Should I rack to secondary?

[mtcowboy77]

I have a couple of questions about my first brew that I've done. It's a whiskey barrel stout from a kit by Brewers Best.
First of all, I ended up checking my gravity 3 days in (described in a previous post) because it didn't seem as if anything was even happening. As I'm sure you can guess, it was indeed doing what it was supposed to do. The gravity came out at 1.022 at that time. The original was 1.061. I tasted the sample (of course!) and it definitely tasted like beer, but the flavor profile seemed a bit dull. Still tasty, but kinda dull. So I closed it all up and continued waiting...

Fast forward to yesterday...it's been 8 days since I began fermentation. I decided to check the gravity again due to what the instructions said. This time the sample came out at 1.021. Not much change...however, the flavor profile was much better this time. It had a much bolder roast flavor to it, with a slight hint of the chocolate and caramel. YUM.

What I'm wondering about is the gravity. As you can tell it only changed .001 over a 5 day period. The temperature has been a consistent 63 degrees and the suggested FG is 1.016 - 1.019. Even though the reading I got is just outside of the suggested range, given the fact that it really hasn't changed over 5 days, should I consider it done fermenting?

Now for the next question. The next step says to rack to secondary and soak it with the supplied whiskey barrel oak chips for 3-4 weeks. 1) Is it necessary to rack to secondary for this or would it be fine leaving it in the primary? 2) Does 3-4 weeks sound like an appropriate time, or should I make it longer? Shorter?

 

[Yooper]

I have a couple of questions about my first brew that I've done. It's a whiskey barrel stout from a kit by Brewers Best.
First of all, I ended up checking my gravity 3 days in (described in a previous post) because it didn't seem as if anything was even happening. As I'm sure you can guess, it was indeed doing what it was supposed to do. The gravity came out at 1.022 at that time. The original was 1.061. I tasted the sample (of course!) and it definitely tasted like beer, but the flavor profile seemed a bit dull. Still tasty, but kinda dull. So I closed it all up and continued waiting...

Fast forward to yesterday...it's been 8 days since I began fermentation. I decided to check the gravity again due to what the instructions said. This time the sample came out at 1.021. Not much change...however, the flavor profile was much better this time. It had a much bolder roast flavor to it, with a slight hint of the chocolate and caramel. YUM.

What I'm wondering about is the gravity. As you can tell it only changed .001 over a 5 day period. The temperature has been a consistent 63 degrees and the suggested FG is 1.016 - 1.019. Even though the reading I got is just outside of the suggested range, given the fact that it really hasn't changed over 5 days, should I consider it done fermenting?

Now for the next question. The next step says to rack to secondary and soak it with the supplied whiskey barrel oak chips for 3-4 weeks. 1) Is it necessary to rack to secondary for this or would it be fine leaving it in the primary? 2) Does 3-4 weeks sound like an appropriate time, or should I make it longer? Shorter?

It sounds done. You're only .002 over a projected FG, and I've had more than one extract batch stop at 1.020. Three to four more weeks sounds like a long time in the primary, due to all the headspace if you're using a bucket, but it should be ok. I'd probably rack to a secondary in this case, so that the oak doesn't just settle down in the trub and stay covered with yeast, even though I rarely use a secondary for most beers.

 

[RM-MN]

It sounds done. You're only .002 over a projected FG, and I've had more than one extract batch stop at 1.020. Three to four more weeks sounds like a long time in the primary, due to all the headspace if you're using a bucket, but it should be ok. I'd probably rack to a secondary in this case, so that the oak doesn't just settle down in the trub and stay covered with yeast, even though I rarely use a secondary for most beers.

I don't use oak in my brewing but the oak lumber I make floats.

 

[mtcowboy77]

That's pretty much what I was thinking too. I was planning on racking but wanted some other opinions first. The other vessel I have is another bucket of the same size though (6.5 gal). What kind of effect would the extra headspace have on the chip soaking?
I would like to just go get a 5 gal carboy for this, but just in case I can't I want to make sure it will still work out good.

 

[JustLooking]

That's pretty much what I was thinking too.

You would be thinking wrong (both of you). Once the chips soak up beer they will sink to the bottom where, as Yooper said, they will settle into the trub.

 

[mtcowboy77]

I don't use oak in my brewing but the oak lumber I make floats.

^^^THAT'S not what I was thinking. I was referring to what Yooper said. I just didn't get my reply in before that one came in.

 

[Ole_Smoky]

I just bottled this kit 3 weeks ago. I did the 7 days primary then racked to secondary onto the oak chips, I soaked the chips overnight in bourbon first and just added it all into the carboy. Quite the beer now! Very good, little bit of a kick at first but it keeps getting smoother the long it sits.

 

[Nerosync]

I have made the exact same kit. I soaked my boiled oak chips in bourbon for 2 days prior to racking the stout on top of them into a secondary after 7days. I then let it sit in the secondary with the oak chips for 14days and then bottled it. I like a stronger bourbon flavor and when testing it while bottling it tasted amazing. Its now been in bottles for 2wks and I have not tried one of them yet as I have been waiting for it to carb and condition.

 

[Ole_Smoky]

How much bourbon did you use nerosync? I pretty much did the exact same except I didn't boil the chips and I had it in secondary for 4 weeks. 16 oz of bourbon was pretty good I think!!

 

[Nerosync]

I went on the light side this time as I didn't want to over power the 5gal batch with too strong of a bourbon flavor, so I only used what enough to cover the oak chips while they soaked which was close to 4oz. Can't wait to taste it once its carbed and has conditioned. By far my fav style of brew

 

[mtcowboy77]

That's sounds like a great idea, using the bourbon. I think I might try that. So, Nerosync, did you just add the bourbon to the water that the chips we're boiled in, or did you drain the water off first?