[Wort-H.O.G.]

So I pitched my 1gal starter of wlp802 ( .5 gal stepped to another .5 gal...estimated at 500 bill cells) into my pilsner at 1.051OG. I pitched decanted starter into 60f wort and It started fermenting after 6 hours, and now at about 81 hours of fermentation, it's at 1.020. I'm thinking tomorrow night I better do the d-rest, as at 1.019 I'm at about 80% complete since my final should be about 1.010.  My fermentation temp has been 51-52f.  This just seems really fast to me...but I've never used this yeast before.  Ay thoughts?

[BrewQwest]

First off....pitching your gallon starter is not really what you did...you made two of the one-half gallon starters which is not the same at all... did you use a stir plate? did you aerate with an aquarium pump? did you use oxygen? forgive me if I do not know your past posts, but many people coming to this forum would not know either unless you specified with more information......IMHO, your fermentation stage is only 61% completed from what you described so why would you want to do the D-rest this early? my math may be wrong and if so I apologize...cheers!!-

[Wort-H.O.G.]

First off....pitching your gallon starter is not really what you did...you made two of the one-half gallon starters which is not the same at all... did you use a stir plate? did you aerate with an aquarium pump? did you use oxygen? forgive me if I do not know your past posts, but many people coming to this forum would not know either unless you specified with more information......IMHO, your fermentation stage is only 61% completed from what you described so why would you want to do the D-rest this early? my math may be wrong and if so I apologize...cheers!!-

right....    you can relax now.

[davidgzach]

Looking at Mr. Malty and Yeastcalc, you needed 375 Billion cells if that was a 5.25G batch.  If you pitched 500B, then that speed would not surprise me.  That being the case, take a taste and see whether you need a diacetyl rest at all.  You pitched plenty of yeast and sounds like they were quite healthy!

Dave

[Wort-H.O.G.]

Looking at Mr. Malty and Yeastcalc, you needed 375 Billion cells if that was a 5.25G batch.  If you pitched 500B, then that speed would not surprise me.  That being the case, take a taste and see whether you need a diacetyl rest at all.  You pitched plenty of yeast and sounds like they were quite healthy!

Dave

dave- thanks for the constructive feedback. my fault for not saying, but i was 5.75 gallons in the carboy.  mr.malty and other calcs called for about 410bil, so you are correct stating i pitched a little high (by design).

i was just surprised how quickly its moved. im targeting around 1.016-.017 to do the d-rest...i just prefer to do it as matter of practice vs. skipping it and getting burned by the butter...so to speak.

thanks again for the feedback.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

maybe my math for figuring % fermentation is off...if im looking for about 75% completion, whats the formula?

thanks

[hopfenundmalz]

Most of my lagers of that OG range are done in 5 or 6 days. I pitch at about 44 to 45 F, so a wrmer pitch means it will start faster, but may make more VDKs.

Time to do the D rest at 1.020 for a 1.050 beer Is about 1.020 so I agree.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

Most of my lagers of that OG range are done in 5 or 6 days. I pitch at about 44 to 45 F, so a wrmer pitch means it will start faster, but may make more VDKs.

Time to do the D rest at 1.020 for a 1.050 beer Is about 1.020 so I agree.

thanks for confirming the math... i guess i figured pitching at 60F was only slightly higher than my target ferm temp of 52F.  once i put it into lager chamber, it didn't take long to drop down to my set temp of 52F. hopefully this isn't a negative in the final product. i will have to experiment with lower pitching temps and compare.

[denny]

i will have to experiment with lower pitching temps and compare.

Yeah, you should.  I found that my lagers turned out better when I started pitching a bit below fermentation temp and letting it rise to the temp intended.  Give it a try and compare the results to what you're doing now.

[blatz]

i will have to experiment with lower pitching temps and compare.

Yeah, you should.  I found that my lagers turned out better when I started pitching a bit below fermentation temp and letting it rise to the temp intended.  Give it a try and compare the results to what you're doing now.

+1 - much, much better...

[Wort-H.O.G.]

i will have to experiment with lower pitching temps and compare.

Yeah, you should.  I found that my lagers turned out better when I started pitching a bit below fermentation temp and letting it rise to the temp intended.  Give it a try and compare the results to what you're doing now.

+1 - much, much better...

i believe you guys..probably my mistake last time also denny where i had slight diacetyl in the last lager Denny.

right now its at 1.020, and i tasted a touch of diacetyl. should i pull it now for d-rest or wait for it to move a few more points? i know my target FG is 1.010, which would make 1.020 the appropriate d-rest...but what if the beer intends to finish lower at 1.008-9. i'd hate to pull it early at 1.020 if that were the case...what would you guys do?

[BrewQwest]

.....IMHO, your fermentation stage is only 61% completed from what you described so why would you want to do the D-rest this early? my math may be wrong and if so I apologize...cheers!!-

Man, I apologize... For some reason I computed your attenuation rate reached at point 1.020 which was (51-20)/51 = 60.7% instead of your completion percentage... And when plugging your starter size into yeastcalc it helps if I remember to put it in gallons instead of liters ...No wonder I had the cell count off by so much... doh!!!... Sorry again...

[Wort-H.O.G.]

.....IMHO, your fermentation stage is only 61% completed from what you described so why would you want to do the D-rest this early? my math may be wrong and if so I apologize...cheers!!-

Man, I apologize... For some reason I computed your attenuation rate reached at point 1.020 which was (51-20)/51 = 60.7% instead of your completion percentage... And when plugging your starter size into yeastcalc it helps if I remember to put it in gallons instead of liters ...No wonder I had the cell count off by so much... doh!!!... Sorry again...

no worries 

[Wort-H.O.G.]

i will have to experiment with lower pitching temps and compare.

Yeah, you should.  I found that my lagers turned out better when I started pitching a bit below fermentation temp and letting it rise to the temp intended.  Give it a try and compare the results to what you're doing now.

+1 - much, much better...

i believe you guys..probably my mistake last time also denny where i had slight diacetyl in the last lager Denny.

right now its at 1.020, and i tasted a touch of diacetyl. should i pull it now for d-rest or wait for it to move a few more points? i know my target FG is 1.010, which would make 1.020 the appropriate d-rest...but what if the beer intends to finish lower at 1.008-9. i'd hate to pull it early at 1.020 if that were the case...what would you guys do?

just wondering if waiting another day or two fermenting at 50-51F is better than pulling it now for d-rest, just in case it does end up at under 1.010.....any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!! thanks

[ynotbrusum]

If you are going to a secondary, you can do the d-rest now, but I just leave mine in the primary for a month without D-rests.  The yeast finish the lager off without a problem.