Some general beer questions

Just a couple of questions about brewing and such. I've read about the 1-2-3 method. Just so I understand correctly what we're talking about its primary fermentor for 1 week, then secondary fermentor for 2 weeks, finally bottles for 3 weeks. Is that correct? When you go from primary to secondary, is this a simple transfer of everything or are you just moving the liquid and not all the sludge that sits in the bottom of the primary? Do you add the priming sugar mixture to the secondary or does that still wait until bottling time?

Some specific questions: I tasted my first home brewed beer today (a double IPA). It was tasty buy had a very strong caramel taste and smell to it. After a little searching I think I may have scorched the malt extract when I added it to the wort. Would this give it a caramel smell and flavor? Anything else that could possible give it this flavor?

Transferring my second batch of beer (a stout this time), from the fermentor to my bottling bucket (yeah no 1-2-3 method yet), I happened to taste a bit of it and was disappointed with it's very light body. Will it "thicken" up some as it sits in the bottles? Is there anything specifically designed to thicken a beer's body up?

Yes 123 is as you stated.

Priming sugar is boiled and added at bottling.

Caramel flavor can come from scortching malt, but it can also be intentional from adding crystal malt in various forms.

I personally love a slight caramel flavor in my IPA's.

No there was no cyrstal malts added must have been the sorching. I liked the flavor too, just wondering if that is what caused it so I can do that again.

So what does a secondary fermentor do exactly?

It doesn't ferment unless you add more fermentables.
The term is misused. In the majority of cases it is a conditioning vessel.

Take a look at the sticky at the top of the forum.

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When I first started brewing, I thought all of my beers sucked. As I got more patient, my beers got better. Problem is, they were good all along. I was just judging them too early; flat, slightly conditioned, etc..

Whenever I dug one of the last ones in the batch out of my hiding place, they were great because they were given the necessary time to become great.

Just as a note: The 1-2-3 method should only be used when you are positive that fermentation is complete at the end of that first week. The only way to know this is measurement via a hydrometer over the course of a couple of days. If the reading doesn't change, then it is done. Don't judge activity by the airlock, and don't move a beer too early because "the recipe said so" or something along those lines.

I generally keep beers in primary for 3 weeks, not disturbing them. That way, I'm extremely confident that fermentation is complete before transfer of any type.

so 1 week or three days with the same hydrometer reading, gotcha. Anyone know if the stout will get thicker with time?

SewerRanger said:

so 1 week or three days with the same hydrometer reading, gotcha. Anyone know if the stout will get thicker with time?

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It should, chances are you are just drinking a pretty green beer. I had one of my brews that had been in the bottle for only week just last night. It too was pretty thin with verry little mouth feel. From what I have read it should get better with age!

next time you brew you can add malto dextrin to give it more body/mouth feel