I know its a lager, but that quick initial fermentation was uncommon for me (this is my third lager).
Okay, some additional info:
From 5/22 to 5/25 the brew was at 65F ambient. I was doing this for a d rest. This is when the “stall” concerned me. I thought maybe that was too warm and l lowered the temp back down to 50F and still no gravity change. It was 1.021 on 5/22/2011
I hope that the up and down temp didn’t mess up the beer (it tastes good at the moment).
It was 5 or 6 days until D rest – still quick… As for my confidence in the mash temp, hmm, maybe a little less than normal with this batch. I was thinking of filling one bottle and seeing what happens after I let it sit awhile longer.
Mike - (guess you’re name’s not sally ) - in the future, just so you know, lowering the temp back isn’t going to ‘kickstart’ activity rather the opposite can happen - once you’ve raised up for d-rest, you’d better keep it at that temp until its completely finished, else you risk crashing the yeast to dormancy.
the up and down in temp should not affect the flavor however, and if it tastes good, leave it at that.
as for your mash temp - you should be confident in it - if you don’t have a quality thermometer, invest in one - its worth the wampum.
Since writing this post I’ve been reflecting a little more on this brew.
-The quick fermenting in the beginning was probably due to an adequate starter which I haven’t used before with a lager. This threw me a little.
-Its quite possible that I mashed higher than 152F.
I have a quality waterproof digital thermometer… Only, I didn’t realize I didn’t know where it was until minutes before I needed it. So, I forged ahead anyway with a less than ideal thermometer.
I am raising the temperature as we speak.
I am going to do a “test bottle” as this may be the terminal gravity.
) - in the future, just so you know, lowering the temp back isn’t going to ‘kickstart’ activity rather the opposite can happen - once you’ve raised up for d-rest, you’d better keep it at that temp until its completely finished, else you risk crashing the yeast to dormancy.