too much wasted beer during Secondary Carboy

[somecallmetex]

I just finished my transfering my first batch of home brew to the secondary carboy. I followed the instructions and stopped siphoning when it started stirring up "white yeast eddies", but I feel that I left way too much beer in the primary (maybe a half gallon). I thought about trying for more,but when I started the siphon again I got tons of sediment getting sucked up and decided stop. What do I need to do differently next time not to waste so much?

 

[cheezydemon3]

PHUCK THAT!!!!!

I take all but the slime stuck to the bottom. You will transfer once more, DON'T WASTE BEER!!!!!!!!!

 

[McGarnigle]

I always get a good amount of "waste" at the bottom; I think it's hard to avoid.

Different strains of yeast flocculate better than others, which may be a factor. Also, when did you move your fermenter the your racking spot? I try to move it in advance so as not to shake things up at the last minute.

 

[JesseRC]

That's why I only do primary and cold crash for 2 weeks. I get almost no yeast pickup or movement and clear beer.:rockin:

 

[somecallmetex]

I always get a good amount of "waste" at the bottom; I think it's hard to avoid.

Different strains of yeast flocculate better than others, which may be a factor. Also, when did you move your fermenter the your racking spot? I try to move it in advance so as not to shake things up at the last minute.

I moved it about 30 minutes in advance (giving me time to open a beer, sanatize, and review the instructions). I was going off of this video for how much waste I should have had (skip to about 5:15). I had WAY more than that wasted.



I would try leaving it in the primary and cold crashing, but I am guessing I don't have the equipment for that.

 

[Mattingly]

Make sure to take a book or something and put it under one side of the carboy, so that its tipped. This helps all the liquid drain to one side for easier siphoning.

 

[McGarnigle]

In that video, his yeast looks very well compacted at the bottom. My experience isn't always like that, though I don't think it's a half gallon as you say. I often move my pail to its spot the night before, though maybe that's overkill.

If your bucket bottom was very loose, you could have transferred a lot of the muddy liquid. Note that he's going to a bottling bucket, but you were going to secondary, and thus had another crack at letting the yeast sediment fall out.

 

[weirdboy]

Make sure to take a book or something and put it under one side of the carboy, so that its tipped. This helps all the liquid drain to one side for easier siphoning.

Yeah, this. I stick a pair of shoes under the side of the bucket to tilt it up on one corner to get more liquid out. Also the yeast strain really makes a big difference. Some strains end up with a "powdery" residue that easily stirs up, and others, like S-04, flocculate really well to a compact, almost gelatin-like layer and don't stir up much, if at all.

 

[somecallmetex]

I used Munton's dry yeast

 

[ajf]

Make sure to take a book or something and put it under one side of the carboy, so that its tipped. This helps all the liquid drain to one side for easier siphoning.

That's what I do. Makes a tremendous difference

-a.

 

[somecallmetex]

That's what I do. Makes a tremendous difference

-a.

I tried that, but only after I started getting the yeast kicked up. I'll try it sooner next time (or at the very start)

 

[iron_city_ap]

If you tilt the bucket right at the start, the yeast from the high end of the bucket will have time to slide to the low end. Assuming it isn't caked real solid. Kinda defeats the purpose. I would wait till you have about a gallon or so left. That way you will get more beer and less trub.

The other thing is move the bucket to where you are going to do the transfer at least the night before. Depending on where you do this at you may want to cover the primary with a towel. Where I do my transferring gets a good amount of sunlight, so I cover it. Naturally you probably don't want to let it sit where it will get either too hot or too cold. That would be bad too.

 

[cheezydemon3]

If you saved all of that, pitch new wort on it!!!!

 

[geebert74]

Don't they call that alcohol abuse???

 

[Bobby_M]

When you start the siphon, have the cane down at the bottom/side. When you have about 1/2 gallon left, prop the other side of the vessel up so the beer pools at the siphon. You might get a small amount of sediment into the next vessel but so what.

 

[somecallmetex]

That's what my brother told me to try next time. I may also upgrade my yeast in future batches, I figure it wasn't worth worrying about my first few times.

 

[somecallmetex]

Thanks for the advice everyone. My second racking attempt went very well and I transfered almost all the beer and left most of the ... garbage (can't think of the real name right now) in the primary.