Bottling Newby

[rdines]

Hi

I currently have a 5g batch of pils brewing (primary ferm) and have to start to think about what happens next.

The instructions I have is "bottle ya beer" but I have read that a secondary stage would be beneficial.

So, what I would like to know is...is a secondary stage worth it, how would i go about it and how would I then bottle the beer?

Cheers!

RD

 

[Pappers_]

Hi RD! You may want to take a look at How to Brew - By John Palmer - it's a great "how to" resource!

Or look in the beginners forum here for some tutorials.

Cheers!

 

[sethful]

Pappers.. I must say you get to the "how to brew" book a smidge faster than I can everytime!

Secondary will help your clarity a bit, but if you are just looking for beer to drink (like I was my first time), wait it out a bit and throw it into a bottle.. it won't hurt anything.

but +1 to Pappers -- check out Howtobrew... it is a tremendous resource!

 

[Revvy]

If you look around here enough you will find that many of us don't secondary unless we are adding fruit, oak or dryhopping, and opt instead for a long secondary. Many leave their beer for 3 weeks, I opt for a straight month in primary, then bottle.

The point of either is to clear the beer and to let the yeast clean up the byproducts of fermentation that lead to off flavors.

If you look around enough you will find all the discussions that have been had in regards to whether or not to secondary, it is one of the most popular and oft repeated discussions here, so there is no dearth of info, citations and opinions.

As to bottling...Which I thought by the title of the thread you wanted info on you will find a lot of info here;

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/revvys-tips-bottler-first-time-otherwise-94812/

 

[Budzu]

I'm all for not using a secondary, and I am very picky. So especially if you are on some of your first brews, I wouldn't even bother pondering it. It's alot of extra effort without much payoff and a good bit more risk.

I leave my beer in primary on the yeast until a few days after all activity appears complete. Then I chill it to keg serving temps before putting it into a keg. This works beautifully even for me, and I am picky about how my beer looks. Good luck, read up as recommended above!