Racked beer too soon? Also, temp problems

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Unusmundus

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So after being ripped off by buying one of those ****ty Mr.Beer kits, and making two awful batches, last week I decided to switch to actual all-grain brewing. I went to my local home brew shop, and picked up a full starters equipment set for a 23 litre batch, as well as a Brewhouse Munich Dark Lager beer kit. Got home, sanitized obsessively, and put the batch into primary fermentation. The instructions for my particular brew kit said 3-5 days in primary. I got home from work on day 2, and realized my batch had exploded. The lid was still pretty much on, so I doubt anything infectious got in, but there was beer everywhere. I wiped the mess up, made sure the lid was on tight, and left it for a couple hours. When I checked back, the lid was so swollen, that I realized if I didn't rack that night, it would explode again, and I'd end up spoiling the batch. Don't ask me whose brilliant idea it was to created a primary fermentation bucket with no ventilation, but that night, after the batch had sat in primary for about 2 and a half days-- 60 hours give or take (it was after all 5 am when I decided to rack), I racked to my carboy. Sooo.... Is this a huge, huge problem? It has been sitting in secondary for about 5 days now, and I did take the airlock off for a quick sniff yesterday, and it's starting to smell pretty good. HOWEVER, I am also having temperature problems, as because of the height of the carboy with the airlock on, the only place I have to store it out of direct sunlight is next to an outside wall, and it's getting pretty damn cold up here in NS in the last few weeks. 3 days ago I noticed the adhesive thermometer read 62 degrees, so I put a towel under the base, folded a packing blanket up four times, wrapped it around tightly, and put an old t-shirt over the top, with the airlock sticking out of the head hole, yet now, 3 days later, it still reads 62, and I'm only getting between 2 and 3 bubbles out of the airlock a minute. Is this a huge problem? It is after all a lager? If it helps, the Brewhouse kits come packaged with Coopers DIY yeast, and for the record I did not take an initial gravity reading, as I forgot to pick up a wine thief. I did try to dip the (sanitized) hydrometer tube into the bucket awkwardly, but as soon as my finger grazed the top of the foam I decided it wasn't worth the risk of infection. Anyhow, for anyone that takes the time to read this, and give their two cents, I really appreciate it. Happy brewing !

Cheers ! :mug:
 
You should be fine with the early racking. Most of the yeast was likely suspended when you racked to secondary and it is normal for air lock activity to slow down after a few days. Remember the suggested fermentation time is nothing more than a guideline, it can take longer or shorter. The lower you keep your temperature the longer fermentation will take to complete.

Another note the yeast that you used is an ale yeast, for your next batch I recommend choosing a better quality yeast and ale yeasts fermented in the mid to low 60s tend to produce cleaner tasting ales with less off flavours. I ferment all of mine between 65-68 degrees.

My final note would be to leave the beer in the fermenter for a few weeks, don't bother racking to any additional carboys unless absolutely necessary. The added time on the yeast cake will help the yeast clean up after itself.
 
1. welcome.:mug:

2. have a look here

3. Next time try rigging up a blow off tube

4. The Coopers yeast you used is probably their hybrid lager/ale strain which can work in quite a wide range of temps. The temps you are at might be fine. Supposed to be really effective when re-hydrated in warm water for an hour or so before pitching.

5. If you sanitize a cup really well you can use that for drawing samples to find out when your gravity has stabilised.

6. You'll very likely have an enjoyable batch to drink:ban::mug:
 
Thanks a lot guys, just looked at the calendar, and I can actually let it sit an extra week in secondary and still have it ready for Christmas, which gives it 23 days in fermentation, 14 in bottles, and 2 in the fridge. Or should I bottle after 2 weeks, and let it sit in the bottle for 3 instead? Would that be bottle bombs waiting to happens?
 
Oh and I actually tried to drill a hole in the plastic lid to put another air lock in, but used the wrong type of drill bit for plastic and it came out a mess. I'm thinking I'll just pick up an extra carboy for primary, and just use to plastic bucket to stir in my dextrose before bottling.
 
2 weeks should be a sufficient amount of time for your beer to carbonate just keep it in a dark area at room temperature during the carbonation phase. I strongly suggest allowing it to ferment for a minimum of 3 weeks especially since you did not take an OG reading.
 
Oh and I actually tried to drill a hole in the plastic lid to put another air lock in, but used the wrong type of drill bit for plastic and it came out a mess. I'm thinking I'll just pick up an extra carboy for primary, and just use to plastic bucket to stir in my dextrose before bottling.

I don't even bother with air locks on my fermenting buckets anymore. I just cover the top of the bucket with a layer of, starsan-sprayed, saran wrap, puncture a few small holes with a sanitized "pointy thing" on my Swiss Army Knife and chuck the lid loosely on top. Have had some major krauzen action but no explosive mishaps.:ban:
 
I don't even bother with air locks on my fermenting buckets anymore. I just cover the top of the bucket with a layer of, starsan-sprayed, saran wrap, puncture a few small holes with a sanitized "pointy thing" on my Swiss Army Knife and chuck the lid loosely on top. Have had some major krauzen action but no explosive mishaps.:ban:

Not a bad idea. I'm still wondering what sort of sanitizers to pick up. Obviously I need some non-rinse for the bottles, as it would be a pain in the ass to have to thoroughly rinse 60+ bottles... I do have a bottle iodophor, but I'm skeptical of how well it sanitizes. Twice now I've used it to sanitize my plastic bucket after I racked my batch, yet it still smells yeasty. Star-san is no rinse, right? Not sure if they carry that at my place.:confused:
 
Yup, starsan is a no rinse, contact sanitizer and works great. Keep a spray bottle handy and just use that for lots of applications. Really economical. Spray a good amount into the fermenter then chuck the lid on, give it a good shake, rattle 'n roll, and leave for a few seconds then it's good to go. Definitely recommended.

