My 2nd brew...Ironhorse Brewery's Irish Death.

[S6guy]

2nd time brewing I did my current favorite beer , Irish Death. 8 days into fermentation and it's at 10%. I'm going to rack it at 10 days for two weeks, do you think the alcohol content will drop? Or rise....?

 

[Battles4Seattle]

How are you getting 10%? Is that what it says on the hydrometer? Did you measure the starting gravity?

Alcohol content never goes down it can only go higher with further fermentation.

Your recipe should have a starting gravity that is higher like 1.075+ because of what you're brewing and when it is measured the same gravity 3 days apart it is done. You use that measured gravity to calculate the ABV%.

 

[S6guy]

I did not do a starting gravity measurement. Didn't even think to do it, and this is what my hydrometer is saying today.

 

[S6guy]

Should I rack it now????!

 

[Demus]

If you didn't take a gravity reading how do you know it's 10%??

 

[S6guy]

My hydrometer has % on it....going by that.

 

[axmdr40]

The % on your hydrometer is not the AVB. It's potential alcohol scale. To get a rough estimate on your ABV you have to take the % potential alcohol from your SG and subtract the % potential alcohol from your FG. That's just one way of calculating the ABV using hydrometer readings

Here's a nice simple info sheet on hydrometer usage: www.midwestsupplies.com/.../how_do_you_take_a_hydrometer_reading...‎

 

[Skeptidelphian]

Should I rack it now????!

No.

We don't know the SG, so you can't know for certain the ABV.

Alcohol content never "drops out".

Leave your beer alone for 2-3 more weeks, then bottle. No need to rack.

 

[Nightshade]

No.

We don't know the SG, so you can't know for certain the ABV.

Alcohol content never "drops out".

Leave your beer alone for 2-3 more weeks, then bottle. No need to rack.

2-3 weeks seems excessive. With most ale yeasts 5-10 days is sufficient in most conditions, then rack for however long you feel necessary followed by a 3 day crash then bottle.

Not sure why or how the standard became 2-3 weeks for primary with ale yeast

 

[sparkeee277]

I'm not sure why it seems to be trending to skip the secondary..... I love racking to secondary because you get to watch the beer clear up, and you get a lot less sediment in your bottles. I say it's well worth the extra effort........

 

[Phunhog]

2-3 weeks seems excessive. With most ale yeasts 5-10 days is sufficient in most conditions, then rack for however long you feel necessary followed by a 3 day crash then bottle.

Not sure why or how the standard became 2-3 weeks for primary with ale yeast

5-10 days is fine IF you pitch the right amount of healthy yeast, oxygenate, and have some sort of temperature fermentation control. Chance are though that since the OP doesn't even know how to read a hydrometer he doesn't really have a grasp on the finer points of brewing. I think the OP should leave it in the primary for 2-3 weeks.

 

[Nightshade]

5-10 days is fine IF you pitch the right amount of healthy yeast, oxygenate, and have some sort of temperature fermentation control. Chance are though that since the OP doesn't even know how to read a hydrometer he doesn't really have a grasp on the finer points of brewing. I think the OP should leave it in the primary for 2-3 weeks.

Gotcha, hadn't accounted for that aspect.

 

[S6guy]

Well I am going to go ahead and put it in my seconday on Tuesday. It is temp contolled fermenting, and will be also when I rack it. So now I know to check the gravity when I ferment.

 

[Skeptidelphian]

2-3 weeks seems excessive. With most ale yeasts 5-10 days is sufficient in most conditions, then rack for however long you feel necessary followed by a 3 day crash then bottle. Not sure why or how the standard became 2-3 weeks for primary with ale yeast

Because for homebrewers, the risk of autolysis is minimal and it's beneficial to let the beer sit on the yeast for 2-3 weeks and allow it to condition.

Racking to a secondary is going to pose a risk for oxidation and infection that would otherwise not exist, especially for a new homebrewer. It's not necessary to rack to bright either if your process is correct from the beginning (a good lauter, Whirlfloc, good cold break, healthy and appropriate amount of yeast in an aerated wort, cold crash) is more effective in created a clear beer. In fact, the beer clears in primary too. My English bitter sat on the yeast for 7 weeks since I was moving and didn't have time to bottle. It tastes fine and is the clearest beer I made - even *forgot* Whirlfloc.

 

[Zamial]

Great to hear you are brewing up your second batch of beer. There seems to be a ton of good advice here but it is probably pretty overwhelming for a new brewer.

1st off your beer will be fine the odds it will not be are minimal. As a new brewer you should seek out a local homebrew club or store and get some solid info on how to use the hydrometer and some group brew days with them. Seeing how things are done is great.

2nd I highly recommend checking out the beginner's section in the section above this one. There are some great folks up there that love to help new brewers out. Also check out the stickies at the top and when you are done with that check out the stickies at the top.

As for "when to rack or when to secondary" this is a pretty vocal topic and is very subject to different peoples tastes/preferences/experiences. In your specific case you are better off to wait 3 weeks and bottle OR rack to secondary for a week if the beer tastes sweet. The reason I am suggesting that is because in that amount of time the yeast should have eaten up all the available sugars and leaving it on the yeast will more than likely help the beer vs. hurt it especially if we do not have an accurate original gravity reading.

 

[S6guy]

I have been reading a lot.....and learning. With any hobbie I start and tend to dive in head first. Some details im still forgetting, but with experience will work the bugs out.

 

[Battles4Seattle]

According to my hydrometer 10% is at 1.080 but yours may be different. If that is the case your fermentation may have not even started...

I'd take another reading.

Enjoy the hobby! Irish death is good stuff too.

 

[S6guy]

I'll check it tonight. It's bubbling thru my air lock, and I had some blow off after 3 days into fermentation.

 

[Demus]

I'll check it tonight. It's bubbling thru my air lock, and I had some blow off after 3 days into fermentation.

If it's bubbling, just leave it alone! The biggest thug you can learn is patience. Wait at least 3 days after ALL noticeable signs of fermentation have ceased and the take a reading. Wait another 3 days and check again. If it's EXACTLY the same, you can bottle/keg or rack to another vessel if you want to condition it further before packaging...

 

[S6guy]

Got it.....that's what I was thinking as well. It's definitely going to condition at least another two weeks when I do rack it. **** now I need to go get another carboy......ready to brew again!

 

[S6guy]

So checked it Tuesday and it was at 1.040, and today it's at 1.038. Still a bubble every 30 seconds or so.....

 

[Demus]

So checked it Tuesday and it was at 1.040, and today it's at 1.038. Still a bubble every 30 seconds or so.....

You really need to leave it alone. Don't check it if there's any noticeable signs of fermentation. The number won't matter because it isn't finished...

 

[S6guy]

Check! Leaving it alone.

 

[S6guy]

Ended up at 1.020. Moved to seconday tonight to age for two weeks then I will keg it. Should I put it in refer for the two weeks, or room temp...68-70 good.?