Diacetyl Rest & Lagering

[wimbymoonshine]

Hey All,

I have a lager in primary and i have raised the temp for the past 24 hours for the diacetyl rest.

Question is now i want to lager, should i leave the beer in primary and lager or should i rack to secondary and lager?

Edit: Also, i dont have a fridge to store my fermenter im relying on the cool temps in the UK. Question is, should i leave it outside to lager. temp ranges between 0 and 11 degrees throughout the day.

 

[The King of Spain]

Hey All,

I have a lager in primary and i have raised the temp for the past 24 hours for the diacetyl rest.

Question is now i want to lager, should i leave the beer in primary and lager or should i rack to secondary and lager?

Never seen the point of a secondary, thats one of those things that belongs to tradition (to my mind anyway). Lagering did not work that great in some countries like England so they developed other ways to make clear beer using stuff like gelatine. Given we all know that now, try about half a teaspoon dissolved in about 400ml of water (80C) added once your beer is down to 2C. Saves time and works well

 

[Uncle Fester]

If you are going to Lager, then do it in a secondary. Bad things happen if you leave the beer on the yeast cake too long.

Also, leave the beer where it will stay at a constanc temp (2-4degrees), and if outside, obviously out of the sun B)

Fester.

 

[drsmurto]

This may or may not be a noob response to this question but i dont agree with KOS. My understanding of the lagering process is that it isnt too clear the beer (ok, so it does clear the beer but i see that as a positive side benefit) but too allow the yeast to clean up all the funky smelling/tasting farts they produce during primary fermentation......

If i am way off please feel free to correct me, only 8 AGs under my belt so far and far too much to still learn!

 

[Steve]

Rack to secondary after the rest and then lager as cold as possible.
Cheers
Steve

Edit.....or rack to a keg

 

[SJW]

Rack to secondary after the rest and then lager as cold as possible.
Cheers
Steve

Or rack straight to keg (with a little gelatine) and get the gas on and see how long u can leave it cold prior to drinking! Thats my way of doing it.

Steve

 

[chovain]

This may or may not be a noob response to this question but i dont agree with KOS. My understanding of the lagering process is that it isnt too clear the beer (ok, so it does clear the beer but i see that as a positive side benefit) but too allow the yeast to clean up all the funky smelling/tasting farts they produce during primary fermentation......

If i am way off please feel free to correct me, only 8 AGs under my belt so far and far too much to still learn!

I'm with you, Doc. Lagering is not just about clarifying the beer.

The English developed their brewing techniques before lager yeasts were developed. The English hardly use any lager yeasts at all (I can't think of any English lager styles off the top of my head). There's little to gain from lagering an ale, as the extra stuff that the yeast produces is desirable; but in a lager, those bi-products will ruin an otherwise good beer.

 

[matti]

Wimbymoonshine.

It is best to rack and and leave it outside and allow the the beer to mature in either keg or secondary vessel.
(0-11 degrees sound like fantastic brewing temps to me.)

 

[devo]

I find it best to keg after secondary and let it condition in my keg fridge for 4 to 6 weeks. If I lager in the secondary it ties up my fermenting fridge and prevents me from being able to do another beer.

Ideally another dedicated fridge for conditioning lagers would be the way to go but I don't thing the missus would approve a yet another fridge in the garage.

Either way I have found that lagers, pilsners and german ales such as Kolsch's really do respond well to a patient brewer.