Beginners Oxidation Fears

[Benedictus]

I recently brewed my first batch. A red ale that tasted great and reached it's proper gravity after the primary fermentation. The recipe called for a secondary fermentation and upon racking into my 5G carboy I noticed a large sludge layer in the bottom of the primary which in turn left me with a larger amount of head space in the secondary than I was anticipating. I read a few inches is good but I have the whole curved neck plus an inch or two. My airlock is still bubbling about 55 hours after racking at a rate of about a bubble every 45 seconds. Do you think the fermentation has expelled enough of the trapped oxygen? What off flavors could result? Are there any visual indications of oxidation I could look for?

 

[homebrewdad]

The sludge layer is perfectly normal - this happens in 100% of brews.

Sounds like everything is just fine. As long as you didn't just splash it into the secondary, you'll be just fine.

 

[JLem]

I don't think you need to worry about oxidation at this point. Sounds like things are fine - the airlock activity is probably just CO2 off-gassing, assuming fermentation was done in the primary vessel. In most cases "secondary fermentation" is a misnomer as no actual fermentation takes place - it's really for clearing and aging the beer.

That said, I am one of many in the camp of not using a secondary vessel unless you are adding fruit or oak or planning on aging the beer for a while (i.e. months). Regardless of what the kit instructions may say, for 90%+ of your beers you can just leave the beer in the primary vessel for 2-3 weeks, make sure the gravity is stable at an appropriate number, and then bottle. Unnecessarily moving to secondary just increases your risk of contamination and/or oxidation.

Out of curiosity, how long did you let it ferment before moving it into secondary, and what were your gravity readings?

 

[Benedictus]

It was in the primary for a little over 6 days. My original reading was 1.052 and the final was 1.014 for 2 straight days. Fermentation got underway pretty quickly, 6 hours or so. What are good ways to reduce loss to the sludge? I strained with a sanitized kitchen strainer after the boil but that method needs improvement. Also, in my secondary I see some hop bits suspended. Is that normal? Should they fall out over the next week or two before bottling?

 

[RM-MN]

One way to reduce loss from trub (proper term for the sludge) is to leave your beer in the primary fermenter longer so the trub compacts and forms a tighter layer. You don't need to secondary for most beers and one less transfer means one less loss to trub too. My beers typically stay in the primary for 3 weeks before bottling. I have left one for 4 1/2 weeks and another home brewer mentioned that he had left his in the primary for 227 (yes, over two hundred) days and it came out fine.

 

[MuchoGusto]

It was in the primary for a little over 6 days. My original reading was 1.052 and the final was 1.014 for 2 straight days. Fermentation got underway pretty quickly, 6 hours or so. What are good ways to reduce loss to the sludge? I strained with a sanitized kitchen strainer after the boil but that method needs improvement. Also, in my secondary I see some hop bits suspended. Is that normal? Should they fall out over the next week or two before bottling?

There's no need to use a secondary. Just leave it in the primary at the right temperature for 2 weeks then transfer it to a bottling bucket to fill your bottles.

The best way to remove trub or "sludge" is to use a 5 gallon nylon mesh paint strainer. After the boil and it's cooled I line a sanitized 5 gal. bucket with the strainer and pour the wort in. I don't recommend this if you're tossing in hops at the end of the boil as you are taking them right back out.

Hops floating in a secondary is perfectly normal.

 

[Benedictus]

Thanks for the info and advice guys. I've heard many brewers skip the secondary and I considered it until I tasted my first gravity sample. Then I wanted it out without the worry of premature bottling so I could start brewing another batch because it was friggin' awesome.

 

[JLem]

Thanks for the info and advice guys. I've heard many brewers skip the secondary and I considered it until I tasted my first gravity sample. Then I wanted it out without the worry of premature bottling so I could start brewing another batch because it was friggin' awesome.

That's another good reason to use a secondary, but will be obsolete once you go out and buy another fermenter...then another...then another....

 

[Benedictus]

That's true but someday I actually plan on adding some special ingredients to the secondary and making some cider for my wife in it so it was an inevitable purchase.