that's after a 36 hour wait to see some action to begin with. Then I cold crash for four days then rack. I used to cold crash at two days but four makes it that much more settled in my opinon

If I screw up on the d-rest, I might taste what? Butter? I should try to produce a beer heavy in diatcytl to know what to recognize

 

[anico4704]

Thanks for the info! One more question when raising temp for a d rest I use a heating pad taped to the side of a chest freezer. Do I want to raise the temp all 10 degrees at once or a little over a few days? It would take it maybe 4 hours if I did it all at once as the pad doesn't get too hot.

 

[BigFloyd]

If I screw up on the d-rest, I might taste what? Butter? I should try to produce a beer heavy in diatcytl to know what to recognize

You typically won't really taste the butter flavor until it's too late. What you're trying to detect early on is a sort of slickness that comes from having the diacetyl precursor chemical (I don't recall the name) at a detectable level. The purpose of giving a d-rest for a few days at the higher temp is to allow the precursor to become diacetyl which the yeast can then convert to chemicals you won't taste.

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for the info! One more question when raising temp for a d rest I use a heating pad taped to the side of a chest freezer. Do I want to raise the temp all 10 degrees at once or a little over a few days? It would take it maybe 4 hours if I did it all at once as the pad doesn't get too hot.

Raise it all at once as there is no advantage to doing it slow. I'd be amazed if you could actually get 5 gallons of liquid up ten degrees in 4 hours- that'd be faster than I've ever seen that happen. It generally takes a long time to warm or cool 5 gallons of liquid in a reasonable environment.

 

[anico4704]

That is probably very true what you are saying, that was a complete guess I actually thought that was a long time haha thanks for the info helps a lot!