RedSun

Recipes 

Question for the esteemed group. I'm working on my second brew and I wanted to take the brew (hefeweizen) 5G and rack to 2 secondaries so I could try some fruit in one of them and still have a baseline for comparison. Good, bad idea? On a 5G batch, is there anything I need to watch for or do differently? Split the dextrose when I bottle I'd assume, but anything else? Thanks

the_bird

Recipes 

I did that on one of my first batches, a red ale that I added maple syrup and raspberries to (and that I absolutely abhor, but that's a different issue). I invested in a pair of 3-gallon carboys so that the head space wouldn't be too extreme. Cut the priming sugar in half when you bottle. Really, there's nothing too much else to it, it's a good techique for experimenting with different additions, or maybe dryhopping a later batch with different varieties, etc. Nothing really more complicated other than the concern I had about headspace had I used 5-gallon carboys.

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RedSun

Recipes 

So the headspace is the concern and my 2 5s would have too much of it at that point. I think I see the issue. I wonder if my LHBS has 3Gs on hand

the_bird

Recipes 

You know what I would consider doing instead of buy the 3 gallons?

Rack a little bit early. This is the only time I'll tell you to do that. Rack so that the yeast are still putting out a modest amount of CO2, that'll form a "blanket" over the beer and SHOULD prevent oxygen from getting in.

The only reason I say that is because I never really used the 3-gallon carboys again. I pretty much gave up on doing wild experiments, so it became a non-issue and I was effectively out $40. If this IS something you're going to do regularly, invest in the carboys - but if you think this is a one-time thing, if I were doing it again I'd take my chances with the 5s.

__________________
Come join Yankee Ingenuity!

"I'm kind of toasted. But I looked at my watch and it's only 6:30 so I can't stop drinking yet." - Yooper's Bob
"Brown eye finally recovered after the abuse it endured in Ptown last weekend, but it took almost a full week." - Paulie
"no, he just doesn't speak 'stupid'. i, however, am fluent...." - motobrewer

RedSun

Recipes 

I was just talking about that with a friend, we'd considered piping in CO2 through a tube and airlock to blanket the brew, but an early rack might be just the thing. I think this one's just for experimental purposes, likely not a frequent deal at all. Much thanks!

Melana

Recipes 

Hey Bird, I'll take those 3gal carboys off your hands!