Fermenting question ;)

[jesseroberge]

Hi there, i'm on my first ever AG beer experence, brewing a Belgian Saison fermenting in a glass carboy, pitched my Wyeast French Saison 3711 smack pack, swaddled the jug let it sit for 7 days.... I went to see the beer/wort this afternoon to notice that the head of intence foam had died down, but the air lock was still bubbling pretty much, I unwrapped the jug to notice that there was SO MUCH activity in there it was scary, there was a good deposit of sludge in the bottom of the carboy but there was so much crap floating around in there, seemed like there was someone stiring the sludge from the bottom with a vigourus swirl... It was so active and cloudy... I thought that after 7 stright days left sitting there untouched that the beer/wort would be a least settled or less active than what was there, is this normal ??

Thanks guys

 

[Lemon]

Very normal.

Sounds like you have an excellent fermentation temp. & will end up with a great beer.

RDWHAHB

 

[libeerty]

Sounds like a healthy fermentation to me! Leave the yeast alone and let it do its magic.

 

[jesseroberge]

Thanks guys then when do I rack to secondary fermentation ?

 

[Lemon]

Loaded question.

I would leave it alone until it clears & I get the hydrometer reading I want & bottle.

To me the secondary is an extra step ( of cleaning / racking etc) that doesn't add much unless I plan to age it in the fermenter a long time.

More directly, I tend bottle at 3 to 5 weeks, depending on the hydrometer & my free time.

 

[lumpher]

let it ferment for 3 weeks. secondary for a few weeks, maybe a month or 2. i rarely secondary, but i do with saisons

 

[jesseroberge]

I think i'll wait till it dies down to still flat before racking then i'll switch to secondary fermenter for a good clearout of maby 2 to 3 weeks... How does that sound to you guys ?

 

[user 125772]

I think i'll wait till it dies down to still flat before racking then i'll switch to secondary fermenter for a good clearout of maby 2 to 3 weeks... How does that sound to you guys ?

that's prolly how I'd play it

 

[scoundrel]

I think i'll wait till it dies down to still flat before racking then i'll switch to secondary fermenter for a good clearout of maby 2 to 3 weeks... How does that sound to you guys ?

Do you keg or bottle? If you keg I'd leave it in primary for 5 weeks. It will compact and clear then you can let it clear more in the keg when it's cold. My 2 cents.

 

[jesseroberge]

Do you keg or bottle? If you keg I'd leave it in primary for 5 weeks. It will compact and clear then you can let it clear more in the keg when it's cold. My 2 cents.

I keg my beer... I didn't know that I didn't absolutly have to do a secondary fermentation... This is hard to chose wether I do it or not...

 

[scoundrel]

I keg my beer... I didn't know that I didn't absolutly have to do a secondary fermentation... This is hard to chose wether I do it or not...

It's probably the biggest debate on the site. For me, it doesn't make sense to rack to secondary and risk oxidation or something else. The yeast will continue to drop out whether you move it or not. Just don't rack the trub. I brew slightly larger batches and leave a little beer behind. The beer end up crystal clear.