Diacetyl

I personally would never do this since I am a HUGE non-fan of diacetyl but…

My advice to somebody who wants to brew an ale with a diacetyl flavor:

· Use the Ringwood yeast strain: Wyeast 1187

· As soon as the expected final gravity is reached immediately cold crash the beer

· Package the beer via kegging

If the brewer chooses to bottle (i.e., bottle conditioning) I am uncertain what would happen in that case. Maybe some of the diacetyl will be processed during the secondary fermentation within the bottle?

Cheers!

 

No, I'm not trying to be contrary. maybe it comes naturally? I'm certainly willing to learn new tricks though, and homebrewers are seriously the folks that break all the rules so this is the place to do it.

I think you and I differ on what is perceived to be common, rare or obscure.

Mixing yeast is a losing battle that doesn't get the beer anywhere it couldn't get with usual yeast practice. Home brewer or commercial. It's not like mixing up the hops or malts or watermelon/rhubarb combinations. There is a yeast for every job, more or less. And that has been proven over the centuries.

But i'm not suggesting brewers don't try.
Cheers

 

No, I have not, although I did brew a DMS beer on purpose once and succeeded. But anyway...

If you want diacetyl, "they" say the Ringwood strain of yeast is big on diacetyl. Personally I've never used it for that reason, so I wouldn't know.

 

How many yeast co pitches failed on you personally to lead you o the conclusion "mixing yeast is a losing battle" and "doesn't get the beer anywhere it couldn't get" with one strain?

 

Just an anecdotal experience that may apply to what you describe above: When I used to bottle, occasionally I would bottle a beer, taste a still sample...there'd be no diacetyl...then I'd wait impatiently for it to carb up, sample a week later, taste diacetyl, be discouraged, then taste again in another week or two and...no trace of diacetyl.

Eventually I came to the conclusion that the diacetyl was being created by the mini fermentation that was occurring during carbonation, then metabolized naturally as it often is. So...I wonder if you're lagers (and other bottled beers) were free of diacetyl when they went into the bottle, only to have the diacetyl created afterwards.

 

Exactly.

 

When did the diacetyl become noticable? For bottled beers I've gotten diacetyl as early as 3 months if the bottles are stored at cellar temp, and if they are stored in coolers (50F) it appears around 9 months. This diacetyl I attribute to ped.

I would try brett in a couple of bottles, what do you have to lose except the price of a culture. The coffee flavor will subside with time, the brett might be a good contributor.