Will This Work?

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osagedr

Recovering from Sobriety
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I did a Brewhouse Oktoberfest kit (just add water and yeast) this fall with Wyeast 2633 Oktoberfest Lager Blend. Made a good-sized starter and fermented at 50 or just under. Did a D-rest as usual, but still ended up with a D-bomb after I racked off the yeast. Very, very disappointing since I thought I had pitched a lot of yeast and really didn't envision having yet another D-bomb.

So I set out to try to see if there is a way to fix this and came upon the following article about krausening:

http://***********/stories/wizard/a...tyl-a-targeting-strike-temperatures-mr-wizard

Now...I was about to start a Vienna lager that members of my club are doing. I have a Wyeast 2308 smack-pack for that. By happy coincidence I have ingredients for a 6 gallon batch but only want to make 5.25. So, my plan is to make a 3 litre batch of Vienna, pitch my 2308 at 60 degrees as per the article above (maybe more like 56 given the specifics of 2308), let it hit high krausen, then dump it into my D-bomb Oktoberfest and wait a few weeks to see what happens. If it works, I will then use the slurry that settles out as the starter for my Vienna. If not, I will assume the diacetyl has come from an infection (I am generally careful) and dump the batch.

Perhaps I should just bite the bullet and buy another pack of the Oktoberfest yeast...it's just too handy that I have the extra grain from my Vienna though.

Any thoughts on the wisdom of this proposed course of action?
 
Just wanted to provide an update as I am fairly pleased with the results. Brewed a three litre AG batch of Vienna and pitched my Wyeast 2308 at room temperature. It hit high krausen in about a day at which point I added it to my Oktoberfest D-bomb and held it at 60 degrees for seven or eight days. Just had my first taste of it and the diacetyl is perceptible, but nearly eliminated and the beer is certainly drinkable. I will force carb a bottle of it today to see what the finished product might be like (use the carbonator since I have some sparkling wine to do anyway) but I expect to be kegging this right away.

Very nice to know there is a procedure for (nearly) eliminating diacetyl in a finished batch. Hopefully I don't encounter the problem again--have to make sure enough yeast gets pitched for your lagers!
 
Well I ended up leaving this beer in the carboy and am I ever glad I did. Finally tasted it again today; the diacetyl is completely gone, and it's been racked to a keg and should be carbed up very soon. A huge amount of trouble but it's good to know this method for "fixing" diacetyl can work!
 
And, just to finish this little experiment off...had my first pint (okay, okay it was two pints) from the keg last night and it was delicious.

I'm convinced this is an effective method for fixing diacetyl in a finished beer. Very glad I took the time to go through this process.
 
going to try this. did you leave this beer at room temp for 4 months after pitching the starter?
 
I might have, but it wouldn't be necessary to leave it that long. If I did, it was because I didn't have much faith that the process would work--but it did!
 
depending on how high your dicetyl levels are, you can scrub out w co2, also - but this seems like a good trick...
 
well i pitched a little under 2 liters of fermenting wort into my buttery oktoberfest. hopefully it works. i used dme for the starter, i almost wish i would have waited until my next brew day so i could have used some fresh all grain wort. i guess i have nothing to lose here, hopefully it works, and hopefully the dme starter doesnt lend too many off flavors.
 
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