First beer

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

joelsbrew

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2010
Messages
55
Reaction score
0
Location
sparta
My first batch (midwest supplies autamn amber ale) and its been in the primary for 9 days,took the lid off to tranfer to carboy and theres lots of stuff floating on top that looks like yeast?..good beer smell...also my carboy is 6 gallon,5 gallon batch of beer with lots of head room left will it be ok?... Its also been fermenting at around 73 deg :confused: Thanks alot
 
did you transfer it to a carboy??? sounds like its not finished fermenting yet...that's krausen that you're seeing. that will fall back into the beer when its finished fermenting. No need to transfer to a carboy unless you're adding something to it like hops or fruits. just leave it in there for 2.5 more weeks then check gravity and if you're where its supposed to be, bottle it up.
 
The floaties are normal. They are just a combination of yeast and hops and whatever else was put in there.

I, personally, don't think the 6 gallon carboy will be an issue. I have done that with a bunch of batches with no concerns. Other people on here may argue otherwise. A lot of people on here don't even secondary at all, and just leave it in the primary for an extra couple weeks/months. So by that, a 5 gallon batch in a 7 gallon or so primary fermenter would have a lot of headspace, but maybe I'm not seeing an important difference....
If I were to keep it in secondary for a long time (several months, like a wine/mead/cider) then I would be a little more worried about the amount headspace.

EDIT forgot some stuff: Did you end up racking to secondary? Or were you waiting on a response from here first? I would do as jourelemode said and leave it in the primary a little longer, it wont hurt it. Just remember to check several gravity readings to be sure its done fermenting.
Also, 73 is a little higher than what I try to shoot for. Usually 65-70.
 
Your temperature is probably a little warm but the beer will definitely be drinkable. The beer I did at at that temperature is all gone, all 15 gallons of it.

Now it's been 9 days and your carboy is a 6 gallon one so put the lid back on your bucket and leave the beer in there for another week or 2 and then bottle it. You have less chance of oxygenating (and getting wet cardboard taste) by leaving it and letting the beer sit on the yeast cake won't hurt it a bit and may improve it.
 
I use a 6 gal. better bottle when I secondary, and so far, not a problem. I only use a secondary for fruit additions or when I'm looking for a little extra clarity/ less sediment in a lighter colored beer. +1 to just letting it sit in the primary for a good 2.5 weeks.
 
First of all i want to thank everyone for the responces,and i did rack it to secondary and it looks like yeast and hops mixed,i have some stuff called super klear kc will that help with the floaties
 
First of all i want to thank everyone for the responces,and i did rack it to secondary and it looks like yeast and hops mixed,i have some stuff called super klear kc will that help with the floaties

I wouldn't even worry about them. Give it time. After secondary fermenting and bottle conditioning, I'm most of it will all fall out anyway
 
how long do i have to leave it in secondary

well if its finished fermenting, just wait a week or more, its really up to you...if you didn't add anything to it then you put it in secondary to clear it up a bit. A week will do, but just make sure its done fermenting. check the gravity, then check it again 3 days later. if its where its should be and everything has settled nicely to the bottom, then go ahead and bottle.
 
Back
Top