Racking my stout

I'm just looking for opinions from people here, and I know there are no absolutes in homebrewing. I'm a noob brewing my first beer, and I chose a stout. It has been 5 days fermenting strongly so far at 66F. How long should I wait to rack it? The instructions say 2 weeks, but they were general beer brewing instructions, not specifically for a stout.

I have been reading about yeast and I'm leaning towards letting the primary go on for up to 4 weeks, then racking it for 2 days in a secondary to settle it, then bottling for 2 weeks. I haven't taken a hydrometer reading since the beginning, but the fermentation has been going strong so I'm not too worried about that.

Opinions? Suggestions?

What is going on in your primary that keeps everything from settling out? It sounds like extra work to put it in a secondary for only 2 days. I use a secondary but that's so I can get my next batch started.

right off hand i would say follow the instructions. for once they aren't trying to rush the brewer. letting it sit for 4 weeks is a good idea. there is no need to rack to a secondary for only 2 days. just go from the primary to the bottling bucket to the bottle. let it sit in the bottle for as long as you can stand it.

AABassMaster said:

I have been reading about yeast and I'm leaning towards letting the primary go on for up to 4 weeks, then racking it for 2 days in a secondary to settle it, then bottling for 2 weeks.

Opinions? Suggestions?

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If you are doing a long primary for four weeks, there is absolutely no reason for the racking to secondary for 2 days step.

After four weeks you just bottle. The point of the long primary is to clear your beer and let the yeast clean up afterthemselves.

And as for bottling for two weeks;

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.

And even carbonation doesn't mean that they will not still be green and need more time to condition....

Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."

My thinking for the 2 day secondary (I was thinking bottling bucket and secondary were the same thing. I bought a lid for my bottling bucket) was to let any extra sediment that got into the siphon to settle before I bottle. 4 weeks in primary, 2 days in secondary/bottling bucket, then bottle. As far as the time in the bottle goes... I will try one bottle after 2 weeks, then 1 per week after that (just to test) until it has carbed up.

Thank you for the advice guys.

your siphon (hopefully an auto-siphon) should have a little cup at the end that will keep it from sucking the trub off the button of the primary. anything you do suck up will be minimal at best, just be careful you don't stir up the sediment at the bottom of the primary. if you do just let it sit while you clean and sanitize your bottling equipment.

I don't have an auto siphon yet, but I'm going to get one this weekend. Got the primary on a table and I'm gonna siphon down to the floor. No problems there. Thanks Tipsy.