First stout into secondary (carboy)

[Sematary]

Just switched over my first non kit stout. I'm feeling pretty good about it. Original gravity was 1.054. After 6 days it's at 1.020 - about 4.5% ABV.
It had a very beery aroma to it - I'm hoping that's a good thing. Ready to sit for two weeks in mid to high 60's for that secondary and then into the bottles she goes. I have high hopes.

 

[MrHadack]

Why did you take it out of the primary so soon? It seems as if it might not have been done yet.

 

[CJ-3]

May I ask why you are doing a secondary? Are you adding something to it while in secondary?
If not, you can feel free to leave it in primary for the 2-3 weeks.

 

[thehaze]

If you do not add adjuncts or fruit to the beer, you do not need to move to secondary. Any transfer of the beer, it will expose it to oxygen and could oxidize it further.

There are no side affects of leaving a beer on the yeast for 30 days and probably even more.

 

[GPP33]

You said it smelt like beer. What did it taste like? Tell me you drank the gravity sample...

 

[Sematary]

You said it smelt like beer. What did it taste like? Tell me you drank the gravity sample...

So, to answer the questions. I was told in the original Brewers Best kit (still a n00b, ya know?) that the beer should sit in the primary for a couple of days after I notice a big drop off in the airlock (4 - 6 days I believe), then transfer to secondary. That's pretty much it. So, if I don't need the carboy unless I'm adding something to it, I guess I'm confused as to why the instructions read like that.

Also, no, I didn't taste it. It "smelled" delicious though. I've never done that (taste the gravity sample). What would that tell me at this early stage?

 

[myndflyte]

Using a secondary used to be a thing and some kits still tell people to use one even if it isn't necessary. It's not going to ruin anything but it's a transfer of beer that doesn't need to happen. I actually racked my stout to a secondary but that was because I was adding oak. Otherwise it would just sit in the primary until it's time to package it.

As for tasting it, it'll tell you how it's tasting. How are the hops tasting (maybe not so much in a stout), how is the malt backbone? How does it change from now to when you package it? You're already taking out a sample so why not taste it?

 

[Calder]

So, to answer the questions. I was told in the original Brewers Best kit (still a n00b, ya know?) that the beer should sit in the primary for a couple of days after I notice a big drop off in the airlock (4 - 6 days I believe), then transfer to secondary. That's pretty much it. So, if I don't need the carboy unless I'm adding something to it, I guess I'm confused as to why the instructions read like that.

Also, no, I didn't taste it. It "smelled" delicious though. I've never done that (taste the gravity sample). What would that tell me at this early stage?

It's beer! That is why you taste the sample. The gravity reading provides useful information, but I feel tasting the gravity sample provides a lot more information about the beer I always drink the gravity sample (unless it is the starting gravity - I use a refractometer for that anyway).

I'm one of the few folks that still rack most beers to secondary (I have my reasons). But I agree with other's questions - Why? I know you are new and just following instructions, but learn this lesson early: Unless you have a reason to rack to secondary and can say why you are doing it, you should not be moving the beer. While extremely unlikely to have a problem, every time you move your beer, you provide another opportunity for something to srew up. The beer will do fine in Primary for a month ...... or several months.

1.020 or ~ 60% attenuation is pretty poor. I suspect the yeast were not done. Racking so quickly, you probably carried over enoughf yeast to finish the job. But ... if the beer got cold, and the yeast dropped,and then you racked to secondary, you will not have the yeast to finish.

You may like a 1.020 beer, but to me it would be wayyyyyy tooooo sweet to be anything other than a sipper, and at 4.5% abv, it is not my idea of a sipper. I hope it comes down more for you. That is another reason for tasting the sample - to know aht the beer tastes like when you move it.

I hope you get a few more points off it and get it don to 1.016 or lower to make it easier to drink. Good luck with it. Just trying to be honest.

 

[Shwagger]

You could just bottle it once it hits desired FG. Stouts are so big on roasty flavor, extra time on yeast, to me, does little. I brewed a stout yesterday, and will likely keg and natural carb as early as next weekend after a few day cold crash.

