Checking if I should move to the secondary

[newbeerpig]

I have my first batch of brew in the primary and it was a kit from the lHBS. It is supposed to be an ale version of Negro Model, I followed the recipe I was given and it came out with a decent OG of 1.050 which was right in line with the recipe albeit on the higher side of their scale. The yeast with the kit was dry safbrew s-33 so I rehydrated before pitching and pitched at 80* and then continued to ferment at 64 to 66. The batch took off like crazy and bubbled away for 18 hours then stopped, a week later I am getting the same gravity readings of 1.021 two days in a row while the kit said 1.010 - 1.014 for FG. I am wondering if I should rack to a secondary for clearing and bottle with a little less priming sugar or should I do something else with it to kick start the yeast. I wouldn't ask except this is my first batch and I am a little green at this no pun intended. Also are there anythings I should do differently in the future to avoid yeast production slowing or stopping? I know a lot of questions but I have them none the same.

Also I have tasted a little bit and it is really not bad, the hops gave a decent bitter taste and it is not extremely sweet although I can taste just a hint of sweetness in the back ground, not enough to turn me away from it.

 

[JoeMama]

I would say leave it in the primary for at least another week before you touch it again. If you cant wait - check your grav readings tomorrow and if its the same 3 days in a row then it should be safe to transfer.
-Me

 

[Shawn Hargreaves]

I would wait at least another week, ideally two, then bottle. Even if the gravity readings have stopped changing, waiting a little longer will only improve the taste of the final product.

You may be able to get it to ferment down a little further by increasing the temperature to 70 or so, and gently swirling the fermenter to get the yeast sediment back into suspension. You should wait no matter what, though: one week is too soon to move out of primary.

 

[newbeerpig]

Is 70 a little high? I have read some reports saying low and slow is better although my next batch is a hefenweizen which I believe are supposed to ferment a little warmer. If the yeast are a little asleep will I have enough for carbonation?

 

[JoeMama]

Well keep in mind that the fermentation process raises the brew a couple of degrees higher than is stated on the therm. I would say that lower temps are better because at worst you (may) cause the yeast to go dormant. Too high of a temp and you can kill them.

Dormant yeast can be ressurected - dead ones cant... Unless you are a yeast necromancer.
-Me

 

[taylornate]

I would wait at least another week, one week is too soon to move out of primary.

What happens in the primary that does not happen in the secondary?

edit: To clarify, what would be the consequence of racking to secondary too soon?

 

[Shawn Hargreaves]

The main point of racking to secondary is that it leaves most of the yeast behind in the sediment at the bottom of the primary fermenter. This is a good thing if you want to get rid of those yeast, but not if they still have work to do.

Racking too soon (I would say any earlier than two weeks is too soon for sure) will give the yeast less chance to clean up their fermentation byproducts.

In fact, for the vast majority of homebrew, I think secondary is a waste of time. Just leave it in the primary for three weeks, then go straight to bottles. The secondary doesn't really give you anything useful, and the extra racking just increases the chances for infection or oxygenation. The less times you touch the beer, the less chance for something to go wrong!

Secondary is really only important in a few specialized cases:

- If you are going to dry hop
- For very strong beers that need many months of aging
- When lagering

 

[ifishsum]

Warming it up to 70 degrees now should not affect the flavor profile, and just might give the yeast enough oomph to finish up your beer. You've got nothing to lose and everything to gain by warming it up to 68-70 for a week before going to secondary, because once you rack it off the yeast it's unlikely to drop any further.

I routinely ferment my ales at 62-65 degrees, then after 4-5 days when they've slowed way down I'll bump them up to 68-70 to help them finish. I firmly believe that the flavor of the beer is pretty much set by then and won't be affected by a small increase in temperature.

 

[newbeerpig]

Warming it up to 70 degrees now should not affect the flavor profile, and just might give the yeast enough oomph to finish up your beer. You've got nothing to lose and everything to gain by warming it up to 68-70 for a week before going to secondary, because once you rack it off the yeast it's unlikely to drop any further.

I routinely ferment my ales at 62-65 degrees, then after 4-5 days when they've slowed way down I'll bump them up to 68-70 to help them finish. I firmly believe that the flavor of the beer is pretty much set by then and won't be affected by a small increase in temperature.

So I just moved my bucket o juice to my holding cell under the stairs which is keeping my Apfelwein between 68 and 70 so hopefully that will let it go. I also was not overly careful moving the bucket hoping that a little agitation might get the little yeasties going again. I was careful not to splash anything in the bucket as to keep from aerating and killing the flavor that has made it this far. Now we wait again, I am going to wait till next weekend to pull a sample and see if we got anywhere.