It's done (first batch)

cutarecord · 02-07-2012, 10:30 PM

Yay finished my first batch!

5 lb wheat extract
1 oz hallertau hops for boiling
1 oz hellertau for finishing
1 pkg Munich yeast

Pitched at 68F
OG: 1.048

How's the color look to you guys? Will it change much?

**H-ost** · 02-07-2012, 10:51 PM

it looks almost as white as the forum background! (I don't see a picture)

cutarecord · 02-07-2012, 10:56 PM

Lol woops

Here she be

**H-ost** · 02-07-2012, 11:09 PM

Ah you still have time to wait, you still need to bottle

.

Once it is conditioned the color won't change very much but it may clear up. It will look lighter than it does in the carboy due to having less liquid for the light to pass through.

Congrats on your first batch! It only gets better and more exciting from here.

cutarecord · 02-07-2012, 11:16 PM

Yeah I just finished the wort and starting primary fermentation today. There is a lot of time left for me. But I should be drinking in about a month. Since its a wheat, do you see any advantage to secondary fermentation? I have another carboy but from what I've read secondary will only clean up the beer. Being a wheat I assume cloudiness wont be a big deal.

Generally what types of beer should be fermented in a secondary?

**H-ost** · 02-07-2012, 11:24 PM

OH I SEE! It still needs to ferment too. Well then yes your color will probably change slightly but it will be due to a LOT of clearing since right now everything is still in suspension.

You have obviously been reading plenty already and have learned that to secondary is no longer in the commandments of homebrewing. As for my opinion on secondary, it is just another step where contamination and adding oxygen into the wort is possible. I prefer to only secondary if something will be aging longer than 2 months, if I am dry hopping, or if I am adding any other type of fruit to the beer. It is ideal to make these post fermentation additions in a second vessel because you can rack your beer on top of the ingerdients while leaving the trub/yeast cake behind, rather than adding them to primary and mixing up your nicely settled beer.

newbeerpig · 02-08-2012, 03:14 PM

Wheat beers are traditionally a little cloudy so a secondary is not necessary as was stated before, that being said I still run my wheats through a secondary to get them a little cleaner... My friends have a harder time telling my brews form production brews if they are super clean and I have gotten comments as well as changed peoples minds about home brew because the beers are a little clearer.

I also don't worry that much about contamination considering the brew should be done and it is much harder to contaminate a finished brew but you can oxygenate so just be careful not to slosh and splash.

cutarecord · 02-09-2012, 04:22 AM

If I do decide on a secondary fermentation of a 5 gal batch it should 100% be in a 5 gal carboy? I assume a 6.5 gal will run too high risk for oxidation....

The secondary will clean up even a wheat?

frozt · 02-09-2012, 04:28 AM

I don't think oxidation is an issue with extra head space in the fermenter, it's from introducing oxygen into the wort by either shaking it or splashing, etc while racking to a bottling bucket. And there shouldn't be any problem with going from a carboy to a bucket or vice versa as long as you follow good sanitation practices while racking.

newbeerpig · 02-09-2012, 04:29 AM

I only have 6.5 gallon carboys and have never had to worry about the exra headspace, the big concern is making sure your siphon line is submerged at the bottom to not cause any splash or excess movement.

As for the secondary helping to clear the beer, I have found that my wheat beers from extracts will clear and brighten through a secondary especially if I am kegging it because I don't introduce any more particles from the carbonation process. Either way it all depends what you are going for, when I get lazy I skip the secondary but I usually find that I like the extra time to aid in the conditioning off of the trubb.