Brewers best fermentation question..

Today marks day 4 of primary fermentation. I did not take an OG reading simply because I forgot. The airlock has slowed dramatically, typically 1 bubble per 30 seconds. The brewers best instructions say if you are racking to a secondary to do it BEFORE fermentation is complete. Would now be a good time to pop open the lid and get a SG reading? FG is suppose to be 1.010-1.014 for this brew. Should I be in that ballpark before racking? Or slightly higher? The instruction says a good rule of thumb is 5-7 days before racking...When do you guys think I should rack and when should I get my first gravity reading? Thanks

Also I used hop pellets so I did not use a muslin sack ,Therefore racking is something I am going to do!

Yea, check the gravity before you rack. If your close than your good to go.

It is not necessary to rack to secondary, It is best to leave the beer in primary and let the yeast clean up by products and off flavors for 2-3 weeks. I wait till i'm ready to bottle to take gravity readings, and of course drink the sample

If you havent looked at some of the threads about using a secondary, you might want to. Too me, its usually not worth the hassle unless you're gonna age it. The hop particles should settle to the bottom with time, so that should not be a problem. If you do want to secondary anyway, its my understanding that you should wait till primary fermentation is complete. Id wait at least a week if not more. Patience is key. Hope that helps!

A want a really clean beer so from what I understand racking is the best option. I don't want alot of sediment at the bottom of my bottles.

Is it okay to open the lid and take the gravity reading now? My beer will finish fermentation in the secondary. I know its not maybe essential to rack it but I want quality beer and I have a carboy, so why not rack it? Right? I've read alot about oxidation and sanitation so I know to be careful...just wanted to see if anyone else racks before fermentation is complete like the directions say? As I stayed I'm on day 4...any suggestions from brewers who do it like this?

If you dont want sediment in the bottom of your bottles you better look into kegging and force carbing. Bottle conditioned beer makes its own sediment from the yeast eating the priming sugar so it can produce CO2 for carbing your brew.

All I'm saying is a secondary would clarify the brew up

bbell21 said:

All I'm saying is a secondary would clarify the brew up

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Not necessarily...keeping it in primary will still clean your beer up. The yeast will keep working for weeks. You can then cold crash for a few days in primary then rack to a bottling bucket.

This is what I did with my first Brewers Best kit and it turned out clean and clear when bottling.

Secondary if you like, but the advice on here trumps whatever the Brewers Best recipe says. Plus, i turned my secondary 5g carboy into a 2nd primary fermenter now I can brew 2 batches at once. Bonus.

Okay I racked it into the secondary tonight and the SG reading was 1.007 projected FG is suppose to be 1.010-1.014 so I think I'll be okay if I leave it in the secondary for another 2 weeks, right?

Also the gravity reading is confusing to me. My hydrometer says it was 1.007 which is not even like 2% ABV, I never took the OG so is there any way I can tell what it's current ABV is? Appreciate the help guys.

There is no way to calculate ABV using a hydrometer without taking an OG reading.
Next time. There is always next time.
Congratulations, you made beer.

Should I expect to see the airlock on the carboy start to bubble some more or should it stay quiet now that I racked it?

Don't pay any attention to the airlock, just let it sit.

what brewers best kit did you get?

American cream ale

If you got your volume correct (5 gallons) then your OG should have been 1.049 - 1.053 and FG 1.010- 1.014 giving you around 5.5%+- abv
American Cream Ale PDF

Yeah it was only in the primary for 4 days then I racked to secondary fermentor tonight and I havent seen a single bubble

You may not see any bubbles at this point if primary fermentation has stopped. The yeast is still working though even if you dont see bubbles so give it a couple weeks to do its thing, then bottle it up!

Sounds good, saw a little bit of bubbling before I went to bed, which made me feel better, I was just worried about oxidation but it looks like all is well! Thanks for the support !

It did have a very strong taste to it though but I'm sure it just needs more time since I racked early

bbell21 said:

All I'm saying is a secondary would clarify the brew up

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I second that! You don't need to rack if you want cloudy stuff...
Racking clears it. And why not? I don't want sediment in mine.
One of my brew buddies would say, "Respect yourself bro, clean up your brew". Lol

Take a reading today, then one tomorrow to see if your done... Sounds like your getting close but I'm no expert, I do ciders

Edit: fast thread.... I see you racked...

4 days in primary??? Whats the rush????

2 weeks minimum then off to secondary for another few weeks.

3 -4 weeks in primary is all you need for good clear beer (most beers). My only cloudy beers are Wheat as should be.
The way you are rushing things i bet you find your first bottle will not be clear like you think.

Just to chime in, I too go 3 weeks in primary then move to keg/bottling (if gravity is at target, which it has always been). I actually feel that my beer is clarifying better without the secondary because the cake at the bottom of the fermenter is firmer and makes it easier to move the beer without disturbing it.

