[Ellismr]

Quick question:  Last Thursday (11/9) I brewed a pilsner.  My first one.  At the time I didn't have plans for the upcoming holiday.  Now I'm leaving the state for Thanksgiving which is my 2 week mark for primary fermentation.  I'll be back the following Sunday (11/26).  Would it be horrible to wait until 17 day mark to conduct a diacetyl rest?  I fermented with WLP 830.

Thanks for your advice.

[denny]

Quick question:  Last Thursday (11/9) I brewed a pilsner.  My first one.  At the time I didn't have plans for the upcoming holiday.  Now I'm leaving the state for Thanksgiving which is my 2 week mark for primary fermentation.  I'll be back the following Sunday (11/26).  Would it be horrible to wait until 17 day mark to conduct a diacetyl rest?  I fermented with WLP 830.

Thanks for your advice.

That will be fine.  You may not even need one.  I seldom do.

[Steve Ruch]

That will be fine.  You may not even need one.  I seldom do.

This^^^.

[brewinhard]

Yeah, I would think by that point that the yeast have most likely reabsorbed any of the diacetyl produced during fermentation.

[Ellismr]

Quick question:  Last Thursday (11/9) I brewed a pilsner.  My first one.  At the time I didn't have plans for the upcoming holiday.  Now I'm leaving the state for Thanksgiving which is my 2 week mark for primary fermentation.  I'll be back the following Sunday (11/26).  Would it be horrible to wait until 17 day mark to conduct a diacetyl rest?  I fermented with WLP 830.

Thanks for your advice.

That will be fine.  You may not even need one.  I seldom do.

So to clarify, you let it hit terminal gravity and then go straight to a lagering phase?

P.S. love your books

Cheers,
Matt


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[denny]

So to clarify, you let it hit terminal gravity and then go straight to a lagering phase?

P.S. love your books

Cheers,
Matt


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Thanks!

Once it's at or near FG, I take a gravity reading then taste the sample.  Ig I don't taste diacetyl, it gets kegged and into the fridge.  If I taste diacetyl, I either let it go longer or warm it up.  Remember, it's not the temp itself that's reducing diacetyl, it's the yeast, and by warming it up the yeast becomes more active.  But I've also found that a big healthy initial pitch followed by plenty of fermentation time usually eliminates the need for a separate d rest.

[Ellismr]

So to clarify, you let it hit terminal gravity and then go straight to a lagering phase?

P.S. love your books

Cheers,
Matt


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Thanks!

Once it's at or near FG, I take a gravity reading then taste the sample.  Ig I don't taste diacetyl, it gets kegged and into the fridge.  If I taste diacetyl, I either let it go longer or warm it up.  Remember, it's not the temp itself that's reducing diacetyl, it's the yeast, and by warming it up the yeast becomes more active.  But I've also found that a big healthy initial pitch followed by plenty of fermentation time usually eliminates the need for a separate d rest.

Thank you


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[a10t2]

At 7 days you're probably getting close to diacetyl rest time anyway. I start letting the beer warm itself up once I see 60-70% ADF.

So I guess my big-picture answer would be, these things are determined by gravity, not a timeline you can set in advance.

[ynotbrusum]

I used to do D-rests, but like Denny said, if you pitch enough yeast, a D-rest is not necessary.  I just pitch a lot of yeast and rack when I get around to it after a couple weeks or more in the primary, sometimes as many as 4 weeks after pitching.  And this is for lager yeast and cold fermentation, mind you, as well as cold fermented ales and hybrids.

Best of luck with your pilsner!