First Batch.....next question

elvisali · 01-07-2006, 02:56 PM

Hello all-hope everyone is enjoying their saturdays

My plan today is to leave work around 3, get a much needed hair cut, then go play with my first batch of homebrew while watching some football.... not a bad little saturday

I am doing a basic american lager, and as its my first batch, and realizing some of the mistakes I made during the wort boiling/cooling/first fermenter stage, I am ready to accept that my first batch may be.........well, it may not be what I was expecting!!

But, as my pops always told me... " their is a lesson in everything if you look hard enough" So, I am using my first batch now more as a way to work on the mechanicals aspects of the process, as opposed to the creative.

I am ready to move my beer from the primary fermenter, to a secondary glass carboy. It may not need it, it may be to early(been in the primary fermenter for about 6 days now....almost no bubble activity, maybe one bubble every five minutes or so), but I want to try transferring it just to see how it works, etc

Here is my question, do I just peel the lid off to siphon, or do I try and pull the air stopper and just do it through the hole? The curve ball is that my kit came with an "autosiphon", which to this inexperienced eye looks like a racking cane in a tube, that you can push on a little to start a siphon(it is on this website which I bought the kit from http://www.homebrewery.com/beer/beer-siphoning.shtml)

It does not look like the auto siphon tube would fit in the hole the airlock is in, which would mean I would definitly have to pull the lid fully off

Sorry for the 'amateurishness' of the question, but any help would be appreciated

Thank you,

EA

Darth Konvel · 01-07-2006, 03:42 PM

I'd move your primary up to where ever you're going to be doing the siphoning, then let it sit for 15 minutes or so to let the trub you've kicked up settle out.

After you have the carboy and the autosiphon sanitized, take off the lid, and stick the autosiphon into the beer. You'll want to keep ahold of it. Even though it has the "hat" on the end of it, it'll suck up trub if allowed to rest on the bottom. Then, with the hose as far down into the carboy as you can get it, slowly extend and pump the autosiphon. It might take a few times to get the siphon started.

I recommend holding the moving part of the autosiphon by the "shaft", as appose to the neck of it, as some folks have broken theirs by doing this. Once you get the siphon started, try to get the end going into the carboy below the liquid surface to minimize oxidization.

Add sanitized airlock when finished, wait a while, consume, rinse and repeat

Tony · 01-07-2006, 03:42 PM

Sounds like a good question to me!

Since you are making a lager, you will be wanting it nice and clear when you bottle or keg it, so a secondary, in my opinion, is very necessary.

I also use an Autosiphon all the time to transfer from primary to secondary, and secondary to keg. Make sure when you use it, you have a nice tight seal on the racking cane when you attach your hose, and it will work great for you. But, you cannot use it through the hole in the lid of the primary bucket. You will need to carefully lift and place your primary bucket on a counter or table, sanitize and assemble your autosiphon, and pry the lid off your bucket to transfer to the secondary.

I usually assemble the autosiphon and transfer sanitizer solution through it to get it started and prep it for use. Carefully slip the assembled siphon into your bucket, trying to not disturb your trub, and start siphoning. You can secure a mesh bag around the bottom of the siphon to try and filter out any particles, or stop the siphoning when you near 1" or so of the bottom to make sure you dont suck up any uneeded trub.

To start the autosiphon, once in the primary, pull up on the inner racking cane, sliding it upward, then carefully push it back down, and it will start.

Good luck, and keep us up to date!

Mikey · 01-07-2006, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elvisali

I am doing a basic american lager,

Not to be picky or a style n*zi, but your beer is technically not a lager, it's an ale.

To be called a lager, it would have to be fermented with a lager yeast at about 50 F, then stored for an extended period at around 32F. No kit I've ever seen mentions these details.

Doesn't really make any difference, I'm sure your beer will be great!

elvisali · 01-07-2006, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikey

Not to be picky or a style n*zi, but your beer is technically not a lager, it's an ale.

To be called a lager, it would have to be fermented with a lager yeast at about 50 F, then stored for an extended period at around 32F. No kit I've ever seen mentions these details.

Doesn't really make any difference, I'm sure your beer will be great!

Its a fair point Mikey and one that had me confused, the beer kit itself says "american lager" but through my reading, I thought it would be more of ale because of the brewing instructions, etc

Thor · 01-07-2006, 05:00 PM

Don't fret about brewing this "lager" with what I assume is ale yeast. I did a Heineken clone using California ale yeast, because my wife is a Heineken fan. We're drinking it now, and it really came out well. It has an amber ale color, and what I think of as a combination ale / lager flavor. Plus, it's crystal clear. Very good stuff, and I am sure you will appreciate your batch as well.

elvisali · 01-07-2006, 11:14 PM

Well, I racked it to the secondary, and I am not about to give up hope on this batch! It was a nice brownish shade, was able to get a lot of sediment out, and my gravity reading was 1.15-1.2. At least I can see the beer now, which already has me motivated to get a glass carboy primary!

Thanks for the help guys

**Pumbaa** · 01-07-2006, 11:36 PM

maybe I'm just a pervert but this is a autosiphon we are talking about right?

Quote:

I recommend holding the moving part of the autosiphon by the "shaft", as appose to the neck of it, as some folks have broken theirs by doing this.

Darth Konvel · 01-09-2006, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pumbaa

maybe I'm just a pervert but this is a autosiphon we are talking about right?

I figured someone would have to say something after I typed that. Just use you imagination