I'm not sure I'd rack my beer to a secondary after only 4 days. It probably won't effect your beer, but I"d be worried the yeast hadn't finished doing their cleanup work. The soonest I'd rack to a secondary would be 7 days. I don't have any science to back that up though.

Just following brewers best instructions, I know we are all home brewers but I'm pretty sure the guys who make the actual kits know a little more than us guys...the reason behind racking after 4 days is so the fermentation can finish in the secondary, they want it to still produce enough co2 to push all of the oxygen out of the secondary. The yeast is still active so it will still clean out the beer after a few weeks in the carboy

Hate to burst your bubble but the real reason they rush things is to get you to buy more kits and freeing up the primary gives you a good excuse to brew another.
Lots of the peeps helping in here have been brewing for years and really do know what they are talking about.

I'm sure no one would buy another kit if their directions made bad beer

My first 2 batches were drinkable, then i found this this site and learned. The difference is amazing.
Of course its your beer do what you want though you came here to learn.... i thought

I want to chime in here as well as I too first started with Brewers Best kits. Which are okay.. I've since moved on to All Grain but if I'm looking to do an extract kit I'd rather get one from AHS or NB. Anyway from my experience using Brewers Best kits I have fermented a batch for 2 weeks in primary and 2 weeks in secondary. Then I did my next batch somewhere around 5-6 weeks in primary only. Both times the beer came out clean and clear. All my buddies thoroughly enjoyed both batches. So from my experience, patience has been the key. Let it sit, why rush? You'll get better beer in the end.

I guess I'll have to do my next back different and compare the difference....

Take a look at this and tell me if you think this is normal....it now has a foam top but it has "whiter" or "foamier" appearance in the center of the foam...if you look real close you can notice...also I see some small green looking particles floating on top...

Hoping its just the yeast colonies and not an infection

It's blurry but those look like hop particles, did you use hop pellets?

It looks fine to me, and the green bits are probably just hop particles. The first batch is always stressful, everything always looks infected, and you always second guess yourself. That was certainly my experience. But since Ive learned that beer can look pretty strange while its fermenting and its usually fine, and that beers can behave differently in the way they ferment. Most importantly, I learned patience, and to just leave it alone to do its thing. That gets easier when you have a pipeline of homebrew to keep you busy!

I get to say this.

Relax, have a home brew!

Beer looks disgusting when it's fermenting. Every one is a little bit different, but none of them are going to look all shiny and clean like a glass of american lager while their fermenting. I promise.

Your brew is fine. Stick it in a closet and forget about it until 3-4 days before you're planning on bottling it. Use the time to plan your next brew.

The green stuff is the hop pellets, the rest is your yeast working for you. Leave it sealed and leave it alone.

bbell21 said:

I'm sure no one would buy another kit if their directions made bad beer

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For someone who doesn't know much about homebrewing, you sure "know" a lot about homebrewing. Their directions do not make optimal beer, they sell kits and quickly. Some kits say to rack after something crazy like 2 days. People here have been doing this a long time. If you ask questions, maybe it's best to heed the advice. IMHO, 4 days is way too soon to rack to secondary (if you secondary at all, which I agree is not really necessary in most cases). 3-4 weeks, stable gravity, bottle is a good rule of thumb for most average ales.

Aboo said:

I get to say this.

Relax, have a home brew!

Beer looks disgusting when it's fermenting. Every one is a little bit different, but none of them are going to look all shiny and clean like a glass of american lager while their fermenting. I promise.

Your brew is fine. Stick it in a closet and forget about it until 3-4 days before you're planning on bottling it. Use the time to plan your next brew.

The green stuff is the hop pellets, the rest is your yeast working for you. Leave it sealed and leave it alone.

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+1 Very sound advice. Everything sounds and looks perfect. Be sanitary while curiosity pushes some investigation. Otherwise, time will make a great beer for you. Seven more weeks of working on new brews will give you a great taste test on this one.

pabloj13 said:

For someone who doesn't know much about homebrewing, you sure "know" a lot about homebrewing. Their directions do not make optimal beer, they sell kits and quickly. Some kits say to rack after something crazy like 2 days. People here have been doing this a long time. If you ask questions, maybe it's best to heed the advice. IMHO, 4 days is way too soon to rack to secondary (if you secondary at all, which I agree is not really necessary in most cases). 3-4 weeks, stable gravity, bottle is a good rule of thumb for most average ales.

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^^^ What he said..all of it
Done

grem135 said:

^^^ What he said..all of it
Done

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Hindsight is 20-20. Sometimes the hindsight is necessary.

jethro55 said:

Hindsight is 20-20. Sometimes the hindsight is necessary.

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LOL Isn't that the truth!
bottoms up

Thanks for the info Aboo. I appreciate it.

And for everyone who disagrees with racking early it just depends on who you ask one of those topics like religion and politics that no one can agree on.

Take a look.

I'm gonna try leaving it in my primary my next batch to see if I can taste any difference. Well maybe after my next batch. I got a Belgian Tripel on deck that's a high gravity beer so I'll need to rack that one.