quick question about carboy space

[E-roc]

ok i have all the ingredients to make my first beer I have been making wine for a while now i have 2 7 gal buckets a 5 gal carboy full of wine a 6 gal carboy full of wine and 2 empty 3 gal carboys i got a mountmellick irish stout kit and 3 lbs of liquid malt extract my question is with out a fitting carboy empty after primary could i put the beer in the 2 3 gal carboys for secondary

im pretty good at wine im just nervous about making my first beer thanks

 

[whatisitgoodfor]

Splitting the batch for secondary is fine.

You can also just skip the secondary and leave the beer in the primary for 3-4 weeks before bottling.

 

[Vuarra]

Once you have set up the fermentation vessel, there is not a lot of difference between sparkling wine and beer. Age it in the primary for about the same as a quality wine, add sugar, and bottle.

 

[E-roc]

if i skip the secondary would i have a problem with the beer sitting on the yeast for that long and what about oxidation

 

[whatisitgoodfor]

Off flavors from being on the yeast takes several months (not sure exactly how long, but I always leave my beer on the cake for 3-5 weeks with no off flavors.)

Oxidation will take quite a while too. The HDPE of the bucket is slightly permeable to O2, but I wouldn't worry about it unless the beer will stay in there for several months. You'll be getting more O2 in your beer when you transfer to the bottling bucket than from seeping into the fermenter. The yeast should take care of any O2 you do pick up as well.

 

[Vuarra]

Yeast autolysis won't usually happen for about 6 months, unless you're fermenting at about 100*F. If you're fermenting at that temperature, you'll have bigger issues than sitting on a yeast cake. If you're using an airlock, all of the oxygen will have blown out during the first week. If you're not using an airlock, the carbon dioxide is heavier than air anyways, so if you're not peeking into the chamber every week, you won't be mixing any oxygen in there.

 

[E-roc]

sweet thanks for the replies

 

[uechikid]

If it were me I'd split it between the two 3 gallon carboys.