Secondary fermenter HELP !!!

Just racked my saison beer into secondary yesterday and about 24 h later i return to see the glass carboy and notice that the beer has sedimented alot to the bottom but there are little white spots on the top of the liquid is this normal ??

Relax, it's most likely yeast. You're good!

Some if the stuff looks like clear spit an the rest is tiny white balls....

Pics?

Here is the best I could get

are they moving, or still? What's it smell like? Sour? *Could* be beginning of an infection. Why are you in secondary? To dry-hop? If you secondaried just because, I'd cold-crash it right away and if you still want to age, age it cold. That way the infection can't continue...if that's what it is.

tre9er said:

are they moving, or still? What's it smell like? Sour? *Could* be beginning of an infection. Why are you in secondary? To dry-hop? If you secondaried just because, I'd cold-crash it right away and if you still want to age, age it cold. That way the infection can't continue...if that's what it is.

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My kegs aren't ready till saturday can i put the carboy in the kegerator ?

jesseroberge said:

My kegs aren't ready till saturday can i put the carboy in the kegerator ?

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Yep. How did the sample taste and/or how does the beer smell right now?

If you're going to age it before drinking, leave the secondary in the kegerator until the aging is done...don't risk another chance to introduce infection by racking again so soon.

I seriously doubt it's an infection. It's probably CO2 bubbles. That's what every beer I've every secondaried looks like.

I just put my carboy into the kegerator, the only reason i'm doing a secondary is because I don't want sediments in my keg... If I rack from primary to keg and age in keg then I have to cut my rod in the keg because all the crap will be pumped out when I pour... And also from primary to keg gives unclear beer right because the gas is allways distirbing the sediment ?

jesseroberge said:

I just put my carboy into the kegerator, the only reason i'm doing a secondary is because I don't want sediments in my keg... If I rack from primary to keg and age in keg then I have to cut my rod in the keg because all the crap will be pumped out when I pour... And also from primary to keg gives unclear beer right because the gas is allways distirbing the sediment ?

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Meh, I rack straight to keg and just pour off the first pint after it's carbed. Gas post is way up high, doesn't really disrupt anything on the bottom...it's just filling the headspace slowly as CO2 absorbs into solution.

My beers are never crystal clear, but then again I suppose I don't care about that much. They taste great. Just let it settle in kegerator for 3 days to a week and then rack to keg, carb, enjoy.

jesseroberge said:

I just put my carboy into the kegerator, the only reason i'm doing a secondary is because I don't want sediments in my keg... If I rack from primary to keg and age in keg then I have to cut my rod in the keg because all the crap will be pumped out when I pour... And also from primary to keg gives unclear beer right because the gas is allways distirbing the sediment ?

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The first three ounces of beer from a keg will have sediment whether you secondary or not, due to there always being yeast in suspension. You don't have to cut the diptube or anything like that. Let the beer sit 3-5 days, while it carbs up, and then pour off about 1/3 of a glass. If you don't move the keg, you won't get a bit more sediment.

Here's a picture of one of my IPAs (and I never use gelatin or anything else). This beer was 2 weeks in the fermenter, and then dryhopped in the fermenter (although sometimes I also dryhop in the keg):

From what i can see looks like little groups of fine co2 bubbles... which i get on just about every one of my beers in the secondary

Yooper said:

The first three ounces of beer from a keg will have sediment whether you secondary or not, due to there always being yeast in suspension. You don't have to cut the diptube or anything like that. Let the beer sit 3-5 days, while it carbs up, and then pour off about 1/3 of a glass. If you don't move the keg, you won't get a bit more sediment.

Here's a picture of one of my IPAs (and I never use gelatin or anything else). This beer was 2 weeks in the fermenter, and then dryhopped in the fermenter (although sometimes I also dryhop in the keg):

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Man after seeing Your pic I will defenetly try a stright to keg version i'll let it age in the keg then zip to none risk of infection them )

FWIW, I don't THINK that's an infection, but if you're not dry-hopping or adding fruit...throwing the carboy into the kegerator won't hurt and will help against any further potential infection.

jesseroberge said:

Man after seeing Your pic I will defenetly try a stright to keg version i'll let it age in the keg then zip to none risk of infection them )

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Try it both ways and see what works for you! Each of us has little things we do that may not be right for everybody so trying yourself is the sure way to see what really works and doesn't work.

