Novice: Racking Question

Hey everyone,

I started to brew my first batch of beer (IPA) yesterday (05/19/08) and I have a question about the siphoning process.

Browsing these forums and reading the literature that came with my home brew kit, it is apparent that sanitation is one of the most important aspects of home brewing. I am beginning to read up on the next step of the brewing process and I will need to siphon the contents of the plastic primary fermenter to my glass secondary fermenter.

Anyways, it appears that my home brew kit is asking me to siphon in a similar way you would siphon gas from a car. It seems that with all the bacteria in your mouth, it would be pretty easy for some bacteria to get into the secondary fermenter?

Am I totally wrong about this, or does anyone have any tips to avoid infecting my beer?

Thanks,

Knowlse11

Get an Auto Syphon. You'll be glad you did.

I have the type of Siphon that you blow into the little disc and it forces the beer out so your mouth never touches the tube. There are some other types also that make starting the action easier. What type do you have? If its the standard one I have heard many guys filling up the tube with sanatized water, plugging the end, then sticking the cane into the carboy. Release your thumb and the sanatized water creates suction starting the siphoning action.

In any event without the easier method I hate trying to start it the old fashioned way like your doing. It takes some practice for sure.

Some people will swear by the 'gas syphon' method, personally I don't think it's a great idea. Get yourself an auto-syphon from your LHBS or any of the major online suppliers, they are the best investment in your brewery for under $10 and make your life much simpler.

And welcome to HBT!

There are several sanitary ways to start a siphon. The easiest is to use an autosiphon-


You can also do the "fill the siphon equipment with sanitizer, hold your finger over the end and then drain into a cup until the beer flows, then put it in the carboy", which is what I did until I got an autosiphon. With practice, it's fairly easy, but not as easy as the autosiphon!

And someone around here made a siphon set up out of tubing that you blow into, but I can't remember who posted that. I'll see if I can dig that up.

Edit: here it is!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=25774

Thanks everyone,

I'll run out and grab an Auto-Syphon!

-Knowlse11

Another vote for the autosiphon... along with the bucket lid opener, it's the most valuable piece of equipment I have that didn't come with my starter kit. There's also a cheap DIY solution from FlyGuy that I'll probably use when my autosiphon breaks, because that thing is a PITA to clean.

Edit: Whoa. Four posts, including two of my link, in the time it took me to type that...

Before I bought an auto syphon I just filled up the racking cane and tube with (cooled) boiled water then covered the end of the tube with my sanitized thumb put the racking cane in the beer and just release my thumb instant syphon. Just let the beer run a few seconds into a cup just to clear the water.

I just use a racking cane and tube with a clamp on it. It's super easy. In fact, reading these steps are more difficult than actually doing them. Here's the steps:
1) Santize cane and hose
2) Tighten clamp on the hose while filled with sanitizer
3) Place empty racking cane in liquid.
4) Hook hose to cane and set the hose in a trash bowl.
5) Open clamp and let flow until beer comes out.
6) Close camp, transfer to destination vessel and open clamp. The nice thing about the clamp is that you can start and stop the siphon as much as you want.

OK now that I wrote it out, it does sound pretty tough.... but it's not.

When I started out, I just gargled with vodka and left some on the lips before sucking. No problems with 7 batches. Then I got an auto syphon.

I now have a setup similar to FlyGuy's. Before that, though, I just filled the drain hose with tap water and started it. That always worked just fine (i.e., no infections or oxidation). I'm sure an autosiphon is easier to deal with that the old method, but I never got around to it.


TL

I've always just taken a turkey baster, and stuck the tip into the end of the tube. I use the baster to "suck" the beer into the tube enough that I can put it into the carboy and that will cause enough suction to start the flow. It's essentially the same thing as an autosyphon, just the poor man's version!

jay075j said:

I've always just taken a turkey baster, and stuck the tip into the end of the tube. I use the baster to "suck" the beer into the tube enough that I can put it into the carboy and that will cause enough suction to start the flow. It's essentially the same thing as an autosyphon, just the poor man's version!

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Brilliant.

I think that's eventually what we did the one time I racked without an autosiphon, but it sounds like your version has a better fit because mine worked horribly. If it works for you, though, that sounds awesome

What I do, is use my Turkey Baster. I draw some of the beer out and holding the tubing in my left hand with the two ends up, carefully fill the tube. Then I attach the one end to the cane, taking care not to spill. I have not yet invested in an auto-siphon.

Doh. I missed the above post. I second the motion Oh wait, he draws it in. I fill it. Either way will work.

dstar26t said:

When I started out, I just gargled with vodka and left some on the lips before sucking. No problems with 7 batches. Then I got an auto syphon.

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lol. Last time i gargled vodka i woke up the next morning in an alley near my house.

In my dozen or so brews, I've always done the siphon by mouth on 6 feet of plastic tube, the trick is to get a half shot of 100 proof scotch whiskey in your mouth and start the siphon before you produce any saliva. Theoretically you could use mouthwash, but hey.

yeah, the first batch I did, I didn't have any vodka or anything else around so I gargled with isopropyl alcohol...WOW was that a big mistake.

dstar26t said:

yeah, the first batch I did, I didn't have any vodka or anything else around so I gargled with isopropyl alcohol...WOW was that a big mistake.

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I think I just puked in my mouth a little.

surprised so many people use their mouth. soured my second batch that way. grab an auto-siphon - well worth the money.

According to ebay I use a manual kerosene siphon pump. That I picked up at Home Depot for $3. Made about 10 batches with no problems.

I have the type of Siphon that you blow into the little disc and it forces the beer out so your mouth never touches the tube.

Click to expand...

That's what I use, can't remember where I got it but for me it beats an auto siphon because to clean it you just run water through it, a dip in a bucket of Starsan before use and it's good to go.

https://morebeer.com/view_product/18872/