2 Quick Questions

[Oakkin]

Working on my second batch ever.

1. My basement is 66 degrees. The kit says to keep in primary fermenter for 4-7 days depending on room temp, before moving to secondary. The colder the room the longer or?

2. When I poured the wort into primary fermenter it was very foamy. I poured the dry yeast on top but some of it ended up clinging to the sides of the fermenter because of all the suds (not a big amount but some). Now im worried there isn't enough yeast in the wort. In the future should i scrape any stuck to the sides into the wort after the foam resides?

Thanks!

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

1) The easy answer is "it's ready when it's ready." After about 10 days I'll take a hydrometer reading, then take it again a few days later. If it's the same over the course of a few days, it's ready to go. If you were closer to 60F I'd say it'll take a few more days but it should take about the same amount of time at 68F as it would at "room temperature"

2) You should be fine for this batch. I normally only sprinkle mine in the center and don't really go on the sides and it turns out fine. Unless you really have a lot clung to the sides (and it would have to be a lot) you should be fine.

Congrats on your second batch!

 

[vgmohag]

I leave mine in the primary 3-4 weeks before packaging. Yours will be fine. I would do some searching on 'fermentation temp control' and also search this forum for 'swamp cooler'. 68 ambient is not out of the question.. your beer will taste better if you can cool it off just a few more degrees.

 

[Rob2010SS]

I would follow @Cheesy_Goodness advice on the 10 day mark. Take a hydrometer reading at 10 days and then again 2 or 3 days later. If it's the same, then you're done.

In regards to transferring it, no need to go to a secondary. Unless it's going to sit in a fermenter for months, I would recommend skipping the secondary.

I think your fine with the little bit of yeast stuck to the sides. The yeast that made it in the beer will replicate and get the job done. Depending on the beer and how much sugar is in there, it COULD have effects on flavor of the final product but you should be fine. In the future, when you pour the yeast in, seal the fermenter and give it a good shake to mix everything up. That should take care of the yeast stuck to the sides and make sure everything gets mixed in nicely.

 

[GoeHaarden]

A couple of things...

1. Skip transferring to a secondary. A secondary is unnecessary unless you are doing extended aging (months), or adding adjuncts (fruit, oak, etc.).

2. Rehydrate your dry yeast prior to pitching and you will have much better results.

3. As long as you're within the yeast's tolerable temp range then you'll be fine. Fermenting on the colder end of the spectrum might slow fermentation, but it typically lends itself to a cleaner flavor profile. Each yeast is different though...

Cheers!

 

[Oakkin]

I've seen it over and over on here to not move to a secondary. The old guy who runs my local brew shop (he is great to talk to), when i told him i had read a lot online about people saying there is no need to switch to a secondary he twisted his face up in disgust and said that is a horrible fallacy.

He highly recommends racking this brew twice for best results even. My current batch is an I.P.A and he says leaving this brew (or any other brew) solely in the primary fermenter is a terrible idea.
He made it sound like if your brewing cheap crappy bear leaving in primary is fine but for higher quality, which the kit's he sells supposedly are, you should switch to a secondary.

I will say this my first batch i did use a secondary and the brew turned out way beyond my expectations it was very clear and clean and tasty.

 

[GoeHaarden]

I haven't done a kit in a while, but I can remember them all saying to use a secondary. Those instructions are horribly out of date, and should be used with caution.

Did your LHBS guy say why it would be a terrible idea to leave this beer in the primary? I believe past homebrewing culture was to transfer to secondary, but I also believe this has fell to the wayside in current practice. I have left beers in the primary for close to 2 months without any off flavors. With an IPA, I would be more concerned with oxidation than any effects the trub may or may not impart. Introducing oxygen post-fermentation, which you will inevitably do by racking, will turn that IPA into cardboard quickly. Not to mention the bugs and possible infections you could be introducing...but it's your brewing adventure!

Just my $0.02, but then again I don't own a homebrew shop or anything. I did stay at a Holiday Inn lastnight tho...

Cheers!

 

[Redtab78]

For what its worth, everyone has their own opinion primary only or secondary. For me, i primary almost all of my ales 14 days between 62-68 (depending on what im making) and i secondary every beer for another 10 days and then i bottle or keg.

Now having that said...i use closed transfer technique, pushing with co2 only, on a somewhat very advanced set up...BUT before i moved to the advanced techniques, i still used the same schedule..i always make a starter no matter what yeast....most on here will say its unecessary, but i really enjoy the process, and im a firm believer in developing good habits. When i transferred prior to closed transfer here was my process:

Brewing on a saturday:
-Start Wed before making starter
-Friday night chill starter in fridge
-Sat morning crush grains, start strike water, remover starter and decant excess off the top and leave (covered) on the counter to warm up
-Brew the beer (whatever method you do, i do all grain)
-Chill the beer, and oxygenate (i use a stone on pure CO2 for 3-5 min, but shaking carboy for quite a while does work for most)
-Pitch yeast and set in my ferm chamber
-keep an eye over next few days but 14 days is my set schedule almost every time
-day 14...rack to secondary (this is where i check my final gravity) i also start my dry hops at this time or any adjuncts (fruit, coconut etc)
-i drop them temps at this time as well usually down cold crash temps (40-50 etc just depends)
-Days 17/18/19 add additional dry hops in my recipe has 2 seperate dry hop additions.
Day 24 keg (or bottle if thats what you do)


Im not saying my processes are spot on, but i will say that i win quite a few competitions. I dont necessarily brew for comps tho, i brew what i want and i like to try different recipies all the time, so sometimes i may try something new... like whirlpooling hops(only cooling wort down to 160 or so, and stirring in more hops and letting it sit at 160 for 15-30 min) .... or sometimes i will go from primary, to secondary and then even to a tertiary for some extended aging.


