Help, got some questions

[Kcdogs11]

I just recently got my first batch in the fermenter. I am new to this so please bear with me if this boring to some of you. But all seems to be going well. I am brewing a extract kit from Northern Brewer. It is the Irish Red Ale kit. I used Danstar Nottingham Ale yeast, which I rehydrated before I pitched. All seems good, but I have 2 questions which seem to not get answered where i look, or if they do, they have varying opinions. The kit directions state to leave this in the primary for 1-2 weeks. Then move to a secondary for 2-4 weeks. I am currently at day 4 and things have slowed down. How long do I leave in the primary, and when do I move to the secondary, or do i just leave it in the primary? What are some of the things I should be looking for to help make my decsion? I have kept very well detailed notes of every step that took during the making of this batch, so if you have questions to help me, please ask.

Thanks for all your time and patience,
Rick B

 

[Effingbeer]

First of all, congrats! We all know the feeling of waiting to taste the first batch and wondering what the heck is going on in there! Good choice on your first kit, we are finishing off the last 6 pack of my NB Irish red - so delicious! My advice to you is to go find some commercial examples of an Irish red to drink for a couple weeks. If you have been browsing the forum for fermentation advice, get ready for a repeat. 1. Relax. Primary fermentation takes AT LEAST a week. Sounds like you pitched well. Your yeast should rip through the sugars for the first couple days and settle down to activity you can't really see. 2. Anyone here will tell you that the only way to tell if your fermentation is done is to take regular gravity readings. That being said, don't bother until the first week is over. One of my personal philosophies is to leave the beer alone as much as possible. Every time you open it, you have potential for contamination. Usually it is not one instance of contamination that kills a beer, it is repeated introduction of the same flora (from your personal environment) that gets them. 3. I will not debate secondary vs primary-only, but can say that NB wrote the instructions, they know how to make good beer. That said, I did not secondary this beer. I have taken the practice not to use a secondary unless dry-hopping or other similar additions. One less time to introduce weird bacteria. If you don't use a secondary, you still have to wait approximately the same amount of time! I let mine stay in primary for just over a month, I didn't take a gravity reading until bottling day - the FG was right where it needed to be, I added priming sugar and bottled. 10 days later my thirst was quenched. 4. When you buy your first "beer making equipment" kit, they always give you these white plastic buckets. Of course they work fine, but don't they leave you wanting? Wondering what is happening in there? After a couple batches I tired of this feeling and bought 6.5gallon glass Carboys. Get ready to be amazed by science! (day job as a lab rat). Sure they are $50, but it will fill the hole in your heart. And you will soon realize that now you have 2 fermentation devices! 5. Lastly, if you stick with the hobby, your mind will transform from: "I like good craft beer and it is fun to make" to "I have a hobby filled with infinite tweaks I can use to make the beer I WANT to serve as MY beer".
Anyway, I am sure your first beer will be the best one you have ever had. It is for all of us. Hope you enjoy your experience.

 

[Piratwolf]

Congrats also on your first beer!

I think the first reply is generally solid info. There's only one clarification I would add. Primary FERMENTATION--the conversion of sugars to alcohol by yeast--does not always take more than a week. In fact, with good process and the right amount of healthy yeast, even big beers take considerably less. My Barleywine (10.2%) reached final gravity in a bit over 80 hours.

That said, there are benefits to leaving your beer on the yeast for 2-4 weeks total. (There are varying practices on this as you'll see; for full disclosure, i'm in the shorter camp but see no problem with 4 weeks!) As fermentation slows after the yeast have consumed the majority of the sugars they're capable of doing, they begin to Clean up some of the compounds they excreted earlier, and these compounds can cause unwanted (off) flavors. This extra time produces a much better tasting beer.

Hope that helps, and keep brewing strong!

 

[Kcdogs11]

Thanks for the advice so far. I feel a little better. I just took a peek under the box today, and it is definately quite. Temp of the carboy is about 67 F. We are on day 4. I did get a kit that had glass carboys. ( Just didn't care for the bucket idea.) I was wondering about how often you check the gravity. I have not done so yet. My OG was 1.042 So right now I am trying to be patient in waiting. Still a little confused about keeping it in the primary vs moving it to a secondary, there never seems to be a cut/dry answer on that. I have read a few books and they definately don't give timeframes. Any one else with somethings I should look for please let me know.
Thanks
Rick B

 

[SledgeH]

I started 4 months back and now I'm 50 gallons in. I had the same question when I started. Search the Homebrewtalk site for "Primary v Secondary." You'll get enough reading material to fill your Sunday. I've done both. I had some lighter colored beers that I wanted to get as clear as possible and I found that a secondary did wonders (but again, there are people who will tell you you can get the same results with just a primary). I'd suggest keeping it in primary for a couple of weeks regardless of what you decide. The yeast is still 'cleaning up' after themselves well after the bubbling has stopped. Effing brings up a really great point too. The clear brewing containers (glass carboy or better bottle (plastic version)) are a great tool. It allows you to not only watch your fermentation, but you can also see your beer clarify and settle out.

 

[LLBeanJ]

Solid info above.

In response to your question about when, exactly, to transfer to secondary, the answer is when primary fermentation is done. Generally, for normal gravity beers, 10 days is usually enough to fully ferment and give the yeasts a few extra days to clean up after themselves. However, only a series of gravity readings will tell you for sure.

If the point of transferring is for clearing, then you absolutely want to be sure that primary is finished because there will be far less yeast left to do the job once you transfer. Also, unless you have a way to purge oxygen with CO2, headspace should be a consideration when transferring to a brite tank. Since no more CO2 is being produced, you'll want to have minimal headspace in the vessel, as any headspace is usually filled with oxygen. If the point of the transfer is to add additional fermentables (e.g. fruit), then headspace is not much of a concern because CO2 production will resume with a true secondary fermentation and the headspace oxygen will be replaced with CO2 in fairly short order.

With all that said, I'm in the camp that advocates extended primaries with no transfer unless it's for a true secondary fermentation. The beer will clear just fine with a 3-4 week primary + time in the bottle/keg. I am a BIAB brewer and rarely secondary and I always get crystal clear beer.

 

[Kcdogs11]

Just wanted to thank those for the advice, the beer went to bottles a few weeks back and even though I had a small bottling issue, It all worked out good. The beer looks, smells and tastes great. Thanks again 1st batch was a sucess... Yeah...
Rick B