I'm shying away from these notions of leaving beer in fermenters For weeks waiting to package. Ain't got time fo dat. Wort to drinking in less than a month. Less than 2 weeks if force carbing. Giddy up

 

[Shwagger]

Also, is m not on the team of racking to secondary. Not because of O2 necessarily, but because you can add stuff to the same fermenter! Why move it? Just be better at packaging time and avoid the trub

 

[RM-MN]

So, to answer the questions. I was told in the original Brewers Best kit (still a n00b, ya know?) that the beer should sit in the primary for a couple of days after I notice a big drop off in the airlock (4 - 6 days I believe), then transfer to secondary. That's pretty much it. So, if I don't need the carboy unless I'm adding something to it, I guess I'm confused as to why the instructions read like that.

Also, no, I didn't taste it. It "smelled" delicious though. I've never done that (taste the gravity sample). What would that tell me at this early stage?

In the early days of homebrewing the instructions were based on what the commercial brewers were doing without the consideration of why they were doing it that way. Once the instructions were written nobody wanted to do the re-write and besides, the company had so many copies already made that they didn't want to throw away so here we are years later using instructions that are way out of date and our of touch with what we know now.

You really do need that carboy. Since you have it, use it for cider or mead or wine. There's no point to just letting it set empty. If you don't want to use it for any of those, sell it to someone that does.

 

[Shwagger]

I use them as vases

 

[Sematary]

It's beer! That is why you taste the sample. The gravity reading provides useful information, but I feel tasting the gravity sample provides a lot more information about the beer I always drink the gravity sample (unless it is the starting gravity - I use a refractometer for that anyway).

I'm one of the few folks that still rack most beers to secondary (I have my reasons). But I agree with other's questions - Why? I know you are new and just following instructions, but learn this lesson early: Unless you have a reason to rack to secondary and can say why you are doing it, you should not be moving the beer. While extremely unlikely to have a problem, every time you move your beer, you provide another opportunity for something to srew up. The beer will do fine in Primary for a month ...... or several months.

1.020 or ~ 60% attenuation is pretty poor. I suspect the yeast were not done. Racking so quickly, you probably carried over enoughf yeast to finish the job. But ... if the beer got cold, and the yeast dropped,and then you racked to secondary, you will not have the yeast to finish.

You may like a 1.020 beer, but to me it would be wayyyyyy tooooo sweet to be anything other than a sipper, and at 4.5% abv, it is not my idea of a sipper. I hope it comes down more for you. That is another reason for tasting the sample - to know aht the beer tastes like when you move it.

I hope you get a few more points off it and get it don to 1.016 or lower to make it easier to drink. Good luck with it. Just trying to be honest.

I appreciate the input. Can't learn without listening to those who've done it.

 

[Sematary]

I've been looking around - could be bubbles, or pretty much anything, but does anyone recognize this? I know, the picture is a little crappy but the condensation in the carboy is kinda screwing it up.

 

[kh54s10]

It looks like you had a little fermentation still happening. It looks like co2 bubbles probably clinging to yeast rafts. It looks normal to me.

If it gets more covered and does not go away within a week, then you probably have an infection. I don't think that is likely though.

Keep reading everything. There is a lot of great advice on HBT, but also some very bad advice. Go with the consensus. If you have only one response suggesting that you do something and others suggesting something else you can probably be safe disregarding the one suggestion.

 

[Sematary]

It looks like you had a little fermentation still happening. It looks like co2 bubbles probably clinging to yeast rafts. It looks normal to me.

If it gets more covered and does not go away within a week, then you probably have an infection. I don't think that is likely though.

Keep reading everything. There is a lot of great advice on HBT, but also some very bad advice. Go with the consensus. If you have only one response suggesting that you do something and others suggesting something else you can probably be safe disregarding the one suggestion.

Thanks, I thought that might be what was happening but wasn't sure