Hey all,
I am in the process of brewing up my first beer and have a question on primary and secondary fermentation. I am currently on the first day of primary fermentation (and it seems to be working quite well) and have my brew in a large bucket with an airlock to keep all things external to the bucket from making their way into it.
For reference, the recipe kit I am using is the Home Brewery Traditional Wheat beer, and I followed the directions for extract brewing found in this forum (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/beginner-extract-brewing-howto-99139/) and the ones that came with the kit (for steps specific to this beer).
I want to do a secondary fermentation so that most of the sediment will be left behind in the primary fermenter, which will hopefully result in less sediment making its way into the bottles. I plan to let the fermenting wort sit in the primary fermentor for 1 week before siphoning it out into the second fermenter (which is also a bottling bucket with a spigot on it). I will let this sit in the secondary fermentor for 1 week before botteling, for a total of 2 weeks fermentation before I begin botteling.
When I was younger, I dabbled in making (very cheap) wine and one of the things to avoid was introducing oxygen during the fermentation process. Introducing oxygen, if I recall correctly, would change the chemical composition of the wine and turn it into a vinegar. I am worried that when I remove the lid from my primary fermentor to either a) check the specific gravity and/or b) transfer my brew into the secondary fermentor, that I risk introducing oxygen and adversely changing the chemical composition of the beer to something less than ideal.
Is this something that should concern me? How can I avoid this? I know that I am supposed to do everything possible during the siphoning and botteling process to not introduce oxygen into the liquid, but I am more concerned with oxygen coming into contact with the surface area exposed to oxygen.
Additionally, I have a few questions about the wort. When it was finished boiling, the word was very dark (much darker than any wheat beer I have seen) and smelled like beer that had gone bad. Obviously things will change during the fermentation process, but this is my first brew so I have not seen a beer at this stage and do not have anything to compare it to.
Any help is much appreciated!
And some random questions that are much less important than the ones above: Any suggestions for my next brew? I am interested in creating a brew with chocolate and coffee notes. Have any good suggestions?
Cheers!
-Nick
I am in the process of brewing up my first beer and have a question on primary and secondary fermentation. I am currently on the first day of primary fermentation (and it seems to be working quite well) and have my brew in a large bucket with an airlock to keep all things external to the bucket from making their way into it.
For reference, the recipe kit I am using is the Home Brewery Traditional Wheat beer, and I followed the directions for extract brewing found in this forum (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/beginner-extract-brewing-howto-99139/) and the ones that came with the kit (for steps specific to this beer).
I want to do a secondary fermentation so that most of the sediment will be left behind in the primary fermenter, which will hopefully result in less sediment making its way into the bottles. I plan to let the fermenting wort sit in the primary fermentor for 1 week before siphoning it out into the second fermenter (which is also a bottling bucket with a spigot on it). I will let this sit in the secondary fermentor for 1 week before botteling, for a total of 2 weeks fermentation before I begin botteling.
When I was younger, I dabbled in making (very cheap) wine and one of the things to avoid was introducing oxygen during the fermentation process. Introducing oxygen, if I recall correctly, would change the chemical composition of the wine and turn it into a vinegar. I am worried that when I remove the lid from my primary fermentor to either a) check the specific gravity and/or b) transfer my brew into the secondary fermentor, that I risk introducing oxygen and adversely changing the chemical composition of the beer to something less than ideal.
Is this something that should concern me? How can I avoid this? I know that I am supposed to do everything possible during the siphoning and botteling process to not introduce oxygen into the liquid, but I am more concerned with oxygen coming into contact with the surface area exposed to oxygen.
Additionally, I have a few questions about the wort. When it was finished boiling, the word was very dark (much darker than any wheat beer I have seen) and smelled like beer that had gone bad. Obviously things will change during the fermentation process, but this is my first brew so I have not seen a beer at this stage and do not have anything to compare it to.
Any help is much appreciated!
And some random questions that are much less important than the ones above: Any suggestions for my next brew? I am interested in creating a brew with chocolate and coffee notes. Have any good suggestions?
Cheers!
-Nick