1st batch.. Look at the Sediment..

I just put my first batch in the primary last night.. sweet love she is bubbling like crazy.. There is sediment in there getting tossed every which way... I am noticing that there are traces of hops in the foam on top.. I hope this will end up going to the bottom.. Going to suck to transfer that in my secondary.. I was thinking can I run my auto siphon through a strainer before going into the secondary to eliminate all of the sediment? Just curious on what you guys do when you see a ton of sediment in the primary.. Is there a screen or something that i can put in the bottling bucket to keep this from entering the bottling phase.. Thanks for all of your help..

I wouldn't care about anything in the primary on the first couple of days...
Thats how beer ferments... It'll settle down to the bottom. Just enjoy watching.

its pretty sweet. All that stuff in there going nuts.. It kinda looks pissed off. love it.. but it makes you wonder about it getting in your bottle..

No wondering at all. Let it sit for 3 weeks, everything will settle. Keep your siphon suspended so it's not sitting on the bottom and your good to go.

The yeast will flocculate (drop out of suspension) once it's finishing munching away on all the sugars. It will clear up just fine, don't worry. All you will need to do to avoid the trub (sediment layer on the bottom) when the time comes is to keep the pickup of your syphon just off the bottom.

Congrats on the first batch!

if you're REALLy concerned, read about secondaries. But let it sit for a bit and you'll see it all settle down.

Don't go gray over getting some gunk in your bottles. Avoiding it completely would mean wasting a good bit of beer. Leave the last little bit in the bottle when pouring and just drink that sip from the bottle if you don't want to see it in your glass.

My dog will sit for hours & watch my primaries work. I even catch myself watching from time to time.

Give it time, all will settle to the bottom & you will have clear beer.

Relax. Dont worry.

zac said:

My dog will sit for hours & watch my primaries work. I even catch myself watching from time to time.

Give it time, all will settle to the bottom & you will have clear beer.

Relax. Dont worry.

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From time to time? I go have visits with mine (I have 4 primaries and 2 secondaries working) several times a day. Ostensibly to check on blow off tubes and bubbles in the airlock, etc. (Really I'm doing nothing of use but it is either that or keep buying more and more primaries to do more batches.)

I love bottling day because that means I will be able to brew again soon.

I'm hoping this obsessive phase will be over soon. I have done 15 batches in the last 8 weeks. I only have three batches that are drinkable - and one of those is one mini-keg from being gone. I keep telling my wife that as soon as the pipeline is full and I have done each style that I want to get done then it will settle down, but I doubt this will be the case. And she knows me I just don't do things non-obsessively. I have a batch of Witbier conditioning in the bottle and I really want to do a AG variation of it to compare and contrast.

To the OP, my strong recommendation is to get at least enough equipment to do two batches at once. If you don't you will only have this one batch to obsess over. If you have two you can spread the questions and worries over both batches.

dontman said:

To the OP, my strong recommendation is to get at least enough equipment to do two batches at once. If you don't you will only have this one batch to obsess over. If you have two you can spread the questions and worries over both batches.

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I never thought about how true this is, but having a new batch every week or two really helps me to allow other batches the time they need. Otherwise I constantly have to fight the urge to fiddle somehow with a batch that really just needs to sit quietly.

Secondary racking can help, or if you have the fridge space, cold crash the fermentor for a few days at a low temp (high 30's*... anyone please correct me if I am off base on this one) prior to racking / bottling... That will also help get some stuff to drop out...

good luck

I want to point out that this is his "first" batch.
I wouldn't worry about secondaries, racking, gel, or anything else at this point.
just wait it out, make your beer, and THEN worry about tweaking.
You'll be amazed by how much nature does on its own.

kahunaman said:

I want to point out that this is his "first" batch.
I wouldn't worry about secondaries, racking, gel, or anything else at this point.
just wait it out, make your beer, and THEN worry about tweaking.
You'll be amazed by how much nature does on its own.

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This is what I was thinking. Once I learned the patience to wait long enough the beer just sitting around for a few weeks did everything that all of these steps listed do.

A couple days ago I bottled a batch that was perfectly clear. I mean as clear as any BMC you see in a bottle. It was this clear as it was going into the bottle. Both of my beers in secondary look just this one.

good points.. I am going to do a secondary though.. I hope that the secondary will help clear up the beer(so i have read) Alot of good knowledge out of this thread for me.. thanks a bunch guys..

Kplum said:

good points.. I am going to do a secondary though.. I hope that the secondary will help clear up the beer(so i have read) Alot of good knowledge out of this thread for me.. thanks a bunch guys..

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Without commercial filtering systems, the real way to get clearer beer is TIME.

-kap

When I first started, I'd check the carboys hourly, the lagers I have going now have been down there for almost 2 months & I've only checked the airlocks for solution a time or two. The fascination wears off, but I still do keep something upstairs to watch. Right now it's SNPA, but its been in for a month now, so not much activity.

I always brew when I bottle. It works out just about perfect. I start the bottles in the dishwasher when I get up. By the time I start the fly sparge, the bottles are ready to be filled. Usually start filling bottles, and have enough time to be done well before the sparge is done. Then clean up bottling mess & carboy/bucket at the start of the boil. Also clean out mash tun during the boil. That way, when I pitch, all I have left to clean up is the brew-pot & the IC. It all works. I've done up to 4 batches in a day with no real "rush" problems, except for right when I start.