First Batch

[sefrayser]

My wife got me a Bader Beer kit for christmas and we made our first batch of Wort on New Years Day. It has been in my fermenting bucket since then. It started to bubble with in 3 hours. It is now bubbling once every minute or so. When should I move it to my secondary? I have a plastic carboy but Im going to pick up 2 glass carboys(1-6 gallon, 1-5 gallon) tomorrow. I really want to use the glass. I have a ton of questions but this is a good start.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

Don't move it to a secondary at all. Let it ferment out, and as long as you're not needing to add fruit, or reuse the yeast, leave it where it is. Use the glass NEXT batch!

By racking to a second vessel, you can leave your beer with off flavors that the yeast could have cleaned up if you had given them the time.

 

[sefrayser]

When will I know it is done?

 

[Britinusa]

Give it a couple of weeks then take some gravity reads a few days apart, if the reads are the same then your done fermenting.
Are you bottling this?

 

[sefrayser]

Yes Im bottling it. After I made the wort I transferred it to the fermenting bucket I took a OG reading and added water until it was at 1.045 like the directions on the kit called for. It only ended up being a little over 4 gallons instead of the 5 gallons it said it would make. Is that OK?

 

[flars]

Yes Im bottling it. After I made the wort I transferred it to the fermenting bucket I took a OG reading and added water until it was at 1.045 like the directions on the kit called for. It only ended up being a little over 4 gallons instead of the 5 gallons it said it would make. Is that OK?

Was this an all grain or extract brew? If it was an extract brew the recipe OG is usually spot on. Not getting the exact hydrometer reading is because of the wort not being evenly mixed in the fermentor. The yeast will finish the mixing job.
Ending with 4 gallons is better than diluting a 5 gallon kit to 6 gallons.

 

[sefrayser]

Extract.

 

[sefrayser]

I checked my wort and its bubbling about every 20 seconds. If I'm correct when it gets to 45 seconds I move it to a secondary fermenter? Its been sitting for 3 days. I can see the head where it started and it appears the wort is settling. Looks good to me but then again Im a newbie.

 

[RM-MN]

I checked my wort and its bubbling about every 20 seconds. If I'm correct when it gets to 45 seconds I move it to a secondary fermenter? Its been sitting for 3 days. I can see the head where it started and it appears the wort is settling. Looks good to me but then again Im a newbie.

Come back and ask about moving your beer to secondary when it has been in the primary fermenter for 2 weeks. Airlock activity means that there is a pressure difference between one side and the other. Don't use it for a gauge on the amount of fermenting.

 

[Britinusa]

Dont bother about secondary, leave it in primary for 2 weeks, after that we can help you with the next step

 

[josh940711]

I've been leaving my beer in the fermenting Carboy for at least 4 weeks then transferring to a secondary for another 2 or 3 weeks. I want my beer as clear as I can get it. Does this seem ok?? I'm doing a coffee porter now and plan to ferment for a month then secondary for 3 weeks with cocoa nibs last week in secondary before racking. Any advice thanks