scottie

Recipes 

i transferred from primary to secondary 2 days ago, sampled, seems like it is on its way... my question is since transferring, there has been very little airlock action, almost none, is this normal? the recipe says to keep it in the secondary for 5-7 days. should i bottle at 5, or 7, or even sooner, maybe even later? any advise?

viking999

Recipes 

There isn't supposed to be significant release of CO2 when the beer is in the secondary. The beer shouldn't go into the secondary until primary fermentation (converting simple sugars into alcohol and CO2) is nearly done. There can be small amounts of CO2 still produced after transferring, and the act of transferring often knocks CO2 out of solution and into the air, so some bubbles are ok. But for the most part there shouldn't be any bubbles.

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Primary: Maris Otter/EKG SMaSH

Bottle: Deizbeutzervet Dunkelweizen
Keg: Independence Day Strawberry Blonde
Keg: Munich/Mt. Hood SMaSH

scottie

Recipes 

that is good to hear. when i transferred, the primary was bubbling maybe once every few mins. so i should continue to follow the recipe and bottle in 5-7 days? should i wait till it gets good and translucent?

WBC

Recipes 

You do not need a secondary for ale. It needs to condition on the yeast for 2 to 3 weeks then keg or bottle.

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Cheers,
WBC

Fermentor 1: Bill's House Ale II, Fermentor 2: German Helles, Fermentor 3: Bill's Schworzbier (Black Bier)
Tap 1: Bill's House Ale II, Tap 2: German Hefewizen, Tap 3: Nut Brown Ale
Future Brews: Stone IPA Clone, Blonde Ale, Budvar Clone, Newcastle Clone
New toy: Blichmann 27 gallon fermentor

“If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging”

“Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment”

Nurmey

Recipes 

Whether your beer is ready to bottle in 5 days depends on whether it was finished. Was it? How long was it in the primary and what is the FG?

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Batch 1 Brewing
The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.

scottie

Recipes 

it was in the primary for nine days and was finished, i beleive(this is my first batch). og 1.055, fg 1.010. the recipe did recommend use of a secondary.

Nurmey

Recipes 

There you go! It can be bottled at five days OR you can leave it for a couple weeks and let it clear. The second choice is the best BUT since it's your first batch, it will be the harder choice.

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Batch 1 Brewing
The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.

ChshreCat

Recipes 

Nurmey's right...

Telling someone making their first batch that they should wait longer before they bottle because it'll make better beer is like telling a teenager they should wait to lose their virginity. Sure, it's the best advice. The person getting the advice may even know it's right. But I know I counted the days until I could bottle and the days until I could open the first one in the shortest amount of time possible.

So... if you can... do as we say, not as we did.
But if you can't, then do it next time.

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"Science + beer = good!"
-Adam Savage

scottie

Recipes 

one more thing.... the color. when transferring, i couldnt help but notice the color was a lot more amber than pale ales i am used to drinking. will it lighten up? just a question, i am not too concerned, this being my first brew, i'd drink it if it was purple.

shrades

Recipes 

The red ale i just finished, recomended a secondary also. So I did, and it really cleared it up.