Need help with first brew...secondary fermentation

[themanc84]

Hi, how's it going? Just transferred my Pale Ale to the secondary fermenter. I was going to dry hop with 1oz of Willamette but the beer did not have any hop aroma (tasted good) so instead I dry hopped with 1 oz Cascade and 1 oz Willamette.

Anyway, I filled the carboy to the very top to get rid of all the Starsan foam and when I put on the stopper and airlock, beer started to fill the airlock. Fermentation was complete when I transferred (gravity under 1.020). Should I use a blowoff hose just to be safe? It looks like it has subsided but there is still beer in the airlock.

Hoping for some help here, Thanks.

 

[kev211]

You probably dont need the blowoff. Primary should have taken care of all the heavy stuff, you probably just woke up some of the yeast which ate up the remaining sugars. Also, I know you'll find this somewhere else on here so Im gonna help you to it. For beers like Pale Ales and IPA's due to their nature in not needing to be aged, the secondary vessel is not quite necessary. It will just result in potential oxygenation and infection. Good luck!

 

[Gavin C]

1.020 or lower is not really an indicator that fermentation is ended. Many beers will go a lot lower than that.

What was the OG and what was the predicted FG

Was it an extract brew. These can sometimes be associated with aFG higher than an all grain batch.

Sounds like ferment was not done. How long was it in the fermentor before you transferred it.

 

[eadavis80]

There won't be any harm in using a blowoff tube. The odds of it being NECESSARY are very slim given the gravity is down to 1.020. Sure, it very well might get a lot lower, but I'm guessing the initial vigorous fermentation is long gone. That being said, I don't know anyone who has ever regretted putting a blowoff tube on. Instead, there are plenty of stories of people who wish they had. You'll read endless posts from people arguing for and against secondary. You'll discover what you prefer through your own brewing experience.

 

[themanc84]

1.020 or lower is not really an indicator that fermentation is ended. Many beers will go a lot lower than that.

What was the OG and what was the predicted FG

Was it an extract brew. These can sometimes be associated with aFG higher than an all grain batch.

Sounds like ferment was not done. How long was it in the fermentor before you transferred it.

I didn't have a hydrometer when I started so the first gravity reading I took was when I transferred to the secondary. The gravity was actually around 1.01 and the abv reading was right around 5%. I did a lot of things this time around that weren't necessary just for practice (transferring to secondary, yeast starter, dry hopping) I had it in the primary for two weeks. Bubbles pretty much stopped after around 7-8 days.

It was an extract brew although the kit only came with Cascade hops. I added Willamette and US Goldings and added 1 lb of extra pale DME.

 

[Gavin C]

That FG and time frame tell me it was finished. The bubbling was in all likelihood CO2 off gassing in greater volumes after the transfer to the secondary. No worries on that score I reckon.

The ABV scale on the hydrometer is of no use for beer makers. To know ABV you need your starting and finishing gravities and plug them into an ABV algorithm.

The starting gravity will be indicated in the extract recipe. If your volume in the fermentor was correct this will be the SG or extremely close to it. Edit : extra lb of malt will change that SG listed in the recipe.

Sounds like you're having fun with this batch. Good stuff.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[themanc84]

That FG and time frame tell me it was finished. The bubbling was in all likelihood CO2 off gassing in greater volumes after the transfer to the secondary. No worries on that score I reckon.

The ABV scale on the hydrometer is of no use for beer makers. To know ABV you need your starting and finishing gravities and plug them into an ABV algorithm.

The starting gravity will be indicated in the extract recipe. If your volume in the fermentor was correct this will be the SG or extremely close to it. Edit : extra lb of malt will change that SG listed in the recipe.

Sounds like you're having fun with this batch. Good stuff.

Welcome to the forum.

I appreciate your help, thanks!

 

[cannman]

Hi, how's it going? Just transferred my Pale Ale to the secondary fermenter. I was going to dry hop with 1oz of Willamette but the beer did not have any hop aroma (tasted good) so instead I dry hopped with 1 oz Cascade and 1 oz Willamette.

