idrinkstuffnthings

Recipes 

Hello all, first time poster long time reader.

I just put together a Brew House kit this morning. Now usually I do all my fermentation in a primary, 2-4 weeks depending on patience etc. This kit instructs you to rack to secondary after 3-5 days, then leave for a few weeks. My question is that if it hasn't reached FG, and I rack it, will that stop fermentation or give a higher FG? I dont mind going to secondary if thats what they want, but 3-5 days seems like a pretty short time to rack.

Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Piratwolf

Recipes 

My first question would be" what's different about Brew House kits that requires a secondary? Without a compelling reason, I would recommend you stick to your SOP.

__________________
Piratwolf: "I've heard that Belgian Blondes can be "panty droppers" but they're not particularly high IBU nor cheap."

jmendez29: Haha! I get it! :ban:
Wait. You're not talking about beer, right?
You're talking about beer. That could have been a whole lot more fun.

forstmeister

Recipes 

Depending on the yeast it could be done in 3-5 days. US-05 ferments quickly, usually in that time range for me.

Secondary is more accurately known as "conditioning." You're letting the yeast drop out of suspension as well as any hops floating around. I almost always do at least one week in secondary so that the final product is a little cleaner.

__________________
I drink (homebrew), therefore I am (gassy)

Piratwolf

Recipes 

Sure. The secondary or not debate is old hat, and I've no interest in it. It's just that the OP says his SOP is primary only, 2-4 weeks... So I'd say stick with that unless there's something very different about these particular brews.

__________________
Piratwolf: "I've heard that Belgian Blondes can be "panty droppers" but they're not particularly high IBU nor cheap."

jmendez29: Haha! I get it! :ban:
Wait. You're not talking about beer, right?
You're talking about beer. That could have been a whole lot more fun.

idrinkstuffnthings

Recipes 

Ya im not into the secondary debate, read enough of those for a lifetime. I think I'll keep her in primary. Never had a bad batch yet doing it that way.

Thanks all

idrinkstuffnthings

Recipes 

Update: within 10 hours BIG action. They suggest a 10 gallon primary and now I know why. Lid, sides, airlock all coated with krausen. Looks like its goin into secondary. Just don't like the look of all the krausen dangling over my tasty beer.

Antler

Recipes 

I did a lot of the brew house kits first when I started out. They are about the best you can make without going extract or AG. I really like the red ale. I usually leave it in primary for 8-10 before touching it. Take a gravity reading and rack to secondary.
Going to secondary too early won't stop fermentation or cause any problems. Secondary is only used as a clearing vessel, or for long term aging. If you rack too early (during fermentation) you'll get a lot more yeast and trub in the secondary, making it pointless. IMO if you really want to use secondary you should leave it in primary until it starts to get clear, then rack to secondary. First when I made these kits I didn't even take readings. Id leave it in primary until it starts to clear, then rack to secondary for 3 weeks.

If you want to get a little better quality with these kits, I'd suggest using a liquid yeast to match the style, and you can dry hop to play around with things. Have fun!

idrinkstuffnthings

Recipes 

Well ****. Read the calendar wrong. Had a SG of 1.020 for 12 hours. Racked to secondary. It had only been goin for 3 1/2 days. Hopefully she gets a lower FG as its an IPA and starting gravity was 1.052. Most all signs of fermentation were over but I was hoping for a little higher ABV.

Antler

Recipes 

No biggie! Like I said if you rack to secondary to early you won't necessarily do any damage, but you'll have a lot more yeast settle out then you should.

idrinkstuffnthings

Recipes 

Well good enough then. Does that seem a little high for IPA FG? Only be about 4.5% at that. And I only did bout 21 litres too.