Ready for secondary?

[CoolshipMike]

I'm brewing my first batch, a saison. The recipe says:

"Ferment until head falls (3-5 days) transfer to carboy leaving sediment behind and ferment until FG is reached."

SG = 1058-1062
FG = 1010-1012

When I measured it before pitching the yeast it measured 1054. After 4 days I checked the primary and the head still looked pretty significant. Now it's 6 days out and there is still a pretty decent 1/3 inch froth on top. It measured 1010 with the hygrometer today.

Seems like the SG was a bit low and it's at FG already. What to do now? Wait until the head falls completely? Rack to secondary? Need some advice here, thanks!

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Leave for another week to two! Relax.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Leave for another week to two! Relax.

or three!

those kit instructions are ball$ when it comes to fermentation times. 3-4 weeks in primary (secondary optional) is a much better practice.

 

[scottatdrake]

When in doubt... do nothing!

 

[daksin]

Yea, ignore that. Leave it in primary for 5-7 days after FG is reached.

 

[Taypo]

Horrible Kit Instructions Strike Again! No real reason for a secondary with a saison, I dont think. Take the time it says to secondary, add it to your primary and leave it all in one bucket for the whole time.

 

[CoolshipMike]

Ok, thanks for the replies everyone. Even though it's only been about a week the gravity seems to be already within range of the FG. Should it be lower because the OG was lower? Am I waiting a few weeks now for the yeast to clean up? Also, is there any danger leaving on the trub or in plastic for too long? Thanks!

 

[kurtism]

kits are designed for people to get a drinkable product asap...to make it seem easy and fast. slow and steady always wins the race.

 

[chadrut72]

What's the easyest way to clean blowoff hose

 

[cravej]

What to do now?

If you need to do something, then start another batch.

 

[chadrut72]

I had too hook up a blowoff hose to my fermenter and instead of buying new hose wats the best way too clean it out

 

[CoolshipMike]

If you need to do something, then start another batch.

Heh, I've actually started on a kolsch.

Ok, thanks for the replies everyone. Even though it's only been about a week the gravity seems to be already within range of the FG. Should it be lower because the OG was lower? Am I waiting a few weeks now for the yeast to clean up? Also, is there any danger leaving on the trub or in plastic for too long? Thanks!

Wish I could get some answers to my follow up questions about the FG though

 

[A4J]

Ok, thanks for the replies everyone. Even though it's only been about a week the gravity seems to be already within range of the FG. Should it be lower because the OG was lower?

Not necessarily.

Am I waiting a few weeks now for the yeast to clean up? Also, is there any danger leaving on the trub or in plastic for too long? Thanks!

not for a few weeks or even months.

 

[Stauffbier]

Ok, thanks for the replies everyone. Even though it's only been about a week the gravity seems to be already within range of the FG. Should it be lower because the OG was lower? Am I waiting a few weeks now for the yeast to clean up? Also, is there any danger leaving on the trub or in plastic for too long? Thanks!

Just because your OG was lower than you expected doesn't mean the FG will get lower too. Your FG might finish right where it's supposed to or it might even finish too high. There are a lot of factors involved like; boil time, fermentation temp, yeast viability, aeration, etc..

A good rule of thumb on length of primary fermentation seems to be about 4 weeks. Or at least, that seems to be a popular time frame on this forum. On low gravity beers I sometimes only go 3 weeks. On heavier, more complex beers I'll go 4 weeks. If you get too busy to deal with it and accidentally leave it for 5 or 6 weeks you should still be fine..

 

[pjj2ba]

A low gravity saison can ferment pretty quick. If you do everything correct, and pitch the proper amount of yeast, a typical ale will be done fermenting in 3-5 days, 7-10 days for a lager. After that the yeast that are left in suspension are cleaning up things like diacetyl and acetaldehyde. After that, if everything has been spot on, the conditioning phase can be as short as 7 days for an ale, and possibly as short as two weeks for a lager. After that they can be packaged. If conditions have been less than ideal (more "off" flavors produced), it will take longer for the yeast to remove them - if at all.

Whether you want to use a secondary is a matter of your personal tastes. The easiest thing to do is to just leave it in primary. Leaving the beer on the yeast cake does add flavors to the beer. Many folks like these flavors, many do not. Try it both ways and decide which you like better. You might also find that for some styles you like the flavor of primary only, but not for other styles

 

[HopfulAddiction]

kits are designed for people to get a drinkable product asap...to make it seem easy and fast. slow and steady always wins the race.

Really cause I'm brewing my 1st kit and it calls for over 2 months before bottling 7-10 days in primary, and 2 months in secondary with the dry hops. The style is an IPA.

Kit direction say rack to secondary when gravity is within a few points of final usually 7-10 days.

Airlock was going off every second or two for a couple days and fell off substantially 2 days ago down to every couple minutes I think. I was going to check gravity this weekend. I brewed last Friday.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Really cause I'm brewing my 1st kit and it calls for over 2 months before bottling 7-10 days in primary, and 2 months in secondary with the dry hops. The style is an IPA.

that's gonna be one grassy tasting beer if you dry hop that long. 7-10 days at room temp is a long enough dry hop for an IPA. longer than two weeks and the hops will make the beer taste like hay.

 

[kurtism]

Really cause I'm brewing my 1st kit and it calls for over 2 months before bottling 7-10 days in primary, and 2 months in secondary with the dry hops. The style is an IPA.

Kit direction say rack to secondary when gravity is within a few points of final usually 7-10 days.

Airlock was going off every second or two for a couple days and fell off substantially 2 days ago down to every couple minutes I think. I was going to check gravity this weekend. I brewed last Friday.

which kit is it?