secondary fermentation question

[kosmokramer]

This is only my second time attempting to brew so obviously i am making mistakes, i am just trying to make a drinkable brew in the learning process. So i am doin galaxy extra pale from morebeer and after a week transferred into a secondary in prep for the dry hopping. When i transferred the air lock was still going every couple seconds but the the gravity had dropped from 1.062 to 1.010. today there is absolutely no air lock activity, do i need to do something to get the yeast going again or is this normal?
Thanks guys

 

[kegdawg]

Normal. Shouldn't see a ton of airlock activity in a secondary.

 

[dutchoven]

Sounds like you're good. In the secondary, you probably won't notice any bubbling in the airlock. The yeast is still working to clean up the byproducts, though.

Lucky you to get a hold of the galaxy hops ... by the time I made it to Morebeer (my LHBS), they were completely sold out. Enjoy the brew!

 

[ReverendTenHigh]

When you transferred the beer into the secondary, the airlock activity you noticed originally was from co2 being released by the action of siphoning the beer from one carboy to the other. 1.010 is probably a finished beer. Think of when you shake a soda can up, the carbonation (co2) makes the can harder from all the bubblin and fizzing. You are essentially doing the same thing when you rack your beer. Not that you should be shaking it around and adding air, but the action of agitating the beer releases co2 that was created during fermentation. There will always be residual co2 in your beer unless it gets heated up as co2 dissolves more in colder liquids, which is why you figure the amount of priming sugar you use based on the temperature of your beer at bottling. The secondary fermenter is more of a means of getting your beer off the yeast cake for extended aging to avoid things like autolysis, letting the yeast finish up everything they are doing, and finally to let more of the hop sediment, yeast, protein, etc. drop out.

 

[badhabit]

If you mean that the air lock was that active in the primary after a week, you were not done fermenting. Take your SG readings and wait until there is no drop for two or three days or...at last wait until ther is no bubble in the air lock for at least a minute...that is a distant second best option though. (The Rev gave a good explaination of any inital air lock activity in the secondary. If you added your hops for the dry hop that will also produce some CO2 initally. I add dry hops 1 day after transfer to secondary for exactly the reasons given by the Rev...loose less aroma from the inital CO2 escape, nothing you can do about the CO2 produced by the hops in that situation.) The idea is to complete as much fermentation in primary as possible and then let the beer settle/clear in the secondary. There will still be some fermentation in the secondary, but that is minamal. I am still a big believer in secondary if you do not have a way to cold crash.....many disagree. Bottom line is that you did nothing "wrong" and that the best thing that you can do is leave it alone, give at least three weeks condition and enjoy what will be an excellent brew.

 

[kosmokramer]

Thanks guys, but this leads to another question, badhabit, you say let it condition for 3 more weeks, the people at more beer said a week to ferment and a week to clear and good to keg and drink. Why let it condition three additional weeks??

 

[ReverendTenHigh]

You definitely don't need to let it condition an extra 3 weeks. I let some yeast strains condition for a while @ room temp, and some I will cold condition for a while. It depends on the style your doing and what yeast you use. I'd be willing to bet you'd be fine with 7-10 days in primary (always check yer gravity! ) and a week in secondary before throwin it in a keg and carbonating. Heck, a lot of people go straight from primary to keg, using the keg as a secondary cold condition and just hit the taps grain to glass in under 2 weeks. I think this leaves a bit too much yeast in the beer but to each their own.

 

[badhabit]

Lots of different opinions about this whole subject. I would say, that a week in primary and a week in secondary is pushing the limits about as far as they will go and I would not do that. Giving beer time to work in the fermentation process is very important. The yeast is working even in secondary and will make a better end product. I think that it is fair to say that folks that do not use a secondary tend to go at least three weeks total in primary. People that use a secondarry generaly use the 1, 2, 3 rule. A week in primary 2 in secondary and three in conditioning. If you are kegging it doesn't take three weeks to develope the CO2. If you are bottling there are some beers that will be ready before three weeks but there also beers that will take longer. Beer in bottles and in kegs change over time. The trick is to learn when every beer is at its best. Some beers I brew condition 3 months to be at their best. I am testing a new red that I started brewing recently to determine how long is best to condition. The other side of that coin is that the beer will also go beyond its prime, especially hoppy brews. Don't get in a race and keep good notes. You will learn a lot and end up with a better product.