racking to secondary at 1.020

Today i moved batch of beer(14L) from primary to secondary(7 days in primary) at 1.020 Gravity.
O.G. Of the beer was 1.064 and yeast was Youngs Ale yeast.
Airlock show no activity( i know its not reliable method).

Did i make a mistake,should it be left little bit more in primary?

That's like a 69% attenuation. I couldn't find the EXACT attenuation of that specific strain, but white labs english ale yeast tops at 70 percent so I'd say you are good to go. T

When you feel like your fermentation is done you need to take hydro readings every other day until you get two consecutive readings that are the same and then you are good. So you didn't make a a mistake but you wouldn't be asking the question had you done it properly Cheers!

Your transfer timing was not ideal, but you will be fine. Here is a blog I wrote about using a secondary. You may find it helpful.

http://blogs.homebrewtalk.com/Boerderij_Kabouter/Secondary_fermentation_and_why_it_makes_me_crazy/

You're fine. It may even ferment out a bit more as a result of the agitation when you transferred to secondary. There will still be plenty of yeast in your secondary to ferment any leftover fermentables. (that sounded strange...)

I would recommend however, in the future leaving it in the primary a little longer (another week) before going to secondary.

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

Your transfer timing was not ideal, but you will be fine. Here is a blog I wrote about using a secondary. You may find it helpful.

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Great entry... I guess I didn't know how to properly use a secondary!

Other things to take into account. Was it an all grain batch, and at what temp did you mash at if it was. The higher the mash temp the more unfermentable sugars leading to a higher FG, with a fuller bodied beer.

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

Your transfer timing was not ideal, but you will be fine. Here is a blog I wrote about using a secondary. You may find it helpful.

http://blogs.homebrewtalk.com/Boerderij_Kabouter/Secondary_fermentation_and_why_it_makes_me_crazy/

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Pardon my asking, but what sources do you get this information from?

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

Your transfer timing was not ideal, but you will be fine. Here is a blog I wrote about using a secondary. You may find it helpful.

http://blogs.homebrewtalk.com/Boerderij_Kabouter/Secondary_fermentation_and_why_it_makes_me_crazy/

Click to expand...

Well i f the beer i racked to secondary was still fementin (1/4 to finish),didnt i do it right according to your blog?

powderbock said:

Other things to take into account. Was it an all grain batch, and at what temp did you mash at if it was. The higher the mash temp the more unfermentable sugars leading to a higher FG, with a fuller bodied beer.

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It was AG , i mashed at about 153 F

markcubed said:

Pardon my asking, but what sources do you get this information from?

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No need for a pardon. This information is gleaned from many sources, but mainly:

Greg Noonan's (RIP) "New Lager brewing", a great source for all beer not only lager

John Palmer's "How to Brew", I think we are all familiar with that one

And various other industry texts that I have read over the years. The confusion in the homebrewing world is thick when it comes to secondary fermentation. My blog was an attempt to describe (very briefly and with a high level look) how to use a secondary should you so choose. I also make it clear (I think) that if you do not understand fermentation very well yet, or do not definitely have sound sanitary and anti-O2 procedures, you are likely better off doing a primary only style ferment. For most homebrews it really won't make a big difference. However, when you are chasing the dream, the small things really are what set an O.K. beer apart from a good beer apart from a great beer.

beer_master said:

Well i f the beer i racked to secondary was still fermenting (1/4 to finish), didn't i do it right according to your blog?

It was AG , i mashed at about 153 F

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You have to look at your fermentables. You want 1/4 of your fermentables left. So you transferred at 1.020 (69% attenuation) but left to its own devices, the beer would ahve only fermented to maybe 1.013ish (maybe 75-78% atten. ???). I didn't actually run the numbers. Maybe you were in range, your transfer gravity just seemed a bit low to me, I have been known to be wrong once or twice before.



The main point is that your beer will be fine, but it is worth learning about new processes that could improve your beer.

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

Your transfer timing was not ideal, but you will be fine. Here is a blog I wrote about using a secondary. You may find it helpful.

http://blogs.homebrewtalk.com/Boerderij_Kabouter/Secondary_fermentation_and_why_it_makes_me_crazy/

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Gee maybe someday you'll get around to doing like I did this weekend.....and presenting both sides of the debate instead of JUST yours. (You weren't around so I figured I might as well make sure your way was given equal billing......

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/multiple-questions-about-secondary-fermentation-140978/#post1601829

beer_master, you will find that there's more than one way to skin this cat...and they all work.

Personally I wouldn't have bothered to rack it at all. OR you could have waited til fermentation was totally complete.....But whatever way you choose, you didn't ruin your beer..

Ooohhhh. Good post!

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

Ooohhhh. Good post!

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Yeah....I thought so....so now can we just post that UBER one instead, then head out to the bar???

I just tweaked the ending to look like this...Whatja think?

Revvy said:

But this is the important takeaway message...

The good news is that whatever method you choose, you will STILL make great beer. That's the amazing thing about this hobby. There is really no RIGHT way of doing things. There are literally dozens of ways to skin the cat here, and all that matter is integrating whatever methodolgy works best for you into YOUR OWN UNIQUE brewing process.

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Looks good to me!

Cool nice one on cat skinning
Thanx for info guys!

Yep. I think Beer Master did just fine. I still rack to a secondary, but I tend to do it after reaching my terminal gravity (or very close to it). Actually, honestly, I usually rack a few days or so after the party stops in the primary and my schedule allows me to get around to it. My beers come out well-conditioned. There is all sorts of yeast still suspended in the beer in that time frame, plenty to take care of conditioning needs.

Like Revvy mentioned, racking during active fermentation is something we did back in the days when homebrewers' yeast was of questionable quality. That just isn't the case, anymore. For that reason, many homebrewers do not even employ a secondary (at least, that is the current trend). I still do, as I find I get clearer, cleaner beer in less time and ensure full attenuation by racking to a secondary.

Enjoy!


TL