Lowering to Lagering Temp, how will the beer taste different after lagering

First lager (Oktoberfest, Wyeast 2206), just took a sample after 3 weeks in the primary, and it tasted great (my friend said he picked up some candylike sweetness (diacetyl), but it could be because I asked him if it tasted like butterscotch, and it was front of mind, as I didn't detect any)

I'm going to actually take a gravity reading tonight (I was so excited to taste it last night that I forgot to pull enough to measure) and do the forced diacetyl test.

My question is, what is the purpose of lowering the temp to lagering temp SO. DARNED. SLOWLY? I've read that is should be 1 degree per day, which means this won't get to lagering temperature for 22 days, then another 4-5 weeks lagering!

I know patience is key, you can't rush lagers, etc. etc. etc., but if its going to use up my only fermentation fridge for 12 weeks grain to glass, lagers seem pretty impractical.

What would be the harm if I lowered 5 degrees per day until it got to 35 degrees F?

Also, if I do say so, this tastes really really good right now. Very clean maltiness (Jamil's Oktoberfest/Marz) Maybe this should be a separate question, but what flavor compounds does lagering cause to precipitate? I feel like I could almost carbonate and drink this right now (don't worry, I won't)

Thanks in advance!

Topic lagering lager homebrew

Category Mac

1
answered at

Also when you drop the temperature quickly on a lager yeast they throw off more esters, because it stresses them. Giving the beer a more ale-like ester profile, which defeats the purpose of lagers. Jamil taught us that one.

1
answered at

The purpose of lowering the temperature slowly is to avoid shocking the yeast, which might hibernate and fall out of solution. You want the yeast still (a little) active for the lagering phase. "Cold crashing", on the other hand, involves dropping the temperature dramatically to encourage the yeast to flocculate.

I'm not a lager expert, but 1 degree / day sounds unreasonably slow. I've heard 5 or 10 degrees per day. The last lager I made, I adjusted the fermentation fridge 3 degrees every 12 hours or so.

1
answered at

I would agree that 1 degree/ day is unreasonable. Your wort in primary surely sees high temperature gradients just in it's self! 5 degree/ day sounds more reasonable like it's "keeping it safe". But in this case I agree with everyone. Crash that Okt!)

1
answered at

If you like the taste now, then there's almost no need for any kind of temperature gradient. Crash to as low as you can , e.g. 30F,-1C and let the yeast and chill haze fall out.

Commercial breweries don't leave their lagers sitting around for months, it's just not necessary if your fermentation temperature profile is good.

About

Geeks Mental is a community that publishes articles and tutorials about Web, Android, Data Science, new techniques and Linux security.