Close to bottling. Did I mess up?

[jchester404]

Alright so, I'm a week away from bottling and I'm a little concerned in the looks of the beer so far. Before brewing I searched on here and I talked to a local brew store owner. He told me to keep in the original fermentation container for about 2-3 weeks, transfer to a carboy for 1 week, then it'll be ready to bottle.

It's been 3 weeks today and I just transferred to the carboy. I'm concerned about the looks of the beer itself and the inside of the original ferminator. The guy I had talked to said that there will be sludge in the bottom of the ferminator. However, is it normal to have it on the sides like in this picture? http://imgur.com/jtJEm3y . I also noticed there are a lot of floaters. Is this normal?

After transferring into the carboy, the beer looks a little cloudy, as in this picture: http://imgur.com/1QsOa9A . Is that also normal? If all this is normal, how do I prevent the floaters from getting into the bottles during the bottling process?

Lastly, what is the purpose of transferring into the carboy for a week? The fermentation process seems to be completed. I added the airlock as well to the carboy, not sure if there is any point to that. Any information would be great. Thanks!

 

[flars]

How did you transfer your beer to the carboy? The foam is very atypical.

Your LHBS guy has led you astray. Yeast don't work by the calendar, so there is no time schedule. You didn't mention hydrometer readings to determine if FG had been reached in the primary. Give the beer some extra time in the primary to clean up and clear, after FG is reached, then rack to the bottling bucket or keg.

 

[flars]

The inside of the fermentor looks normal.

 

[jchester404]

Unfortunately, I did not take a reading pre-yeast. The foam is from the sanitizer. I had already transferred it to the carboy, as in the second picture I posted, so should I just
leave it in the secondary until it clears up?

Am I screwed here?

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

stick it in the fridge for 2-3 days it will clear nicely then bottle it..no need to warm it back up first either.. it is fine. EDITED TO ADD.. IF THE FG HAS BEEN REACHED

 

[metanoia]

You're not screwed in the least, everything looks normal (edit: as long as you have reached FG!! Otherwise, you might need to take further steps if you have a stuck fermentation).

Plenty of homebrewers use a secondary vessel (not calling it a fermenter since fermentation doesn't take place there) to further clarify their beers with great success. However, a larger portion of them do so because that is simply the "old wisdom" from homebrewers decades ago, when the dry yeast stuck under the lid of their kit was rather weak and prone to dying quickly, which would release off flavors in your beer, so getting the beer into a second vessel to further age and clean up would be necessary. However, our yeast today are much heartier and not only can handle surviving for months at a time without dying, but can actually help clean up the beer if left in contact for 3-4+ weeks.

So while you'll still hear some support for secondary vessels (usually from the grizzly, olden brewers out there), it's generally suggested, especially for a new brewer, to leave that beer in the primary for a couple extra weeks and just bottle from there. One less transfer, especially for early brewers who don't have as much experience with the whole brewing process and sanitization, means one less chance of infection or oxidation.

As for the foam, it's more than okay to rack directly onto Star San foam, and probably helps protect the beer more than anything.

 

[flars]

You may be okay, but SG readings will be needed. The SG readings will tell you if the fermentation is stuck, (SG higher than the norm for a finished beer), if fermentation is continuing, or fermentation is complete.
Take a hydrometer reading today or tomorrow. Take another reading for SG three days later. Readings that are the same, and not unusually high, means FG has been reached. Then bottling is up to you, no rush. Let the beer clear and bottle next week, or three weeks from now. Depends upon your schedule.

 

[mrgrimm101]

My rule of thumb is to sit in primary for about 3 weeks. Then I decide if I want to transfer to secondary or not..most the time I do not. It is an age old debate whether or not to transfer to secondary, but most brewers will tell you that it is based on personal preference. I used to tranfser to secondary, now I don't at all. My brother transfers everything, every batch.

Transferring can potentially introduce contaminants as well as oxidize the beer. Leaving it in primary for an extra week or 2 will (most likely) achieve the same thing as transferring would..it will clear up the beer and allow everything to settle out.

Back 20 years ago, quality ingredients were not as readily available, so they suggested transferring to a secondary to get the beer off of the yeast that had settled out in primary. This was done because the yeast could impart unwanted flavors to the beer. These days, with the quality of yeast that we have available, this isn't really a concern anymore.

EDIT: Damn, you guys beat me to it lol.

 

[Meyre86]

Rule #1 of Homebrewing -- 99% of problems are solved by playing the waiting game. Both the before and after pictures look fine to me. Completely normal to have a little something floating up top and around the edges. As for when to transfer, 3-weeks in the primary is probably fine for most of your kit beers. The important thing to check is whether fermentation is complete (24 hours of consistent gravity readings). Whether that happens after 7 days or 21 days, the work in the primary is complete and you're good to move it over to the secondary.

Its fine to have residual sanitizer in the carboy when you transfer the beer over, so if it was just some foam that settled on the bottom of the carboy after you emptied out the sanitizer you should be fine. While it shouldn't do anything I wouldn't recommend leaving any more than bubbles in the carboy when you add the good stuff.

As for the cloudiness in the secondary, you just transferred the beer over, so chances are you kicked up and included a little bit of the solids that had originally settled to the bottom in your primary during the move. Give it a few days and I bet it clears right up. If you get to the time when you're supposed to bottle and its still a little hazy you can try the "cold crash" method and put the carboy in a fridge for a couple days.

 

[jchester404]

Thank you all very much. I am a lot more optimistic reading everyone's input.

I just did a reading for the fun of it. The hydrometer is reading BRIX 2.5, Sp.Gn 7.5, and Approximate Potential Alcohol 1%. All of these readings are in the green part labeled Beer: Finish.

