I figured I'd give a go at a Dopplebock since I now have a deep freezer with temperature control. I am looking for some input regarding secondary fermentation and lagering.

I used a starter (first time!) on this larger than expected 1.100 SG beast. I pitched at around 60F and had a strong start and continued activity at 48F. That was 3 weeks ago.

I went to transfer to secondary and took a gravity reading - 1.032 (target is 1.019). I was hesitant to transfer fearing that it would not finish off correctly. I figured I would be able to start dropping the temp for lagering, but it obviously has some more work.

I did see an increase of CO2 and yeast activity as the carboy warmed up a little. I decided to put it back in the freezer at 48F until I had some forum thoughts on my situation. I do not want to screw it up considering the time, money, and TLC invested at this point.

I did look up Wyeast 2206 and did see that alcohol tolerance was 9%. Based on my gravity readings, that is where I am at right now. What can I do to finish off the remaining sugars if my yeast has maxed out?

General observations from an experienced outsider looking in?

Is this where a diacetyl rest may come into play/help?

Is it OK to go ahead and transfer to secondary and let it finish or should I just ride it out in the primary (be patient)?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I would leave it in the primary (for now) and raise the temp to 58f-60f for a diacetyl rest. After 3 days or so, transfer to secondary and start slowly bringing the temp down to your lagering temp (about 5 degrees a day to avoiding shocking the yeast, they're still working, you know). Also, remember that you'll get more attenuation during your lagering phase (just don't freeze it).

All that said, lagers can be frustrating. I just checked my pils that I did a diacetyl rest on at about the same stage, and it's full of diacetyl! I really am starting to hate lagers , so take my advice with a grain of salt.

Apperently i'm not finished with my required reading yet...

Could someone explain to me what a diacetyl rest is and why one would do it?

During their metabolism yeast tend to produce diacetyl which imparts a butter-like character to beer.

Diacetyl is generally not a problem in ales. In fact, I believe Belhaven's Wee Heavy has a rather pronounced diacetyl character which I quite like.

However, diacetyl is considered a major off flavor in any lager style.

Yeast produce diacetyl but if given enough time much of it will be resorbed. The problem is that because lagers are fermented at such low temperatures the process of resorption is quite slow. Also the process of extended lager encourages the yeast to drop out of suspension thereby essentially removing the yeast from the beer and their resorption duties.

The diacetyl rest is simply a solution to this problem, Following primary fermentation the lager beer is allowed to warm up to the low ale fermentation temperature range (i.e. the low 60s F). The beer is held at this temperature for generally about 1-3 days. During this time yeast metabolism increases and hopefully the diacetyl is resorbed.

I hope this makes sense.

- Scott