A few things that help with clear beer: good hot break; good cold break; complete conversion (no starch haze); using flocculant yeast; allowing enough time for gravity to do its work (2 weeks or so, generally); and cold crashing.

I don't cold crash before kegging, but if you have the ability to do that, you can cold crash for 48 hours and then rack only clear beer to the keg. Remember, if you put clear beer in the keg, you won't have so much gunk to deal with.

After my keg is empty, I have about 1/8-1/4 cup of sludge on the bottom of the keg that is away from the diptube. That's all there is, even with no secondary, so it's really not all that much.

Man I just can't believe all the usefull posts I recieve... The question was answered in under an hour, I love the home brew comunity ) thanks a million

I'm relativly new to to HB comunity in the last post you said "quote" A few things that help with clear beer: good hot break; good cold break; complete conversion (no starch haze); using flocculant yeast; allowing enough time for gravity to do its work (2 weeks or so, generally); and cold crashing.

Can you detail what they mean i'm sory but this is all new to me ))

Hope it's not a hastle to write all this stuff

jesseroberge said:

Can you detail what they mean i'm sory but this is all new to me ))

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This may help: http://howtobrew.com/

Huge amount of very useful information.

jesseroberge said:

I'm relativly new to to HB comunity in the last post you said "quote" A few things that help with clear beer: good hot break; good cold break; complete conversion (no starch haze); using flocculant yeast; allowing enough time for gravity to do its work (2 weeks or so, generally); and cold crashing.

Can you detail what they mean i'm sory but this is all new to me ))

Hope it's not a hastle to write all this stuff

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Well, we're in the "all grain and partial mashing forum", so I assumed that it would be something you were familiar with. Are you doing extracts? If so, you may not ever get a hot break, but you would get a cold break when you chill the wort. That means big goobers of protein glob up, and fall out, and result in clearer beer in the end, when the wort is chilled quickly after the boil. Conversion has to do with the grain. Flocculant yeast means yeast strains that tend to clear the beer quickly, and fall to the bottom of the fermenter. Some yeast strains don't do that as well. Does that help?

I did my first AG brew last week so I got the big protien clobber but didn't know
If i should siphon it or not because actually there was alot of hops in my boiler and when I finaly siphoned the wort to the bottom well the clobber got sucked in as well as the hop and hot break residue... Is that good ?? Long story short all the boiler was in my primary carboy

Well, it's not horrible, but generally you'd like to leave the crud (called trub) out of the fermenter. Lots of people use paint strainer bags to minimize trub loss and get all that stuff out.

So i put a paint strainer bag at the end of my siphon tube just before it enters the carboy ?

Should I and what is the use to let the boiled wort lay still for ten minuts and give it a good spin before the chill phaze? If that is the order of course...

jesseroberge said:

Should I and what is the use to let the boiled wort lay still for ten minuts and give it a good spin before the chill phaze? If that is the order of course...

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Yes, you can if you want. I don't bother, and it all goes into the fermenter for the most part.

Should i spinn the boiled wort before or after the cooldown phaze ?

jesseroberge said:

Should i spinn the boiled wort before or after the cooldown phaze ?

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Generally the last thing before racking

As others have said, it looks like CO2 bubbles, nothing to worry about.

jesseroberge said:

So i put a paint strainer bag at the end of my siphon tube just before it enters the carboy ?

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These strainers have an elastic top: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...angId=-1&keyword=paint+strainer&storeId=10051

If you were using a bucket fermenter, you'd just stretch the elastic over the top of the bucket and pour the wort in, then pull out the strainer. Since you're using a carboy, I'd push the bag down in and secure the top with rubber bands or twist ties, then run the siphon tube into the bag. Carefully pull the bag out once you've siphoned all the wort and you'll get rid of all the hops and a decent about of trub. You will have some protein precipitates still in the wort, but the yeast will fairly quickly flocculate down and cover it.

Make absolutely sure you sanitize the bag before straining! You'll get multiple uses from each bag, but make you wash them carefully after use.