Oxiclean or PBW are really effective for cleaning stubborn, and/or organic matter from bottles, fermenters, carboys etc. Make sure to rinse with hot water really well after an Oxiclean soak though as it can leave a slippery, soapy-feeling, type residue on equipment.
 
Alright guys, it's now been 9 days into secondary fermentation, and my wort has been fermenting 11 days in entirety. There is ZERO foam, ZERO airlock activity, and it smells pretty damn good, not a hint of a scent yeast whatsoever. Is it at all possible it has finished fermenting in this short amount of time, at such low temperatures? Or has the low temperature simply deactivated/ killed the yeast. Please help ! :confused:
 
It's entirely possible that your brew has made it through high krausen and the initial attenuation phase. Being as it's only the 11th day you're probably better off just moving the fermenter somewhere warmer, or using a heating pad/ something similar to raise the temp to about 20deg C and giving the brew a gentle swirl to get the yeast agitated a bit for the conditioning phase, leaving it be for another few days to a week, do a couple of SG checks to ascertain a stable FG, then you'll probably be good to bottle.
 
Alright bro, I bottled today. Local brew shop didn't carry star san, so I had to use chlorinated trisodium phosphate on the bottles, but I rinsed them VIGOROUSLY (took me a good 30 minutes just to rinse all the bottles properly). I was unable to take a gravity reading because the damn wine thief I picked up didn't reach the bottom of my carboy ! I did take one near the bottom of the bucket, however the dextrose had JUST been mixed in, so that doesn't really tell me ****. Anyhow, I had about half a glass of the dregs, and it tasted pretty damn good ! Here's hoping for the best, and praying for no bottle bombs ! :cross:
 
Alright bro, I bottled today. Local brew shop didn't carry star san, so I had to use chlorinated trisodium phosphate on the bottles, but I rinsed them VIGOROUSLY (took me a good 30 minutes just to rinse all the bottles properly). I was unable to take a gravity reading because the damn wine thief I picked up didn't reach the bottom of my carboy ! I did take one near the bottom of the bucket, however the dextrose had JUST been mixed in, so that doesn't really tell me ****. Anyhow, I had about half a glass of the dregs, and it tasted pretty damn good ! Here's hoping for the best, and praying for no bottle bombs ! :cross:

Not sure what chlorinated trisodium phosphate is, unless it's some fancy salt with chlorine, but just the fact there's chlorine in it makes me a little uneasy. Granted, a thorough rinsing will likely get rid of the chlorine but might leave your beer having the potential for infection. That's the reason for the no rinse sanitizers such as Starsan.

I think that you don't necessarily have to draw your FG sample from the bottom of your Carboy, at this stage in the game, and drawing from near the top would have given you a decent enough sample for the purpose.

Not knowing your FG will mean that calculating your ABV will be a no go, which isn't really all that big a deal, and that you haven't determined a stable FG so, as you realize, there might be a slim chance of bottle bombs.

Hope everything turns out well for you with this batch and you end up with a
Brew that meets your expectations. Even if it doesn't quite hit the standards you were aiming for you've probably learned enough from this batch to help you brew an amazing one next time around.:mug:
 
I promise you I rinsed every bottle 4-5 times obsessively, inside, and out, and it took for ****ing ever. That said, tap water in my city is pretty damn clean, and I'm not too too worried about infection from it. From what I read, if you sanitize properly, infections are harder to come by than you might think. But I get what you mean about no-rinse. I found a wine shop that carries star-san downtown, and I'll have to pick some up before my next batch, as this chlorine **** is a pain in the ass, regardless of if it turns out right. As for the ABV, all I really want from this batch, as it's my first, is for it to taste good. As long as there is some alcohol, it's a success to me. Though I'll have to get a better wine thief and start taking grav readings in batches to come. It's been about 28 hours now since they've been in bottles, and not a single bomb, so I take that as a good sign. Can they go off at any time, or are the first few days more of the danger zone for bombs? Thanks for all you help and support Ogri !

Cheers

:mug:
 
Alright there!! How did this brew turn out for you. I take it you didn't have any bottle bombs and that you've already sampled some finished product.
:mug:
 
Alright there!! How did this brew turn out for you. I take it you didn't have any bottle bombs and that you've already sampled some finished product.
:mug:

Hey man ! Beer turned out great, and is alllll gone at this point (gave plenty out as gifts to friends and fam around Christmas time). It had more qualities of a stout than a dark lager, but then again it wasn't the best quality kit, and I have since found a MUCH better LHBS. I'm actually bottling my second batch (and third actually) tomorrow morning. I've got a 'Beeman's Honey Brown Ale', which was a partial extract/specialty grain kit put together by my own LHBS (not sure if it qualifies as a partial/ mini mash, as I only steeped specialty grains, and didn't actually add/mash any base malts?), in which I used almost a full two pounds of fresh, local, unpasteurized Nova Scotian honey (really looking forward to this one), as well as a Mangrove Jack's Apple Cider kit. Thanks again for all your help seeing me through my first batch, bro.

Cheers !

:mug:
 
Oh, by the way, the new LHBS carries Star-San and PBW ;) NEVER going back to chlorine salts or iodophor again !!!
 
Good stuff:rockin:

Great to hear that it all worked out well for you:fro:

I have to say, once I stopped using one-step and started using starsan I felt a lot more confident in my sanitizing process. Pretty sure I've read that Oxiclean is a bit less expensive than PBW and does, near enough, the same job, just in case you're ever needing to scrimp a little. Best of luck with the present, and future brews:mug:
 
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