New to Brewing and this Forum

[OrCoastBrew]

Hey Everyone,
I have recently started trying to brew. I have just started my first brew ever and it is a Pilsner from a kit. Making the adding all of the stuff and making the Wort went pretty good and I think I kept everything very clean so I am not to worried about it. It took about 6 hours for the fermentation process to begin but now I have good bubbling action happening. I looked at the airstop about every 15 minutes until it started bubbling. Boy was I glad to see and hear the first bubbles!

I do have one question that might seem silly but I really don't want to make a mistake. My batch is in my primary fermentation bucket right now and I am wonder when or if I transfer it to my carboy? I am not sure if I should have just put it in the carboy before the yeast started working or if I make a transfer at a certain time or if I just leave it alone. Any help would be great.

Thanks

 

[Kronin]

I wait 5 or 6 days, then check S.G. if I get S.G. below 1.008 and its the same for two days in a row then I transfer to secondary / carboy.
after another 10 days or so I bottle it up.... but you can rack it to another carboy even a few times to clear up the beer signifacantly.

 

[VTBrewer]

1.008 is relative to the brew you're making. Some will never get down there. That being said, a pilsner from a kit will probably finish somewhere around there.

15 days is very fast from boil to bottle, but I tend to do that with the wheats I make.

What temp are you fermenting at? Will you lager this?

 

[Nurmey]

Welcome to HBT!

There are as many answers to your question as there are brewers. You do not have to rack to secondary at all if you prefer. Many brewers secondary and many just primary for 3 to 4 weeks.

You want to make sure your brew has finished fermenting and you've reached your final gravity before you rack to secondary. I wouldn't even bother checking your gravity for 7 to 10 days. Before that time your yeast is still busy doing it's job.

Yeast does not only convert the sugars to alcohol but it will clean up it's waste (remove off flavors) and clear your beer. I never move a beer from primary before 3 weeks. That allows the yeast to do it's thing and the beer is crystal clear.

 

[OrCoastBrew]

1.008 is relative to the brew you're making. Some will never get down there. That being said, a pilsner from a kit will probably finish somewhere around there.

15 days is very fast from boil to bottle, but I tend to do that with the wheats I make.

What temp are you fermenting at? Will you lager this?

Between 65F - 68F

 

[OrCoastBrew]

Welcome to HBT!

There are as many answers to your question as there are brewers. You do not have to rack to secondary at all if you prefer. Many brewers secondary and many just primary for 3 to 4 weeks.

You want to make sure your brew has finished fermenting and you've reached your final gravity before you rack to secondary. I wouldn't even bother checking your gravity for 7 to 10 days. Before that time your yeast is still busy doing it's job.

Yeast does not only convert the sugars to alcohol but it will clean up it's waste (remove off flavors) and clear your beer. I never move a beer from primary before 3 weeks. That allows the yeast to do it's thing and the beer is crystal clear.

So basically the directions that came with the kit should be disregarded?
Cause there timing seems way to fast.

 

[Nurmey]

One of my pet peeves is the directions that come with (some) kits. I would recommend that you disregard the instructions if they tell you to do something dumb like move your beer to secondary before it's done fermenting or tells you to bottle at 7 days. I don't even want to talk about the instructions that say to dump 3 pounds of table sugar in your beer.

Oops, I digress. Once you have fermentation, it's never going to hurt to wait a while longer on any step and it will probably help you make better beer.

 

[Kronin]

Yeah 15 days is quick,... but the crazy instructions on the label were even worse.
4 days in primary, then straight to bottle. one week later, Enjoy!... uhm, ya I don't think so.

 

[ifishsum]

Once it's in the fermenter I don't bother it for at least 10 days. Then I check the gravity and if it's dropped to where it's supposed to I'll rack it to secondary - if it doesn't seem to be quite finished after 10 days, wait another 4-5 and check it again. Moving to secondary too early (before the beer is finished) is a common mistake, and the kit directions seem to encourage rushing. 21 days from brew day is my minimum before bottling.

 

[Tripod]

...I never move a beer from primary before 3 weeks. That allows the yeast to do it's thing and the beer is crystal clear.

+1. That's what I do too. Even if I do use a secondary (rarely), I still leave it in the primary for about 21 days and don't disturb it at all... So far I've gotten beer that was mighty clear!

-Tripod

 

[VTBrewer]

One of my pet peeves is the directions that come with (some) kits. I would recommend that you disregard the instructions if they tell you to do something dumb

My only bigger pet peeve is the instructions on the back of WYEAST smack packs.

 

[winzerz]

to be honest my last two beers I left 3 weeks and 6 weeks

in primary the 3 week was a hefe weizen

the 6 week was a porter

we had the Porter today during superbowl

was awesome !!!!

six weeks in primary ROCKS OUT DUDE

 

[OrCoastBrew]

Right on thanks everyone for the great info. Now, how important is the temperature of the area in which you let your fermentation take place? Also if I do decide to rack it to my secondary sometime down the road is it important to keep in a dark cooler area? Especially since it will then be in a clear glass container. I would assume you would not want direct sunlight hitting it, I would also assume that a cooler, darker spot would also be needed at this point.

 

[jmiracle]

I just throw a t-shirt over the carboy but then I don't have a basement. If you have a basement or cellar you could put the carboy down there if it doesn't get to like freezing temperatures. It would be ideal for the style of beer if you were fermenting at lagering temps, but without a lagering set up, I would think the ideal thing to do would be to keep it in the coolest spot you can that doesn't have wild temperature swings. It's not really ideal for the beer to be in a spot that, for example, gets cold at night and warm during the day.

Regardless your beer will turn out fine, remember Relax Don't Worry Have A Homebrew.

 

[Tripod]

Now, how important is the temperature of the area in which you let your fermentation take place?

Like jmiracle is saying...you're gonna make beer either way so RDWHAHB. But if you really want to hone in and make the best beer you can, then temperature becomes very important.

Every strain of yeast has an ideal temperature range. I have my setup in a giant rubbermaid filled about half-way with tap water. I put my carboy in a milk-crate (better handles) and then put both into the rubbermaid bath. When it's cold out, I use an aquarium heater to heat the water. When it's hot out, I freeze gatorade bottles and add them to the water. I keep a thermometer submersed (-sp?) in the bath and then tweek my heater or frozen bottles until I get a good temperature.

You do not have to go that far for your brews and I think you'll be fine as long as you don't get wild temperature swings...I just like to try and control what I can and this setup helps me make a better beer.

Hope that helps!

-Tripod