Moving Primary Downstairs?

I have a couple of questions that are really going to show my inexperience here. First, I plan to make an area in my basement for storage/fermentation/racking. I will not, however, be able to boil in the basement because I have no stove or ventilation in that area. Will it be a big deal to carry the primary downstairs after the boil and temps are brought down?

I've read that the less sloshing you have, the better. Will it matter if the yeast is not added yet?

Also, what is trub.......and what does IPA stand for?

That is the setup that I use and it works well. I would suggest using Better Bottles because they are much lighter than glass. I also highly recommend using The Brew Hauler for lugging the carboy (either BB or particularly glass). Some use milk crates but I prefer the BH. Actually the sloshing that happens while you are carrying the carboy downstairs (with airlock in place) is not bad in that it mixes the yeast and wort - at least this is my thinking but I may be completely wrong. All of my beers (extract & AG) have turned out great so far. Trub is the gunk that is left at the bottom of the carboy after fermentation and IPA is India Pale Ale. Montanaandy

your setup shouldnt be a problem, sloshing in primary is actually recommended to aerate the wort for good yeast health.

Trub is the stuff that collects on the bottom of your fermentor, yeast/hops/proteins that settle out of solution.

IPA is India Pale Ale, a style of beer known for higher alc% and lots of hops.

You will be fine moving it. The less sloshing is for after fermentation has started. After fermentation has begun you want to keep as much oxygen out of the beer as possible. However, before fermentation begins you want to add oxygen to the wort to aid in yeast growth. So instead of harming the beer, the initial movement downstairs may actually help the beer. Just try to minimize movement after the fermentation has started.

Trub is the sediment that collects either at the bottom of the boil kettle or the primary. The sediment is comprised of hot break, cold break, hops, etc.

IPA stands for India Pale Ale, which is a beer style characterized by high levels of hop bitterness and aroma.

Wow. Thanks for the replies. That's good to hear. I thought about the Better Bottles. Are they difficult to clean since using the brush is not recommended? The carboys will not move once downstairs. I'll have my area set up and that will strictly be for my new hobby

Better Bottles are very easy to clean. I have 3 (one 5 gallon and two 3 gallon) and all I do to clean them is water and Oxyclean. Let it sit overnight and rinse. No scrubbing or hard work at all. Quite possibly the best investment I made in the hobby since I move my stuff around so much brewing in an apartment.

bennyd said:

Wow. Thanks for the replies. That's good to hear. I thought about the Better Bottles. Are they difficult to clean since using the brush is not recommended? The carboys will not move once downstairs. I'll have my area set up and that will strictly be for my new hobby

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Check threads for PBW and/or Oxiclean for cleaning carboys. Using either of those two chemicals, all you have to do is fill the carboy and let it soak. Rinse and sanitize with StarSan and you will be good to go.

bennyd said:

I thought about the Better Bottles. Are they difficult to clean since using the brush is not recommended? The carboys will not move once downstairs. I'll have my area set up and that will strictly be for my new hobby

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Do not ferment in Better Bottles. Ferment in plastic buckets. Much easier to clean, they come with handles, and they are much easier to open up and sample and siphon out of. Also they cost about half as much. Use the Better bottles for secondary. But first- search this site for Secondary vs No Secondary. You will find pages of heated discussion about if secondary is even necessary..

Anways- welcome to the obsession, it will soon dominate your life...

"Do not ferment in Better Bottles. Ferment in plastic buckets" Have to disagree with you on this one except for the part about cost altough a non-ported BB is not that expensive. I primary in 6 gal BB's and secondary in 5 gal BB's when necessary/I choose to. The BB's are simple to clean as mentioned in the other posts and you can keep an eye on things easily in a BB versus the bucket. Use #10 stopper and airlock with the BB and you can also configure the inner portion of the airlock with a blow off tube very easily. Sampling in the BB for gravity readings is simple using a turkey baster. Montanaandy

Thank you guys. This all sounds like good advice. I'm sure that I'll figure it out as experience comes and I'm sure there will be a few times where I'll need to chalk a mistake up to being a "learning opportunity."

Not too often though.

Thanks again.

The way that I look at it, every beer I make is a learning opportunity. There is so much to learn and experience in this hobby.

Welcome to the addiction.

I do all my fermenting in the basement.....but I am of the plastic bucket school. If you must use a carboy, use a Better Bottle. If you MUST use a glass carboy, invest in a brewhauler or a crate....something to give you handles.

Get yourself one of these for safety purposes: http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewi...pment/carboy-accessories/the-brew-hauler.html

I ferment in plastic and carry to the basement every time I brew. The bucket with handle is easy to carry. There's actually very little sloshing and wouldn't be a problem as you now know.

By they way, trub is pronounced troob in case you never heard anyone say it.

I boil upstairs in the kitchen and then transfer to the basement for fermentation. No problems whatsoever. I just transferred my primaries upstairs the other day because it's warmer and have no worries. Enjoy the obsession.

+1 on fermenting in buckets. Have you priced the valves for the ported BB's? Last time I looked they were super expensive.

the only thing i don't like about the bucket is i can't really see whats going on inside. But, for the price and ease of use I love them. Keep in mind you will be needing many of them!

Thanks everyone. The plan, as of now, is to primary in a bucket and secondary in glass. That way I won't have to move the glass. The really funny thing is that this has almost become an obsession for me and I don't even have my equipment yet.

I love the BB's and they make it MUCH easier to carry your brew down to the basement. I would advise everyone, though, NOT to use their slip on handle. I was carrying a full one down the stairs and it slipped out of the handle and cartwheeled down the stairs. I didn't lose as much beer as I thought I would, but beer was flung EVERYWHERE!!

Yeah I was told by my LHBS guy after I purchased the handle that you are not to use the handle when transporting a full BB when the stopper/airlock is in place. Don't understand what the purpose of the handle is then. In any event, I use the Brew Hauler for moving my full BB's. Montanaandy