Room at the top of secondary?

[dirkdover]

I racked into the secondary today and have a good bit of room at the top. I'm not anywhere close to the stopper. I've got it all stopped up with the airlock on. Should I be worried about air exposure at this point?

I've heard of people putting sterilized marbles to bring the level up. I'd need a heck of a lot of marbles to get to the stopper.

 

[Yooper]

I racked into the secondary today and have a good bit of room at the top. I'm not anywhere close to the stopper. I've got it all stopped up with the airlock on. Should I be worried about air exposure at this point?

I've heard of people putting sterilized marbles to bring the level up. I'd need a heck of a lot of marbles to get to the stopper.

What did you make?

 

[dirkdover]

English Brown Ale from a kit...my first time brewing

 

[Captain Damage]

Trying to reduce the headspace at this point would potentially oxygenate your beer far more than you already have. If you're really worried, I guess you could add a small ammount of sugar for the yeast to ferment and give you a fresh CO2 blanket. But there's CO2 dissolved in the beer anyway, and a little out-gassing when racking is normal.

 

[Golddiggie]

How long was it on the yeast before you racked into the bright tank?? I would also suggest reading up on using long primaries, with no racking to another vessel (except where it's actually a benefit, such as for flavor additions or extended aging)... Personally, I'm not going any less than a full month on the yeast. Getting great brews as a result...

 

[dirkdover]

How long was it on the yeast before you racked into the bright tank?? I would also suggest reading up on using long primaries, with no racking to another vessel (except where it's actually a benefit, such as for flavor additions or extended aging)... Personally, I'm not going any less than a full month on the yeast. Getting great brews as a result...

I brewed this past Monday and racked to secondary today on the suggestion of the kit (remember this is my first time). I read through my other post on secondaries the benefits & drawbacks. I will probably only move to a secondary only if I decide to brew with a dry hop next time. I guess I need to know if it is ultimately OK to leave it in the secondary for about a week with that much room at the top or should I just go to bottling to reduce risk of air contamination. It is at a gravity that is ready to bottle. Only in a secondary to clarify.

 

[Golddiggie]

I would only rack IF you're adding a flavor element and need to get off of another one you previously added. Just for dry hopping doesn't make sense to me... I added my dry hops right into primary just last night. The only time that brew will be racked is on bottling day (the coming Thursday)...

How much space are we talking about between the brew and the base of the bung hole?? If you racked into a 5 gallon carboy, don't worry. If you racked 5 gallons into a 6 gallon carboy, then you might have an issue. Then again, you could just shoot a little CO2 in there and not worry about it...

I wouldn't use a calendar for trying to decide when your first few brews are ready for bottles, etc... You need to use a hydrometer to confirm it's at the FG, and then taste it to determine when it's ready to be bottled.

BTW, I know it's your first time, but for future brews, I would advise ignoring future sheets that say 'rack after x days into secondary and bottle after Y days'... Yeast/brew doesn't give a flying rat's rectum about human calendars. They work on their own schedule and couldn't care less about our desires... Give them the time to process the wort and you'll be rewarded with much better/great brew for it...

 

[dirkdover]

I think I'm in a 6 gallon carboy. It was gifted to me and I made the mistake of assuming it was a 5 gallon. Don't have any CO2 to put in there. I tried to attach a photo for you to see.

I did taste it today. It tastes good minus the carbonation.

 

[Golddiggie]

I think I'm in a 6 gallon carboy. It was gifted to me and I made the mistake of assuming it was a 5 gallon. Don't have any CO2 to put in there. I tried to attach a photo for you to see.

I did taste it today. It tastes good minus the carbonation.

If that's 5 gallons in there, you have a 5 gallon carboy... Perfectly fine as it stands/sits...

Just give it some time to settle out before you go to bottle it up... I don't have any pictures to share of my batches. Can't even take any of what I have here, since they're all in stainless vessels. I'm shifting over to fermenting in kegs, as well as aging in them (for when it makes sense)... Light is no longer an issue this way. :rockin:

 

[dirkdover]

Thank you so much for the help. I really do feel like a rookie (i am). But there are so many questions.

 

[Golddiggie]

As long as you're learning from batch 1 you'll be fine... Read as much as you can from other threads here...

If you're a quick learner (I am) then I suspect you'll be making the transition to all grain pretty soon... I had just three extract batches before I did one partial mash (ok, mostly mash, it's my Dirty Old Man recipe) before shifting over to all grain... Add yeast washing, buying in bulk, and some DIY projects and you can make home brew for damned little expense. I've gotten my batches to ~$12/5 gallons for normal ABV (up to about 6.5%) and usually under $20 until we hit big barley wine territory (just a hair over $20 though)...

I do recommend keeping a written log of your brews. I have one that's a journal book (leather outside, I put a grid paper book into it) that I put every recipe into. It allows me to look up a brew when I'm not at one of my systems with the actual recipe on it. Makes providing info to people sampling your brews easier... At least it does for me.

