Did I screw up?

[djt1111]

Hey all!
All right, so I have a question for you guys about something I read, and then I tried it, and now I'm wondering if I just destroyed my batch of beer. So I let a Boddington's Bitter brew sit and ferment for four days, and then I was reading in Brew Your Own English Ale that he likes to let if ferment for a few days, and then siphon the beer into a secondary container for the remainder of the fermentation, and then transfer to yet another vessel for the dropping of the brew.

My question: I did this last night, thinking that I would get up today and see a new yeast "head" on the brew, and continue to see bubbling from the airlock. From first glances this morning, nothing seems to be happening, except the VERY occasional bubbling from the airlock. Nothing new has formed on top. Did I destroy my batch? Should I just continue on, and in a few more days, transfer to the dropping container?

I'm really bummed that I may have killed this one. From first appearances (and tasting it!), I think this may have been my best batch yet.

New here....first post....hello to all.....any help feedback would be great!

 

[Yooper]

Hello and welcome to HBT.

You didn't destroy anything- beer is very resilient. Maybe now the best thing to do is nothing. Just wait it out for at least a week or two, and then check the SG. If you're at FG, then you're all set. Did you check the SG before you racked to the clearing tank? Racking it again would just needlessly expose the beer to infection and aeration, with no real benefit.

(There really shouldn't be a secondary fermentation- the beer should have been about finished before you moved it, so I wouldn't expect much of a krausen.)

 

[djt1111]

Hello and welcome to HBT.

You didn't destroy anything- beer is very resilient. Maybe now the best thing to do is nothing. Just wait it out for at least a week or two, and then check the SG. If you're at FG, then you're all set. Did you check the SG before you racked to the clearing tank? Racking it again would just needlessly expose the beer to infection and aeration, with no real benefit.

(There really shouldn't be a secondary fermentation- the beer should have been about finished before you moved it, so I wouldn't expect much of a krausen.)

Thanks Yooper.
No, I didn't check the SG.........my hydrometer is a little untrustworthy; haven't had a chance to get a new one yet. At this point, just hoping for the best. Thanks for your advice!

 

[BigKahuna]

Did I screw up?

Why doesn't anyone ever answer this question by simply saying

YES YOU DID!

 

[BigKahuna]

I'll bet you will be ok...given enough time. The main deal here is the yeast don't have time to clean up after themselves when you rack so soon.

Search around for HOLD THE BUTTER. BierMuncher (and lots others) have some good words of wisdom.

 

[Bob]

Why doesn't anyone ever answer this question by simply saying

YES YOU DID!

Because it isn't nice? I dunno why other than that.

Yeah, djt, you screwed up. But it's not the end of the world, and you probably didn't kill your beer. Chalk it up to experience and promise us that you'll never, ever even think about racking until fermentation is two or three days past complete.

Go ahead, promise!



Bob

 

[djt1111]

*sigh* (hangs head)
I promise.

 

[TheJadedDog]

As screw ups go this one is pretty minor, just give it some extra time and maybe buy another packet of yeast in the event you need to get it going again.

 

[DeathBrewer]

the reason you don't transfer that early is you are leaving a lot of your yeast in the primary vessel. so when you transfer to the secondary vessel (aka: clearing vessel) it is done so to get the yeast off the trub, not to do a "secondary fermentation."

the transfer should not occur until fermentation has finished, giving the yeast time to clean up after themselves and allowing the remaining yeast to settle in the secondary. then, after it sits for a while, it is straight off to keg or bottle!

transferring twice just allows the beer more exposure to the outside environment and increases the chance of oxidation and/or contamination.

like everyone above said, though, you're fine. just let it sit for a week or so and give it a sample, take a reading, give it a taste and check back.

if you did indeed remove enough of the yeast to halt fermentation, you will simply need to throw in a pack of dry yeast to finish her up and then you're ready to go after fermentation has completed. you probably will not need to do this

 

[Bob]

+1. Always keep a couple packets of dry yeast in the fridge.

And you can come out of the corner now, djt. Seriously, I wish I had had these forums when I started; I'd have read them all day every day and synthesized the knowledge here with the stuff I had in my books.

Bob

 

[djt1111]

Hey, thanks guys for the input. I think I'll just let her sit tight for a bit and see what happens.

Thanks again!