I used secondarys to get the beer off of the trub and yeast cake, others say thats unecessary and to that i say whatever you like is fine. We all make what we like and learn as we go but when it all comes down to it

RDWHAHB!!

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

As for the secondary question, I guess it depends on how your LHBS owner was defining "better." If better = clarity then I might agree with him, but 1) clarity doesn't always have an effect on the taste or aroma of the final product and 2) cold crashing and careful transfer before packaging can result in a crystal clear beer.

If he's equating objectively crappy beer with not racking, he's mistaken. There could be a hundred reasons why racking was considered best practice (or mandatory) several years ago (sub par ingredients, trying to replicate commercial brewers, etc) but there have been enough homebrewers that have experimented between secondary and no secondary and rarely found a difference. Unless you've got a closed transfer system like @Redtab78 you'd probably be wasting your time and opening up your beer to possible damage by racking to secondary. There are some circumstances where you do want to do a secondary, but it sounds like for the recipe you're working on it isn't necessary.

I'm not sure what he means when he says higher quality kits would benefit more from racking.

EDIT: To clarify, racking to secondary won't absolutely kill your beer, but IMHO the potential benefits of racking are outweighed by the potential problems that come with it. I've done secondary before with no issues, but I do mostly primary only beers and they come out as good or better than when I rack. YMMV.

 

[El Nino]

1. I think that should be fine. Are you using US-05? If so I wouldn't worry unless it's above the mid 70's
2. If you poured it, it probably is foamy because it's aerated. I don't think that's anything to worry about. Pitch yeast at proper temp and you're good to go.

As for secondary, I didn't secondary on my Fresh Squeezed IPA clone, and was just as clear out of the bottle as the commercial version. I would think as long as you're not siphoning up trub into your keg or bottles you should be ok.

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

I am almost just as new as OP (4 brews) but in my mind the secondary or no question has several layers for a newer brewer.

Are you putting it on fruit or adding things to your brew? If yes then secondary is helpful.

Do you have an advanced setup to reduce oxygenation if you rack to secondary? If yes then right on!

For me with a basic setup using extract brewing the idea of crystal clear beer is not my intended goal. I don't have enough hubris to think my setup will knock out award winning brews, this humbleness also allows me to realistically assess my own skills.

I am hit or miss with an auto-siphon at this point and for that very key reason I choose not to secondary yet. Why risk muffing up the siphon and watching as bubbles jam into your secondary? For me not worth.

If you brewed both your beers and whip-bang you rigged up that auto-siphon and got no bubbles and added what you estimate to be very little oxygen to your beer then right on. For me when I assess my siphoning skills I recognize that this stress-point in the process is not worth risking oxygenation just to clear up my beer a little. My first beers have been excellent (to me). It is just weighing the risks/rewards of each which is tough at the beginner stage. Either way you chose RDWAHAHB.

Welcome to the cult.

 

[NGD]

I've seen it over and over on here to not move to a secondary. The old guy who runs my local brew shop (he is great to talk to), when i told him i had read a lot online about people saying there is no need to switch to a secondary he twisted his face up in disgust and said that is a horrible fallacy.

He highly recommends racking this brew twice for best results even. My current batch is an I.P.A and he says leaving this brew (or any other brew) solely in the primary fermenter is a terrible idea.
He made it sound like if your brewing cheap crappy bear leaving in primary is fine but for higher quality, which the kit's he sells supposedly are, you should switch to a secondary.

I will say this my first batch i did use a secondary and the brew turned out way beyond my expectations it was very clear and clean and tasty.

I’d be interested in his reasons why he believes a secondary is necessary. Quite frankly, if it works for you then go for it. Your the brewmaster and its your palate that the beer needs to please.

Like many others, i’ve given up doing a secondary unless I’m adding additional flavors (fruit, bourbon, oak, coffee etc). Its mainly out of laziness and justifiable with oxidation concerns. If its a brew I’m going to bottle I will transfer to a bottling bucket with a spigot instead of using a racking cane. From my limited experience its just way easier to control and less mess. If you havent gotten a spring loaded bottling wand yet, please check it out. Its cleaner and less hassle.

You should be good to go with the yeast. That foam means your helping re-oxygenate the wort which is great for the yeast. Before I got an O2 kit, I would pour back and forth between buckets until the foam was almost to the top. I played with putting dry yeast in before and after pouring and didnt notice much difference. My method was far from scientific but I would hit my FG numbers.

Best of luck on your second brew

 

[Oakkin]

I'll respond to you and have that be for everyone. To be clear i am in zero way agreeing or disagreeing with the owner. As i said this is only my second batch so i have no way to pass solid judgement. I used a secondary on my first batch. I was stressed out about racking and exposing to oxygen due to all i had read but as it turns out both racking and bottling went really well, was pretty fun and the beer turned out great.

After talking to him he had me convinced to rack twice. But after reading on here again i think it would be best to just try this second batch without xfering and keep it in the primary to test things out for myself.

Ty for all responses.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

I'll respond to you and have that be for everyone. To be clear i am in zero way agreeing or disagreeing with the owner. As i said this is only my second batch so i have no way to pass solid judgement. I used a secondary on my first batch. I was stressed out about racking and exposing to oxygen due to all i had read but as it turns out both racking and bottling went really well, was pretty fun and the beer turned out great.

After talking to him he had be convinced to rack twice. But after reading on here again i think it would be best to just try this second batch without xfering and keep it in the primary to test things out for myself.

Ty for all responses.

That's the best part of the hobby...that and the beer