What some of you are saying is that I should take another reading to see if anything has changed. Would opening the container up do any harm? Is there a way to determine the alcohol content if I never tested during wort?

 

[flars]

Thank you all very much. I am a lot more optimistic reading everyone's input.

I just did a reading for the fun of it. The hydrometer is reading BRIX 2.5, Sp.Gn 7.5, and Approximate Potential Alcohol 1%. All of these readings are in the green part labeled Beer: Finish.

What some of you are saying is that I should take another reading to see if anything has changed. Would opening the container up do any harm? Is there a way to determine the alcohol content if I never tested during wort?

Whether or not the sample is in the red or green, it doesn't make a bit of difference for what you are brewing. Those colored bands are a great disservice to brewers. What is Final Gravity for one beer most likely will not be for another beer.
Some of the scales you are reading are used in wine making and/or need a conversion calculator to be useful in brewing beer. Included a link that can explain the hydrometer way better than I can.
The online book is a previous edition, but most of the information is still relevant.
http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixA.html

 

[metanoia]

Actually, your specific gravity (SG) is going to be a number that is 1.xxx, such as 1.007 (sounds like you're reading something like this). Each large line with 0, 10, 20, etc. correlates to 1.000, 1.010, 1.020, etc. The numbers tell you how much sugar is in the liquid you're measuring, so it's higher when you've just created the wort, and lower when you've let the yeast eat a majority of those sugars. When you get the same reading with 3-5 days between, you can safely say that fermentation is done.

To get the alcohol content, subtract the FG from the OG and multiply by 131.25. For example, (1.064 - 1.014) * 131.25 = 6.6% ABV. I think that the estimated alcohol on those hydrometer sheets is for wine, since I believe (don't hold me to this) wine is fermented out to 1.000, so that can be estimated from the OG.

 

[jchester404]

Awesome thank you both. I had never taken the OG so has the opportunity passed?

 

[mrgrimm101]

Yes the opportunity has passed for an OG test. You need to take it after you transfer your wort to primary, after you add any water to top back up to 5 gallons, but BEFORE you pitch any yeast.

 

[jchester404]

Bummer. What is the significance of the number 131.25?

 

[metanoia]

Awesome thank you both. I had never taken the OG so has the opportunity passed?

Not necessarily. If I'm right in assuming you used malt extract you can calculate the OG by using the amount of extract and full volume of liquid in your fermenter by using this tool. Actually, if you're using extract you should rely on this calculation more than an OG reading since it's very difficult to 100% mix your boiled wort with your top-off water, and you'll likely get a too-low or too-high number for your OG (this issue comes up a lot on here).

 

[metanoia]

Bummer. What is the significance of the number 131.25?

It's easy for on-the-fly calculations. For a bit more science and reference, check this page out.

 

[jchester404]

The recipe called for 6.6lb Premier Gold Liquid and 1lb of Gold Dry; Northwestern. Through the calculator it is estimated to have had an OG of 1.058. Which means my ABV is roughly 6.69%.

Now, in order to know if FG has been reached is to check if the reading has not changed over a certain period of time, correct?

 

[metanoia]

Yep. Just take a sample, record the gravity, then take another sample 2 or 3 days later. If the gravity as dropped in that time, repeat again 2-3 days later, and so on until you get the same reading twice. After that I'd wait at least 1, if not 2-3, more weeks to let the beer condition and clear up, and to let the yeast help clean up any unwanted byproducts created during fermentation.

 

[jchester404]

Great! One last simple thing. Can I pour back in the sample beer that I would be using to test with the meter?

 

[aidan]

Alright so, I'm a week away from bottling and I'm a little concerned in the looks of the beer so far. Before brewing I searched on here and I talked to a local brew store owner. He told me to keep in the original fermentation container for about 2-3 weeks, transfer to a carboy for 1 week, then it'll be ready to bottle.

It's been 3 weeks today and I just transferred to the carboy. I'm concerned about the looks of the beer itself and the inside of the original ferminator. The guy I had talked to said that there will be sludge in the bottom of the ferminator. However, is it normal to have it on the sides like in this picture? http://imgur.com/jtJEm3y . I also noticed there are a lot of floaters. Is this normal?

After transferring into the carboy, the beer looks a little cloudy, as in this picture: http://imgur.com/1QsOa9A . Is that also normal? If all this is normal, how do I prevent the floaters from getting into the bottles during the bottling process?

Lastly, what is the purpose of transferring into the carboy for a week? The fermentation process seems to be completed. I added the airlock as well to the carboy, not sure if there is any point to that. Any information would be great. Thanks!

Transferring to secondary is old-school and not necessary for the vast majority of beers but home brew shops seem to still promote that approach, probably so thay can sell you more stuff. Btw the photos are totally normal.

 

[doug293cz]

Great! One last simple thing. Can I pour back in the sample beer that I would be using to test with the meter?

Not a good idea unless you are extremely careful with sanitation and avoiding oxygen uptake in the sample. Errors in either can ruin the whole batch if you pour it back in the fermenter. Better to just drink it. I will taste like flat, green beer, and will let you know if you have any significant off flavors. If in doubt about how it tastes, save some for a more experienced brewer to taste. Getting experience with what beer should taste like at each stage will help you in the long run.

Brew on

 

[mrgrimm101]

Dont pour it back in.

 

[mrgrimm101]

Im really paranoid about opening my buckets during primary and introducing a contaminant so I dont take FG readings until I bottle. I let it sit in primary for 3-4 weeks and its always been done fermenting by the time I bottle. Considering the styles of beers Ive made, im fairly certain that 3-4 weeks is long enough to let it finish. I know most people take the 2 samples and compare but I never have.