Rack or wait?

I am about to rack my beer from primary to secondary. It has been a week and we got everything sanitized and ready then we did the gravity test.

2 days ago the gravity was 101.5 and now it is 101.0. I read that you should wait until the gravity doesn't change for 3 days. I don't wanna rack if it will make a significant difference but at the same time we got everything ready. With these number how big of deal would it be if I racked it anyway?

Thanks for you help!!

Matty

You really want to wait till your Gravity is stable before you move it. Patience is your friend here. What was the OG? Getting the gravity down to 1.010 is pretty good. If it's still there by Tuesday then rack as you like. You will also find that many folks on this forum don't use a secondary at all.

Brew-Jay said:

You really want to wait till your Gravity is stable before you move it. Patience is your friend here. What was the OG? Getting the gravity down to 1.010 is pretty good. If it's still there by Tuesday then rack as you like. You will also find that many folks on this forum don't use a secondary at all.

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Ah damn OK

The O.G. was 1.060.

In brewing beer, patience is essential.
I don't even think about my beer for at least two weeks except to check on the bubbles.

Again wait another day and take a reading if it is 1.010 go ahead and rack. Or better yet leave the beer alone for another week or 3 then bottle.

Just make sure that the gravity is no longer falling before you do anything.

Yeah. Waiting is the hardest part. (Isn't that a song?). But better to put off for a couple days than sacrifice quality. Rather than racking tonight, have a few beers and brainstorm a kick-a$$ name for your brew.

Since you're moving to a secondary, you can move it without too much worry. Are you moving it to open up a primary?

I usually leave the beer for at least two weeks before transfering. While it is sitting on the yeastcake the yeast is still working on your beer. So if there's no other reason to move to a secondary, give it two weeks before your do.

khakijoe said:

i read u need to go to secondary to keep it from tasting bad but it semms like people here dont think that one reevy guy say dont even bottle just keep it in the bucket and seal it up carbonate that way but i dont understand how u drink five gallons at once or if u put the lid back on and it gets carbonated again. i have a lot to learn with u guys

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Beer doesn't go bad just because you leave it in primary. That is false. Let's not propagate that information. I think you're getting things confused. I'd read a little (or rather, a lot) more about the brewing process. It's not complicated, but there is a lot of information to assimilate.

khakijoe said:

i read u need to go to secondary to keep it from tasting bad but it semms like people here dont think that one reevy guy say dont even bottle just keep it in the bucket and seal it up carbonate that way but i dont understand how u drink five gallons at once or if u put the lid back on and it gets carbonated again. i have a lot to learn with u guys

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There is no lacking of opinions on here.
Some good, some bad.
Just like anything else, you will even see people that know more than you can hope to learn that still put out bad advice based on whatever that tainted their views.
Your job is to read all the opinions, read the books, read websites, talk to people, brew your own and decide what works for you.

The use of a secondary, the effect of leaving hops on the beer for extended times, best way to carbonate, how long till beer is good glass or plastic fermenter.
All subjects that you will see people disagree on.
Instead of looking at this as meaning someone is wrong, most of the time this shows that it's beer. It's forgiving and you don't need to over worry about it.

I know nothing, but I know that if you think its ready, wait a few more days. Its too easy to screw up beer rushing and this is a patient-mans hobby/obsession. time is always your friend.

I bet vampires make great beer.