I am brewing my first lager ever. I have done many Kolsch’s but never a true lager. I am making Jamils Myburger. Following his recipe I pitched 34/70 at 44 deg then slowly let it warm up to 50 deg where it is now. For the D-Rest he says after airlock activity slows about 6 says raise the temp to 60 deg.
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Should I go by the airlock activity or raise the temp at a certain SG. reading. and at what reading
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how long do I leave it at 60 deg.
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do I drop it back down to 50 deg after the D-Rest
My OG was 1.049 if that helps.
Thankx
First off, if you pitched cool and pitched enough yeast you probably don’t need a D-rest. With that said I always pitch enough yeast and do one anyway because its EASY.
- D- rest should start at about 2/3 complete. What is your expected FG? Let us say 1.010. Take your SG minus expected FG (49-10=39). Take that number and multiply by 2/3 to figure out where the gravity would be at 2/3 completion. (39x.6666= 26). Then take your SG and minus the gravity at 2/3 completion (49-26= 23) So, start your rest at 1.023.
Now to really confuse you 
I do my d rest after the primary is finished.
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Leave it sit at 60* for 3 or 4 days.
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If you use the 2/3 methods I would suggest dropping your temps at 5* per day until you reach lagering temp (32*). If you do d-rest after primary you can set the temp to 32* and not worry about it.
Doing a lager is about patience. You better off to be a day slow than a day early. You can also taste a sample and see if it needs a d-rest (buttery flavor).
