OK, so I made up my mind

Did I say how glad I am to find this forum?:rockin:

After posting about whether or not to rack into a secondary glass carboy and reading all of the valuable information here from all of you expert brewers, I have decided to just let my beer (Moose Drool - Ale) sit in the primary bucket. The instructions on the kit tell me to rack to a secondary at 7 days and then 7 days later, bottle from the secondary. I am learning that there is more valuable instructions on HomeBrewTalk than there is on the piece of paper that came with the kit.

I am close to my final gravity reading but am gonna let it sit for a bit as I am going away this weekend and next. I figure if I just leave it alone, nothing will happen to it right? I'll take another gravity reading in between my trips next week.

So I just went to Northern Brewer (as my local brew shop doesn't have this) and ordered a bottling bucket that comes with a spigot. I also read that I can attach my hose and and bottler to the spigot. I'm hoping this will be easy. The reason I ordered a bottling bucket w/ the spigot is because my back is shot and this seems easier. So when I am ready, I just auto -siphon the beer from my primary bucket to my bottling bucket and all should hopefully go well! I also ordered an auto siphon clamp.

I looked at pricing at Midwest - both are comparable but went with Northern Brewer.

Then I will have two primaries for my next batches - my primary plastic bucket and the glass carboy that came w/ the kit - I'll just need another airlock. Yes I am addicted. I already have visions of the downstairs being lined with shelving for all the batches I want to make, next to the hubby's reloading station and tool bench. Yes I am taking over the downstairs Mancave but he won't mind, he likes that I found another hobby and that I will, as he puts it, "Keep my mitts off his reloading station and tool bench"

KimmiC said:

I am close to my final gravity reading but am gonna let it sit for a bit as I am going away this weekend and next. I figure if I just leave it alone, nothing will happen to it right? I'll take another gravity reading in between my trips next week.

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I've left one of my batches in the primary for almost 6 weeks and it came out fine. Others here have gone longer than that, I'm sure... It sounds like you'll be leaving yours for 3 weeks, more or less? That tends to be how long I aim for, based on advice from these forums, though some beers you can turn around faster than others (and others take longer).

Yes, around 3 weeks. All that trub or whatever it is that sinks to the bottom won't effect it, right?

Nope. No problems letting it sit that long. RDWHAHB

Yeah, exactly. The old fear was that all that yeast sitting on the bottom would create problems and off flavours, which is why if you read the first edition of How To Brew over at the website, it'll tell you to use a secondary. Over time though, smart people have found that, on the homebrew level, there is no issue letting it sit in the primary for extended period of time. If you read the updated version of How To Brew, Palmer now suggests not using a secondary anymore, because it doesn't have the benefits homebrewers used to think it did.

Yes you can connect the bottler to the spigot...and the best thing is to connect it with the shortest possible piece of hose....so that the bottle filler is like a spigot extension. I have a back issue sometimes as well so here's my bottling method...

Prepare corn sugar or appropriate for bottling (boil and cool)...while it cools,
Place primary on workbench/surface that is high enough that enables me to sit in a chair and have the bottom of the primary slightly above eye level.
Place chair-----EXTREMELY IMPORTANT
Put bottling bucket next to it with sanitized bottle filler attached.
Place clean bottles on something to my non-predominant side unless using a dishwasher
Place vinator next to clean bottles at appropriate level (the open dishwasher door works great)
Place bottle caps in sanitizer solution in bowl next to bottle filler or nearby
Siphon.
Add beer to sugar in bucket...it is beer now ya know this avoids stirring and introducing oxygen
begin bottling...sanitize, fill, place cap on bottle and set aside
I usually do 24 bottles and then cap....i have some nice old wooden soda crates that I place the cap covered bottles in and then cap them.

Hope this helps....

Welcome to the addiction!

You're new plan sounds perfect. Just be sure to properly sanitize everything. And add your dissolved priming sugar into the bottling bucket before filling it with your beer. I actually add half beforehand and gently pour the other half in, about mid-way through racking - this reassures me that the sugar will be sufficiently mixed with the beer. Probably not necessary, buy it eases my mind.

Now it's time to brew the next batch!

Place primary on workbench/surface that is high enough that enables me to sit in a chair and have the bottom of the primary slightly above eye level.
Place chair-----EXTREMELY IMPORTANT


Hope this helps....[/QUOTE]

I use an adjustable height rolling mechanics stool. No reaching or twisting. Just roll.

Komocabo said:

Nope. No problems letting it sit that long. RDWHAHB

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Except you are leaving it that long, and extending the time until you can pour.

oddcarout said:

Except you are leaving it that long, and extending the time until you can pour.

Click to expand...

Good point...

Cheers!