 

[ajf]

If that's 5g of beer, then it looks like a 6g carboy to me.
My 5g carboys hold 5g when filled to within an inch or so of the bung
My 6g carboys hold 6g when filled to within an inch or so of the bung
I think my 6.5g carboys hold rather more than 6.5g, but I am guessing here because I've never measured them.

I would be worried about the head space in your secondary if it weren't for three things.
1. You racked to secondary in less than a week. I doubt that fermentation was really completed in that time, so you will get some more CO2 from continued fermentation to replace the air in the head space.
2. When you racked, you would get a considerable amount of off-gassing. This would also replace the air with CO2
2. I tried some English brown ales back in the early 1960's. They all tasted like stewed cardboard, so even if you are getting oxidation, it could be true to style.

-a.

 

[Golddiggie]

Not sure if there's actually a full 5 gallons in there... Could be just under, which would make it a 5 gallon carboy. Especially since there was brew left behind in the primary. My glass carboy (bought within the past 5 months) hits 5 gallons just before it starts to taper up towards the bung hole... While it's still in the main body...

Easiest way to know for certain... When it's empty of brew, take a quart measuring cup (or the largest one you have) and start filling it up. Count off the quarts/gallons as you fill it. When you hit 4, 4.25, 4.5, 4.75, 5 gallons make a mark on it. If you still have a lot of room left, mark each quart as you continue... Then, you'll know when you have that much volume in it for the future.

 

[ajf]

My glass carboy (bought within the past 5 months) hits 5 gallons just before it starts to taper up towards the bung hole... While it's still in the main body...

Easiest way to know for certain... When it's empty of brew, take a quart measuring cup (or the largest one you have) and start filling it up. Count off the quarts/gallons as you fill it. When you hit 4, 4.25, 4.5, 4.75, 5 gallons make a mark on it. If you still have a lot of room left, mark each quart as you continue... Then, you'll know when you have that much volume in it for the future.

You could have something there. All my 5g carboys are over 20 years old.
I agree that calibrating your carboy is the only way to know for certain.

-a.

 

[Golddiggie]

Lots of things change over 20 years... Just look at yourself for instance...

Who knows if we're even using carboys from the same manufacturer...

But, the only REAL way to know how much will fit into the carboy, is to put measured water into it and then mark it up...

 

[Ascwatch]

I'm relatively new as well, but I would think if the air lock is bubbling, the CO2 is filling the head space.

 

[Golddiggie]

Usually means that the space not occupied by brew, in the carboy/vessel has filled with CO2 and the excess is now escaping... OR (if it's really soon after things started) it's pushing the O2 out and a blanket of CO2 is already covering the wort...

 

[dirkdover]

Not sure if there's actually a full 5 gallons in there... Could be just under, which would make it a 5 gallon carboy. Especially since there was brew left behind in the primary. My glass carboy (bought within the past 5 months) hits 5 gallons just before it starts to taper up towards the bung hole... While it's still in the main body...

Easiest way to know for certain... When it's empty of brew, take a quart measuring cup (or the largest one you have) and start filling it up. Count off the quarts/gallons as you fill it. When you hit 4, 4.25, 4.5, 4.75, 5 gallons make a mark on it. If you still have a lot of room left, mark each quart as you continue... Then, you'll know when you have that much volume in it for the future.

There is 5 gallons of beer in there. Just under really after a bit of evaporation and some taken out for hydro testing.

I'm impressed that you can make 5 gallons for around $12. And I will be keeping a log as soon as I break away from kit brewing, which will be pretty soon. Maybe even my next batch. I'm thinking of stepping up and doing a Gumball Head clone

 

[dirkdover]

I'm pretty sure that the fermentation was done. I kept a pretty close eye on the airlock and I didn't see bubbling for two days. I was surprised as I was expecting it to take at least a week.

 

[Golddiggie]

There is 5 gallons of beer in there. Just under really after a bit of evaporation and some taken out for hydro testing.

I'm impressed that you can make 5 gallons for around $12. And I will be keeping a log as soon as I break away from kit brewing, which will be pretty soon. Maybe even my next batch. I'm thinking of stepping up and doing a Gumball Head clone

How much did you put into the primary? If 5 gallons, then chances are you racked over less than that. You'll be able to tell, more precisely once you bottle the batch up... After the carboy is empty of brew, before you add more, figure out exactly how much it contains. I make mine if I'm not 100% sure where the levels are. Luckily, my PET carboys are basically at 5 gallons (they are 5 gallon carboys) at the same point. I've marked my 6 gallon carboy where 5 gallons is (about 3" below where it starts to taper up)... Knowing where the volumes are really does help... On my glass carboy (5 gallon) I just used tape to mark each gallon... I'll probably pull the tape until 3 gallons but leave the rest.

 

[DeafSmith]

Looks just like my 5 gallon carboy with somewhere between 4 1/2 to 4 3/4 gallons in it.