Anyway, I filled the carboy to the very top to get rid of all the Starsan foam and when I put on the stopper and airlock, beer started to fill the airlock. Fermentation was complete when I transferred (gravity under 1.020). Should I use a blowoff hose just to be safe? It looks like it has subsided but there is still beer in the airlock.

Hoping for some help here, Thanks.

Next time leave space for the yeast to grow. I use 6 gal carboys and for most beers fill only to 5 gal (including yeast starter vol) and hook up a blowoff tube for the first few days until the yeast fall back.

I'd say 1.020 is not done... that will be some low alcohol and sickly sweet beer...... Are you still getting bubble activity in the airlock in your secondary?

Also if you're using glass, and you are worried about foam, use IOstar instead (iodine)

 

[Dlou84]

I did an IPA recently. 6.5 abv and 70 ibus. After fermentation when checking gravity I noticed no aroma as well. I decided to dry hop with the finishing hop from the recipe, EK Goldings 2 oz for a week. I ended up thinking the hop aroma was way too strong (I have dry hopped a few beers before and liked the outcome. The Goldings probably weren't a good choice). Anyway I am just curious if it is common after one or two weeks of fermentation to not notice the hop aroma due to other factors like yeast smell or trub and they will become clearer once kegged or bottled.

 

[themanc84]

Next time leave space for the yeast to grow. I use 6 gal carboys and for most beers fill only to 5 gal (including yeast starter vol) and hook up a blowoff tube for the first few days until the yeast fall back.

I'd say 1.020 is not done... that will be some low alcohol and sickly sweet beer...... Are you still getting bubble activity in the airlock in your secondary?

Also if you're using glass, and you are worried about foam, use IOstar instead (iodine)

I used a 6.5 carboy for primary and a 5 gallon carboy for secondary. The gravity was around 1. 010 when I transferred. I tasted the beer and it wasn't too sweet.

I just observed the fermenter for a few minutes and it is not bubbling, there is just some beer in the airlock.

 

[cannman]

I used a 6.5 carboy for primary and a 5 gallon carboy for secondary. The gravity was around 1. 010 when I transferred. I tasted the beer and it wasn't too sweet.



I just observed the fermenter for a few minutes and it is not bubbling, there is just some beer in the airlock.

Ah! I think I miss understood. To the top in the secondary! Good.

Beer in ur airlock after primary means it wasn't done yet (might be now). I'd replace that beer in airlock with clean starsan...

Give it some time in there, it may finish still in an acceptable gravity

 

[themanc84]

I did an IPA recently. 6.5 abv and 70 ibus. After fermentation when checking gravity I noticed no aroma as well. I decided to dry hop with the finishing hop from the recipe, EK Goldings 2 oz for a week. I ended up thinking the hop aroma was way too strong (I have dry hopped a few beers before and liked the outcome. The Goldings probably weren't a good choice). Anyway I am just curious if it is common after one or two weeks of fermentation to not notice the hop aroma due to other factors like yeast smell or trub and they will become clearer once kegged or bottled.

I was thinking about dry hopping in the primary for about 4 days before bottling but I'm trying to keep my schedule a weekly thing (intervals of 7) so instead I transferred to secondary after two weeks, and will bottle after one week in the secondary.

Goldings isn't really known for dry hopping in an ipa from what I read. Maybe you would've had better results with 1 oz, a different hop, or less days with the hops.

I'm dry hopping with 1 oz cascades and 1 oz willamette for one week. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[themanc84]

Ah! I think I miss understood. To the top in the secondary! Good.

Beer in ur airlock after primary means it wasn't done yet (might be now). I'd replace that beer in airlock with clean starsan...

Give it some time in there, it may finish still in an acceptable gravity

Just removed the airlock and replaced the beer with starsan as advised. Do I need to worry about the beer being exposed to oxygen in the 30 seconds it took to complete the process? The rubber stopper remained on.

