Racking a Oatmeal Stout to secondary??

[AngryHobbitBrewing]

Been fermenting in the primary for 10 days and there was an abundant amount of yeast in my starter so much in fact when i pitched the yeast i could see fermentstion within ten minutes.... Because of this way awesome yeast starter i am thinking about racking to a secondary to get it off the yeast cake??? Any ideas??? Does anyone else secondary ferment a stout?

 

[AngryHobbitBrewing]

My recipe is as follows:
oatmeal stout

5 gallons
All Grain
1.055OG→1.014FG→5.4%ABV
Actual 1.054
30 IBU
27.6°L SRM
Yeasts
4.23 ounces
1335 - British Ale II
Wyeast (Ale) 4.23 ounces

Fermentables
10.63 pounds
Maris Otter
37ppg, 4°L 7 pounds
66%
Chocolate
28ppg, 350°L 12 ounces
7%
Victory
34ppg, 25°L 12 ounces
7%
Oats (Flaked)
31ppg, 2°L 10 ounces
6%
2 Row Base
36ppg, 2°L 8 ounces
5%
Barley (Flaked)
31ppg, 2°L 8 ounces
5%
Crystal 80L
33ppg, 80°L 8 ounces
5%

Hops
2 ounces
Willamette
6%, Pellet 2 ounces
100%

Miscellaneous
1 ounce
Irish moss
Fining 1 ounce
100%

Batch/Fly
1 hour, 7.41 gallons
Strike
Target 156°F 4.65 gallons
166°F
1 hour
Sparge 2.76 gallons
170°F

Boil
1 hour, 5.78 gallons
Williamette
6%, Pellet 2 ounces
60 minutes (+0)
Add wort chiller 15 minutes (+45)
Irish moss
Fining 1 ounce
10 minutes (+50)

 

[Yooper]

You can, if you feel that you want to let it sit for a bit. I'd probably be inclined to just leave it in the fermenter for another few days, and then package it. But you can certainly age it in a clearing vessel for a little while first.

 

[sweetcell]

at 1.054, you can skip secondary if you want... or at a minimum you are in no rush to move it. RDWHAHB.

unless you're making an imperial and you want to bulk age it before bottling, or you want to rack on top of something that will require a long time, there is no need to secondary. you can leave your stout in primary for a month and not have any problems. the concern about getting beer off the yeast ASAP is a false one, even the authors that used to say this have changed their opinions in recent years. so don't worry about it, leave it in primary until you're ready to bottle/keg.

 

[Mishraile]

I rack almost all my beers to secondary, helps with clarification. THOUGH, from what I have heard the traditional belief of off flavors from leaving on the yeast cake is supposedly a myth. I would still do it, though. just MAKE SURE that fermentation is done. No more bubbles, No more Troubles!

 

[sweetcell]

I rack almost all my beers to secondary, helps with clarification.

there is indeed an argument to be made in favor of clarification (although some say that leaving it in primary will clarify better, vs. disturbing the yeast during racking... the debate rages on) however, this is a stout. chances are it's going to be between opaque brown and pitch black so clarity won't matter as much.

 

[AngryHobbitBrewing]

I want to keep it as true to the style as i can because i am entering this into the milwaukee home brew festival and im running low on time time get this entered! Registration closes on oct 12 th so i have to allow time for bottle conditioning. With that being said for those who compete in this style what do yall normally do for time crunch fermenting/bottling?

 

[sweetcell]

if you're running low on time, then you might not want to clarify too much - clear beer, having less yeast in suspension, won't carb as quickly.

cold-crash if you want to clarify, faster than secondary.

Oct 10 is three weeks away - that should be enough time to carb. i'd get it bottled sooner rather than later, as two weeks is the minimum amount of time you want to give the bottles. storing them on the warm side (75-80*F) will help them carb a bit faster. luckily stouts are supposed to be highly carbed so you don't need to worry too much

 

[Pratzie]

how much irish moss did u use?

 

[Homercidal]

I'd rack to secondary IF YOU WANT TO. It only takes a few minutes and *might* improve your beer's flavor (depends on how clean you are and how careful you are to not oxygenate the wort during racking). Or you can simply crash cool and CAREFULLY rack to the bottling bucket when bottling.

If you want at least 3 weeks to bottle condition (carb up) then you might want to consider cold crashing now and bottling in a couple of days. I think this is the best bet for being ready in time. Just make sure you are very careful when moving the fermenter to avoid rousing too much gunk. Then when you siphon to the bottling bucket, rack carefully.

But bottom line is that 2-3 more weeks on the yeast won't cause off flavors, so no worries.

 

[AngryHobbitBrewing]

One onlunce of irish moss

 

[PapsD]

I wouldn't put an oatmeal stout in a secondary. If I were you I'd just bottle this weekend. that way it has time to condition before the contest. Then just put the bottles ur gonna enter in the fridge for a few days before you take them to the contest.