Quick temprate question, and promary/secondary question.

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Cazamodo

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2009
Messages
227
Reaction score
2
Location
Ipswich UK
Hey,


My first all-grain is a double chocolate oatmeal stout has been in the primary since the beginning of October. It is in a slightly insulated shed in the garden, and the wall thermometer (not very accurate I''m sure) has been reading between 13-19'C, I think is around 55-66'F. What kind of problem will this give me? I made a small starter, and the airlock bubbled for only around two days (not a good way to see if fermentation is complete I know) I have not checked OG yet but will when the 4 weeks of primary is up. Also I had terrible efficiency, so missed my OG by loads, it was only around .058, when meant to be almost .065.


My second question, the recipe calls for a vanilla pod added at secondary. I see a lot of posts saying a secondary is not usually needed.
What's to stop me adding the vanilla pod to primary and leaving it in there for another week before bottling?
 
The only think I would be concerned with is the temp being too cool for the yeast. Likely won't be any off flavors, but if its aroung 55f then the yeast might stall. If it says around 66f then its probably good. The best way to tell if it fermented out correctly is to take a gravity reading. If you're between 1.010 and 1.020 its probably ok. Otherwise you can warm it up a bit, give it a stir with a sanitized spoon or warm it up and consider pitching some fresh yeast.

It depends on how long you're leaving it in the primary. You likely won't see any bad results as long as you're under a month or so. The issue is that you want to separate the beer from the dead yeast and proteins and such that settle out. If you leave it in there too long you can get off flavors. So if your total time in the primary is a month or less I'd say you're ok. Although you will always get a clearer beer with a secondary.
 
Ahh cool, Well it went in primary october the 2nd! I think i may secondary it.

Its even colder now, and i finally took a grav reading which was .021, so i think its not finished. If i warm this will the yeast revive? or will i need to re-pitch. Also i sampled my hydrometer sample, and it smells great, tastes good, alot smoother than i thought, could this be due to the fact i missed my OG by about 20 points, and instead of a 070 beer i got a 050 beer.
 
It's hard to tell. Sometimes warming it up and giving it a good stir is good, sometimes you need fresh yeast. If you have time I'd probably warm it up first and see how that goes. Let it sit around the mid sixties for a few days and take another gravity reading. If you don't have any luck there pitch some more yeast.
 
Did you have an accurate temperature of your gravity sample?

If so and it tastes OK to you then I would go ahead and throw it in the secondary with the vanilla and let it go until bottling/kegging time!!
Secondaries are really best for adding fruit/spices/dry hopping or for lagering so if you are adding the vanilla then a scondary is the best choice!!

Of course this is all my opinion, good luck and let us know how it turns out!
 
Back
Top