Secondary Too Soon????

[Joey Ramone]

What harm can transferring to a secondary too soon do? My final gravity was supposed to be 1.010-1.016 and it was 1.025. I put it into a secondary with an airlock. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! WHAT TO DO?

 

[jpuf]

I would just let it be... But if you're really concerned about it, you could add some yeast to get it to finish. My guess is if you leave it alone it'll be fine.
Good luck

 

[homebrewer_99]

It already sounds like you are too impatient. Right off the bat I will tell you that if that is the case you will brew only BAD beer.

Beer does not care about your schedule. Fermentation takes place in its own time. There is nothing you can do to speed up this process. In essence, any tweaking you do will only ruin the beer.

1. Buy a book on brewing and READ IT!!!

2. Buy and learn how to use a hydrometer.

3. Do not transfer your beer until the OG drops 75%. As in your case, your beer is not done fermenting and you just removed it from a whole bunch of yeast that were still hungry for the malt sugar.

4. A primary is for fermenting. Do not prepare to rack it until it's done...then add another week.

5. A secondary is for clearing. If you use one...add a week to whatever schedule you want to use and your beer will improve.

...and welcome!

 

[Joey Ramone]

Thanks JPUF for the POSITIVE FEEDBACK!! Thanks for not scolding me for making a mistake. I am sure that i am not the only one that has made a mistake brewing!!!!!

 

[Joey Ramone]

Thanks for the positive feedback! I will let it go for a while and take a S.G. in another week or two and determine whether or not i should add yeast! But adding yeast would not hurt anyways?

 

[homebrewer_99]

Thanks for the positive feedback! I will let it go for a while and take a S.G. in another week or two and determine whether or not i should add yeast! But adding yeast would not hurt anyways?

I don't think you'll need to add more yeast. Just let it sit for a couple of weeks to ferment all the way out.

Since you did rack too soon you'll probably need to rack it to another fermentor for clearing.

 

[grasshopper1917]

Just leaver er - you beer will be ok - just in the furutre leave it in primary a weee bit longer

 

[Kai]

On the other hand, if you had a stuck fermentation and the yeast had fallen out of suspension, the agitation of racking might have actually kicked them back into gear to finish the job. How well did you aerate before pitching the yeast?

That said, I've found it's almost always best to leave things undisturbed and let the beer take care of itself. It's good at it.

EDIT: Your beer will still be fine.

 

[david_42]

What harm? Because you took the beer off of the yeast (or at least most of it), reaching the target gravity will take much longer. Slow ferments can change the flavor profile in SOME styles. Adding more yeast won't hurt, but you should use a neutral dry yeast.

 

[jpuf]

Thanks JPUF for the POSITIVE FEEDBACK!! Thanks for not scolding me for making a mistake. I am sure that i am not the only one that has made a mistake brewing!!!!!

Trust me Joey, we've all screwed up, the good thing is, this site allows us to learn from each others mistakes. Lord knows we won't live long enough to make them all ourselves.