Removed from cake to early?

[Dillonks1]

Being ignorant and stubborn I decided to use a secondary for my brew. I left the beer in my primary fermenter for 7.5 days. Fermentation started vigorous bubbling after just 13 hours and slowed after 96 hours, and came to just 1 bubble per minute on the 5th day. I used the Brewers best American Pale ale ingredient kit.

When I racked to secondary after 7.5 days in the primary, I did not take a gravity reading which I regret and have been sweating the past 7 days it has been in the secondary. It looks like beer but is still a bit cloudy, and I am worried not enough yeast was racked to my secondary to clean up the beer.

My plan is to let it sit in the secondary for another 7 days and then bottle.

Any advice from someone experienced would be great!

Thanks

 

[Taypo]

You're fine. You already know you should be using a hydrometer, so lesson learned. Leave it for another week or two and you'll be fine.

 

[midfielder5]

I would not sweat it as there isn't anything to do now, unless you need to go buy a hydrometer

Don't bottle it until final gravity (FG) is stable for 3 days.

 

[BendBrewer]

Sounds like you have a good plan.

In the future, I suggest just ditching the 'secondary' step. If you decide to keep doing it, just stab the yeast cake with the siphon tube a couple of times. This will only sereve to ease your mind as there is plenty of yeast in solution without doing so to finish the job. You have nothing to worry about.

 

[sendkyleanemail]

Without a gravity reading its really impossible to have a clear answer. Just to be safe, let the beer sit in secondary for a full TWO WEEKS. Bottling sooner could result in bottle bombs. Also, don't be too surprised if the beer is overly sweet, or estery. Even if the yeast did consume all the sugars in that beer, they still had work to do.

Remember to take those readings next time, and feel free to leave your beer in primary for 3-4 weeks then bottle, skipping secondary.

Cheers!

 

[Dan]

I believe "have patience" is the only peice of advice I could give you. I kegged a Pale Ale recently that sat in a primary fermenter for 1 month, no secondary. I kegged it a week ago and am suprised that it isn't clearer. So I tell myself, have patience it will clear.

You really ought to take a gravity reading, if its hit FG then just sit back and wait, and if it hasn't just sit back and wait. A week isn't very long to achieve clear beer.

 

[Dillonks1]

Thank you all, I will definitely skip the secondary next time and be taking readings with my new castle clone.

cheers

 

[jonmohno]

There would be enough yeast to finish secondary,alot of people rack when it is not completly finsihed. If there wasnt enough yeast to finish,then we wouldnt have carbed up beer in our bottles either. Mine seem to take 3 weeks before they start clearing,dont sweat it if it doesnt clear,its not always suppose to. Your hydrometer reading is perfectly good just before bottleing it.But if you want to do the 2-3 day check doso, i never do but i go 3 wks primary.
Just because it was bubbleing still doesnt mean the yeast is still working away,it could just be offgassing still.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Don't bottle it until final gravity (FG) is stable for 3 days.

or if you're going to use a secondary, which isn't needed, but i still do for post fermentation additions like spice, dry hops, etc., make sure FG is reached and stable before racking from primary to secondary. that way you won't need to worry if enough yeast made it through to ferment the beer more, it will be done fermenting and only conditioning, clearing or flavoring will need to happen in secondary.