Looking for Clarification

Clarification on clarification that is. My first brew is now 11 days old and I'm not sure it's settling out.

It's a British Pale Ale from an extract kit. As I posted before I boiled, cooled and pitched then moved to glass secondary two days later. SG dropped to 1.009 so it's down fermenting, just a slow trickle of bubbles around the neck of the carboy.

The brew darkened over the first few days in glass as some of the sediment settled out but I haven't seen noticable change over the last few days. Don't worry, I'm not planning on bottling 'til next Saturday which will be the three week mark, and cloudy or not I will be consuming the whole batch.

I'm right in thinking I shouldn't add anything or fuss with it? I think I'll start to use Irish Moss with my next attempt. I plan on moving it to the bottling station (kitchen counter) the day before to allow whatever I disturb to settle but if it's settling this slowly now I don't see how a day will be enough.

BTW, whoever said that sniffing the airlock never gets old is totally on the mark. Where do I get a Pale Ale air freshener?????

GP

you could try cold crashing it in a fridge to get better clarification, but I wouldn't worry about it..


my only concern is your practice of pitching and then racking 2 days later! please don't do that!

I've used Whirlfloc Tablets with great success. Beer is crystal clear since I have added it to the boil.

so it's down fermenting, just a slow trickle of bubbles around the neck of the carboy.

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Actually it's still fermenting and I would wait at least a week before moving it to anything.

BUT 0- to get back to your question - I would not worry about it this time.

BerserkerBrew said:

my only concern is your practice of pitching and then racking 2 days later! please don't do that!

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+1 billion
Where did this idea come from? Fermenting takes much more then 2 days, and a secondary is for clarification only when talking about simple beers. Lots don't even bother.

Good idea on the settling before bottling, but keep in mind. You won't be bottling from that bucket. Well I guess that depends on how you plan to carb. Tablets or racking sugar water into bucket then transferring beer on top. The latter will give you the most consistent carbonation and is alot less of a PITA than dropping tablets into each bottle x50

I boil of my amount of corn sugar to use in about a cup of water for about 10 minutes, let it cool somewhat as to not melt the bottling bucket, pour into bucket, then rack beer on top. This give a nice mixing of the sugar into the beer for uniform carbing. I then let it sit (with suran wrap over it ) during the time it takes to rack over, and get my bottles and caps sanitized and organize. This is usually enough time for any sediment left over to settle out. Most of it is left in the primary or secondary when transferring to bottling bucket.

Grinder12000 said:

I've used Whirlfloc Tablets with great success. Beer is crystal clear since I have added it to the boil.



Actually it's still fermenting and I would wait at least a week before moving it to anything.

BUT 0- to get back to your question - I would not worry about it this time.

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The bubbles very well could be just CO2 coming out of solution or releasing from the trub. If the hydrometer says 1.009 i think you're safe to bottle. I wouldn't bother fussing with this one to get clarity, use irish moss or whirlfloc next time in the boil. Are you planning on transferring it to a bottling bucket?

BerserkerBrew said:

my only concern is your practice of pitching and then racking 2 days later! please don't do that!

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Yeah, i wouldn't call it a "practice" since it's my first brew. I already figured out from this forum that I jumped to quick on that one. The recipe said to transfer after the head of foam subsided which was on day 2. I promise never to do it again, cross my heart and hope to drink only Budweiser.

IrregularPulse said:

Good idea on the settling before bottling, but keep in mind. You won't be bottling from that bucket.

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I know I will be transferring back to what was my primary with the priming sugar. My point was that if I have sediment so fine it takes weeks to settle out will it re-settle in a day after i move the carboy.

Thanks for all the advice, including the stuff I've gleaned from reading about others "first times". This is a very cool forum.

Cheers

GP

GroovePuppy said:

Yeah, i wouldn't call it a "practice" since it's my first brew. I already figured out from this forum that I jumped to quick on that one. The recipe said to transfer after the head of foam subsided which was on day 2. I promise never to do it again, cross my heart and hope to drink only Budweiser.

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Ok.... good. phew!

GroovePuppy said:

I know I will be transferring back to what was my primary with the priming sugar. My point was that if I have sediment so fine it takes weeks to settle out will it re-settle in a day after i move the carboy.

Thanks for all the advice, including the stuff I've gleaned from reading about others "first times". This is a very cool forum.

Cheers

GP

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Don't worry. A lot of the trub won't get disturbed when you move it. It is not like you will be moving it to the counter balanced on a pogo stick. Very little will get disturbed, and it will mostly stay in the first few inches anyway. It will settle back within a day.

Also, once you have bottled and carbed it, you will (I presume) put the bottles in the fridge before consuming. This will cold crash any sediment in the bottle so that when you pour it into the glass it will be very clear. just dont pour the last 1/4" or so.

BerserkerBrew said:

A lot of the trub won't get disturbed when you move it. It is not like you will be moving it to the counter balanced on a pogo stick.

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Well obviously! <surreptitiously kicks pogo stick behind sofa>

BerserkerBrew said:

Also, once you have bottled and carbed it, you will (I presume) put the bottles in the fridge before consuming. This will cold crash any sediment in the bottle so that when you pour it into the glass it will be very clear. just dont pour the last 1/4" or so.

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That sounds like good advice. I should still wait 'til the end of week three to bottle though?

On a side note, there seems to be a huge amount of water waste in the brewing process between cleaning, sanitizing and chilling. Now I have to throw away the last 1/4" of each bottle.

GroovePuppy said:

On a side note, there seems to be a huge amount of water waste in the brewing process between cleaning, sanitizing and chilling. Now I have to throw away the last 1/4" of each bottle.

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Feel free to drink all of it. Just be forewarned of the consquences!

The longer you wait, the clearer your beer will be (and usually better tasting as it ages in the carboy). If you racked it after only 2 days of fermentation, I'd leave it in secondary a minimum of two weeks to age and clear (3 if you're patient enough). You'll get less sediment in your bottles.

Once you prime and bottle it, be sure to give it 3 weeks at room temperature before chilling so it can get fully carbed and conditioned. Then refrigerate it for at least a couple of days before drinking. It really does make a world of difference in the taste. Of course there's nothing wrong with trying a bottle or two a little early, and I bet you'll notice the difference between the first bottles you try and the last ones.