Beer loss in carboy.

[tomek322]

I'm planning ahead for my second brew. My first batch was more of an impulse experiment than anything... So i'm in question asking mode... I ended up with around 4.2 gallons of beer in the bottles. I'm pretty sure I started out with less than 5 gallons in my primary. When I racked to the secondary, I had about an 1.5 inches of beer and yeast at the bottom that I left. Should I be over compensating in my primary to account for the loss so I end up with 5 gallons?

My dad is about to confiscate his glass carboy. I was planning on buying a 6.5g glass carboy. Can I go thru the primary in the glass, rack it into a bucket for 15 minutes, clean out the primary and rack back into the same carboy? Or is this a no no?

 

[Cheesefood]

I'm planning ahead for my second brew. My first batch was more of an impulse experiment than anything... So i'm in question asking mode... I ended up with around 4.2 gallons of beer in the bottles. I'm pretty sure I started out with less than 5 gallons in my primary. When I racked to the secondary, I had about an 1.5 inches of beer and yeast at the bottom that I left. Should I be over compensating in my primary to account for the loss so I end up with 5 gallons?

My dad is about to confiscate his glass carboy. I was planning on buying a 6.5g glass carboy. Can I go thru the primary in the glass, rack it into a bucket for 15 minutes, clean out the primary and rack back into the same carboy? Or is this a no no?

Most of us aim for 5.25 gallons in the primary to account for the loss.

Second, why not just leave it in the bucket (assuming it's food grade and has a lid)?

 

[Nexus555]

Well I'm not a professional brewer, but I would just leave it in the primary. Maybe leave it in the primary 2-3 weeks instead of 1.

But if you decide to transfer it in the bucket, make sure you sanitize the hell out of it. The problem I see with this though is too much oxygen exposure. If you have a lid for this bucket, and can auto siphon quietly enough not to expose it to a lot of air, then I see no problem with that.

 

[FlyGuy]

I agree. Do your primary ferment in the bucket (assuming it seals well and you can put a blow-off tube or airlock on it), and get a 6 gallon (not 6.5 gal) glass carboy for your secondary. That way your bucket can serve double-duty as a primary fermenter and bottling bucket.

 

[tomek322]

You guys must think I'm an idiot. Anyway, my primary was a bucket, with a hole in the lid and a blow off tube. The hole was too small for the airlock I had, so I just left the blow off tube, with the other end submerged in water. Using simple logic and physics this is no problem. After the initial ferentation, is there an advantage to having an airlock instead of a tube?

 

[FlyGuy]

You guys must think I'm an idiot. Anyway, my primary was a bucket, with a hole in the lid and a blow off tube. The hole was too small for the airlock I had, so I just left the blow off tube, with the other end submerged in water. Using simple logic and physics this is no problem. After the initial ferentation, is there an advantage to having an airlock instead of a tube?

Not at all.

That's the way a lot of people do it. I have done it this way, and works fine.

Two things - your LHBS should have different sized bungs if you want to use an airlock. But a blow-off tube is probably a better choice for a primary, as long as it seals really well. Assuming yours sealed well, I would suggest you keep with the same setup you have been using. But maybe add some sanitizer to that water in the bucket (a bit of bleach is fine).

Then, just get a glass carboy or better bottle for a secondary.

 

[docbee]

First off Tome you are asking good questions at the start of your hobby and trying to plan ahead to make the best brew possible. How can that be stupid??

There are many options to the questions you asked. Some people like to keep it in their primary for longer periods of time rather than the 1-2-3 rule, while others like to stick pretty much to the rule.

If you are planning on getting a replacement carboy I would get the 5 gal one. Then primary in the bucket and secondary in the carboy. The 5 gal will reduce the headspace and thus reduce exposure to O2.

As mentioned earlier many brewers will adjust their end boil volume to compensate for loss during racking off the trub. After that, each additional rackings there will be some volume loss(racking off the yeast/sediment). I would not worry about that reduction in your final volume. It is better to make a little less of "quality" beer than getting "quantity" of watered down beer. Thats the whole idea for homebrewing after all.