First time brewing and have a few questions

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RGingerelli

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Hi fellow brewers,

I brewed my first batch of beer (Columbus IPA extract) last Sunday (7/25) and it has been fermenting nicely for 6 days now at 68 degrees until my Ranco probe broke yesterday. I have been able to adjust the fridge with a tub of water to hold the fermenting beer at 68 degrees until my replacement probe comes in the mail.

My question is I am now starting to see some seperation in my beer. There is a layer on the top 3rd of my carboy that is clearer than the bottom 2/3rds. Is this just my whirlfloc clearing the beer?

Also it seems that fermentation is tapering off, the airlock is starting to slow way down. When would be a good time to rack to a secondary, I know alot of brewers dont use a secondary but I feel that this beer is going to need the extra time to clear, its pretty cloudy.

Any help would be great, as I said this is my first time brewing. Maybe Im just freaking out, but it cant hurt to double check with you. Sorry for the long post.

Thanks!!!
 
Perfectly normal. Sounds like primary fermentation is wrapping up so the yeast are dropping out of suspension. In 2-3 weeks the whole fermenter will look essentially the same. I wouldn't bother with a secondary. The yeast will clean up better after themselves on the main yeast cake. Also, 2-3 weeks in the fridge will give you a clear beer. To secondary or not is a hotly debated issue, but I personally have done both and see no benefit to using a secondary unless you are adding something like fruit or oak chips or what not.
 
My question is I am now starting to see some seperation in my beer. There is a layer on the top 3rd of my carboy that is clearer than the bottom 2/3rds. Is this just my whirlfloc clearing the beer?

Sounds like normal settling/clearing to me...

Also it seems that fermentation is tapering off, the airlock is starting to slow way down. When would be a good time to rack to a secondary, I know alot of brewers dont use a secondary but I feel that this beer is going to need the extra time to clear, its pretty cloudy.

No point in starting another "should you/shouldn't you" in regards to doing a secondary, so I'll just say that if you do one to rack it when the gravity stops decreasing (take hydrometer measurements).
 

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