help needed

here is my equipment to start this off I have a carboy with an airlock and bung also a 9 gallon pail.


I bought a "barons" Canadian Pil and in the instructions it has 8 steps
step 7 is Cover the primary fermenter and place in area with temp of 18-24 fermentation should start in 24-48 hrs.

STAGE#2 SECONDARY FERMENTATION
in 3-6 days the fermentation will subside at this time rack the beer into carboy add airlock and let ferment for 14 days.

okay here is my question
do I do this and just cover my 9 gallon pail and leave it for the 3-6 days? or do I just do this in the carboy airlock it then at bottle time transfer back to the 9 gallon pail?????then add my priming sugar.

If your carboy is 6.5 gallons you can do your primary fermentation in there. If it is just a 5 gallon carboy you won't have enough room. Personally I would do the primary fermentation in the bucket, then you can secondary in the carboy and then bottle from the bucket.

If you are going to do primary fermentation only I would leave it for at least 2 weeks before bottling. This will ensure fermentation is complete and no bottle bombs. Likewise I would NOT rack to secondary after only 3-6 days. Primary fermentation needs at least 7-10 days to give the yeast time to clean up after themselves. Give it AT LEAST a week in primary before you rack to secondary.

Let the beer sit in the bucket until it stops bubbling (around a week or so). Take a hydrometer reading, if the beer has the stated final gravity rack it into the secondary and let it clear and age for about 2 week, then add the priming sugar and bottle.

Primary fermentation can take place in whatever vessel you like, provided you have enough room. If you have a large bucket (you said yours is 9gal), use that for your primary fermentation. And yes, you need to AIRLOCK it.

Don't assume that fermentation is done after X amount of days. Use your hydrometer!! Once airlock activity has stopped, take a hydrometer reading (remember, don't return the sample to the beer, or you risk contamination). Record your reading. Then take another reading 2 or 3 days later. If it hasn't changed over those few days, then it's done with primary fermentation. Rack it to your carboy, and again, airlock it. Wait for a few weeks, transfer to your bottling bucket, add the priming sugar, stir very well (being careful not to agitate...just stir smoothly), and bottle. Voila. 3 weeks later, you have drinkable beer.

Good luck!!

saskman said:

here is my equipment to start this off I have a carboy with an airlock and bung also a 9 gallon pail.


I bought a "barons" Canadian Pil and in the instructions it has 8 steps
step 7 is Cover the primary fermenter and place in area with temp of 18-24 fermentation should start in 24-48 hrs.

STAGE#2 SECONDARY FERMENTATION
in 3-6 days the fermentation will subside at this time rack the beer into carboy add airlock and let ferment for 14 days.

okay here is my question
do I do this and just cover my 9 gallon pail and leave it for the 3-6 days? or do I just do this in the carboy airlock it then at bottle time transfer back to the 9 gallon pail?????then add my priming sugar.

Click to expand...

You will need an airlock on the pail. Its a nice size so there is no need for a blow-off tube. Please let it ferment a good 7-10 days and then tranfer to your carboy. There is no fermentation happening in the secondary as its just for clearing and a bit of aging.

Jees...your getting a reply every minute.

so since I dont have a lid an an airlock for my "bucket" do all in my carboy?
then transfer to bucket then carboy again after I strilize and wash the carboy again to omit the sediment?

here is what I am thinking to do
mix in the carboy and airlock it then when the time is right secondary it to the "bucket"
then when I clean the carboy transfer back to carboy and airlock again ensuring everything is cleaned and sanitized.

You could just do 3 weeks in primary if you wanted to avoid all that racking. Then you would be able to rack once to your bucket for priming and bottling.

great thats what I needed to know but will the hops bother the brew being in the brew for 3 weeks?

If you put a ton of hops into the fermenter it will change the flavour a bit. When you pour out of the kettle just pour through a sanitized strainer, you can leave most of the hops out that way.

Is your carnboy 6 or 6.5 gallons? If you do a 5 gallon batch in a 5 gallon carboy you gonna need more than an airlock.

there is 6-8 inches from the brew to the airlock

If that includes the narrowing of the glass neck then be prepared with a blowoff tube, or be safe and start with one. Good Luck

I will post a picture and you guys can tell me the best way to do this ok??

I have one of those orange top thingys I can run a hose from that into some water if that would be better then the airlock??

You will definitely need a blow-off hose. If you go to home depot or any other supplier you should be able to find some 1" vinyl tubing. You can cram that into the neck and then into a small container of water.

You will have quite a mess when the krausen fills that airlock if you don't.

Edit: I believe you can also use the carboy cap (that orange thingy) using some 5/8" tubing but I've never done it myself so I can't be sure. I'm sure someone will chime in that knows.

all is well I took a chunk of the racking cane I broke and put it into the hole in the bung the airlock was in and connected a hose to that and into a bucket of water. thanks for all the help guys.