I am Pumped

[gordoshawt]

Got my first home brew in the fermenter Saturday afternoon. I can't wait to move it next Saturday to my secondary.

When I am siphoning to my carboy, I guess it is ok to take the top off the fermenter to start my siphon? How does oxygen not get to the wort if i take the top off the bucket?

 

[moosetav]

You have to take it off to get the racking cane in there. Make the transition as smooth as possible, don't slosh the beer around, and you'll be fine. That'll be really limited exposure to the oxygen.

 

[whatisitgoodfor]

It's probably best for you to skip the secondary. The only time I'd go for the secondary is when you're adding flavoring to the beer (fruit, dry hops, etc.) and even then it's usually ok to do that in the primary after fermentation is mostly finished.

 

[Hammy71]

Going to secondary is a common and safe practice used for generations. Anyway....your beer has a layer of CO2 on top of it and protects it form oxygen. As long as you don't go sloshing around, the exposure to the oxygen will be minimal if at all.

 

[PatMac]

What type of beer is it? I second the notion of skipping the secondary. Just let it sit in the primary for a few weeks and that will get you a really clean flavor. The secondary is often only used for additional ingredients or extremely long fermentation periods.

 

[ISLAGI]

Congratulations Gordo and welcome to the obsession!

You may want to consider leaving your beer in the primary for 3 weeks, and only use a secondary if you are adding fruit or dryhopping. While the beer will probably be very near the final gravity in a week, most of us give the yeasties a couple of extra weeks to clean up after themselves.

Denny put together a good first read thread here :Denny's quick and dirty FAQ

Take a look at that, and also http://www.howtobrew.com/, a great online freesource.

Enjoy!

 

[gordoshawt]

Thanks. I have an American Blondie going. The only reason I want to rack to a secondary is because I want a good clear color, and really I just want to see the siphon work.

If I skip the secondary, will it effect the color since this is a lighter ale?

Thanks for helping the new guy.

 

[MrInternet]

Thanks. I have an American Blondie going. The only reason I want to rack to a secondary is because I want a good clear color, and really I just want to see the siphon work.

If I skip the secondary, will it effect the color since this is a lighter ale?

Thanks for helping the new guy.

Your beer will clear as a function of TIME, not primary/secondary, in most cases. The only reason it it sometimes easier to let it clear in secondary is that you're getting it off of the "first wave" of trub... hop sludge, grain dust, yeast cake, etc. However, if you let it all sit in primary for a few weeks, the cake will compact and the beer will clear anyway. Either way, better to develop your skill/eye at siphoning and not disturbing the trub than worry about racking to secondary... with a blonde ale, you'll have minimal trub anyway, I'd leave it sit in primary and rack to your bottling bucket after 3-4 weeks and call it a day.

There are a lot of great discussions on here as to what secondary fermentation really is... it's not really "fermentation" the way most people do it. Search things like "gelatin", "finings", and "cold crash" if you want to read some other great discussions about how to clear your beer for a more polished finished product.

 

[gordoshawt]

I appreciate all the help. I am supposed to be working right now, but with all the good info on here I may not be able to find the time to.