 

[cannman]

Just removed the airlock and replaced the beer with starsan as advised. Do I need to worry about the beer being exposed to oxygen in the 30 seconds it took to complete the process? The rubber stopper remained on.

IMHO, oxidation is a bit overblown... I wouldn't worry a bit. It's not like you were blowing bubbles anyhow.

You're good. How about some pics?

 

[kh54s10]

IMHO, oxidation is a bit overblown... I wouldn't worry a bit. It's not like you were blowing bubbles anyhow.

You're good. How about some pics?

Agreed. It would take more than having the airlock and stopper off the carboy. You probably had a bigger risk of oxidation from transferring to secondary.

 

[sudbuddy]

Sounds like you're still in the pacing the floor asking "is it beer yet? is it beer yet?" phase of your homebrewing career. Don't worry, that will pass. The ideal thing you can do for your beer right now is to give it more time in primary and really let it finish. IPAs shouldn't be 1.020, they should be 1.010-1.018 per the BJCP guidelines so it probably wasn't done yet. Did you use dry yeast from a kit or was it liquid yeast? Liquid yeast is awesome because of the wide variety of available strains but you should do a starter with it to make sure you have enough yeast cells to fully ferment it. If it was dry yeast, next time give it a few more days in the fermenter.

Most importantly, relax. You are going to have beer and I promise it will be better than Budweiser. Keep looking through these forums for tips, and take a class at your LHBS if they offer one. All of my customers rush their first beers and that's why they suck. If you give it time it will be good. In theory. There are a lot of mistakes along the way that can cause off flavors but don't sweat that for now.

The best thing you can do is brew every week. This helps you avoid rushing things, plus you will learn quicker, plus you will have more beer. It's a really good idea, so if you have the time and space you should definitely do it. Good luck!

 

[themanc84]

IMHO, oxidation is a bit overblown... I wouldn't worry a bit. It's not like you were blowing bubbles anyhow.

You're good. How about some pics?

Pic of yeast starter using for tomorrow's brew and pale ale in the secondary with beer in the airlock (beer re-entered after replacing with starsan)

 

[sudbuddy]

is that yeast or hops on top? To me it looks like that beer isn't done fermenting yet, but my eyes are bad. Also, that double bubble airlock might be part of the problem. Those are designed for slower fermentations (i.e. wine or mead) and don't work too well for beer. Try a 3 piece cylinder airlock and see if that works better for you. They let out a lot more gas and are less susceptible to getting clogged with yeast.

 

[themanc84]

is that yeast or hops on top? To me it looks like that beer isn't done fermenting yet, but my eyes are bad. Also, that double bubble airlock might be part of the problem. Those are designed for slower fermentations (i.e. wine or mead) and don't work too well for beer. Try a 3 piece cylinder airlock and see if that works better for you. They let out a lot more gas and are less susceptible to getting clogged with yeast.

Hmm three piece cylinder airlock...I'll have to check that out! A homebrewer can even customize his/her airlocks. Pretty cool...

Those are hops at the top. I added 2oz in a mesh bag and submerged it in the beer.

 

[cannman]

Pic of yeast starter using for tomorrow's brew and pale ale in the secondary with beer in the airlock (beer re-entered after replacing with starsan)

When I pitch, usually it's never less than 500ml of DME @ 100g/L..... I've had to add over 2L of yeast to one brew early this year to make sure I hit 8%+... So don't skimp on the starter.

What's on the brew schedule tomorrow?

 

[themanc84]

When I pitch, usually it's never less than 500ml of DME @ 100g/L..... I've had to add over 2L of yeast to one brew early this year to make sure I hit 8%+... So don't skimp on the starter.

What's on the brew schedule tomorrow?

I followed a pretty simple guideline for making a starter--1/2 cup of DME + 2 cups of water. I shook it up in the flask a couple of times to get it going. Not sure if thats common practice.

For my first batch I accidentally measured 3/4 cups of DME to 2 cups of water. When I shook it up it wasn't nearly as active as this one.

Brewing Northern Brewer's bourbon barrel porter tomorrow