Racking into Secondary and this happened

[Grim_Ale]

Hey guys, tried searching and didn't come up with an exact answer so I assume it's no big deal.

I was racking my Imperial Stout into my secondary with oak and bourbon and I wasn't paying attention to how deep the racking cane was.

First pump into the secondary looked like chocolate milk. It was basically a pretty good bit of yeast trub that made it in before I was able to raise it fast enough.

Will this excess yeast compromise my secondary flavoring or is it no big deal?

I'm using 2 oz oak cubes and the bourbon they were soaking in as my additives.

 

[mvcorliss]

No problem. It will settle out just fine.


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[Grim_Ale]

Thanks. I let the cubes soak for 2 weeks and added the cubes and the bourbon they were in. It was roughly only 4 oz or so.

Was this a mistake? Been reading that you should toss it because of tannins. I tasted it, was very strong but I figured in 5 gals it would be ok. Any thoughts?

 

[Calder]

Thanks. I let the cubes soak for 2 weeks and added the cubes and the bourbon they were in. It was roughly only 4 oz or so.

Was this a mistake? Been reading that you should toss it because of tannins. I tasted it, was very strong but I figured in 5 gals it would be ok. Any thoughts?

It all depends what you want from the oak. It is an IPA, so should be fine. Me, I would do exactly as you have done ....... not going to waste the bourbon.

 

[Teromous]

Just as a side-note, I recommend getting a racking cane clamp. I use one for my auto-siphon but they make them for racking canes too. That way you can clamp it down, and slowly drop the cane so it's just above the trub (and it's forgiving if you want to leave the room).

 

[Grim_Ale]

It all depends what you want from the oak. It is an IPA, so should be fine. Me, I would do exactly as you have done ....... not going to waste the bourbon.

It's actually an Imperial Stout so I figured adding the bourbon wouldn't hurt and could help smooth out the boozey finish.

I have the clamp for my auto siphon I just choose not to use it because I can't see where the siphon is when it's in the middle of the carboy in most beers I brew.

Thanks for the advice I will just taste it in about a week.

I will say because I used only around 4-6 oz of bourbon on these cubes that it was a strong oaked bourbon. I took a sip and my mouth went dry. Tasted like I licked an unripe persimmon and bit into an oak tree. But I figured diluted into 5 gals of beer wouldn't be bad.

 

[westo2]

It was probably actually a good thing that you pulled up a bit of yeast/trub - stirred up some yeast to help with conditioning. Any beer I'm doing a secondary on (lagers, barleywines, or imperials) I'll actually swipe the tip of the siphon across the bottom of the primary vessel to suck up some of the yeast and trub and mix it back into the beer.

Stirring up a bit of yeast is good for fermentation and aging.

 

[cjgenever]

As long as the oak isn't buried all is good. My .02; I would have put the oak in a bag and skipped the secondary. The cake can do wonders!

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