Secondary Fermentation?

[kmac666]

So I'm new and I am making an imperial IPA using a Coopers recipe. At the end of the recipe it doesn't say anything about the secondary fermentation. Can I just bottle? I have those sugar pellets from coopers that I was planning to use in the bottles as a secondary, but I'm not sure if I need with the recipe...Can anyone help...here is the recipe (looks pretty sweet and easy)! Thank you!!

Coopers Imperial IPA

Ingredients
1.7kg Original Series Draught beer kit
1.7kg Premium Series IPA
500 gram of Coopers Dry Malt Extract
8 oz. of 20L Crystal Malt
6 oz Centennial Hops
The kit yeast - preferably making a starter
Made to 23 litres
Start ferment at 70F then go down to 65F.

Procedures
- Add Crystal malt to 2 liters of water in a pot.
- Heat up to just under boiling. Remove from heat and let sit for a few minutes.
- Strain liquid into another pot (leaving the grain behind). Bring liquid to a boil. Add 2 oz. of Centennial hops. After 5 minutes add an additional 2 oz. of Centennial hops. Continue boiling for another 5 minutes.
- Add Dry Malt to fermenter.
- Strain the hot liquid into the fermenter (leaving the hops behind).
- Add the hopped concentrate from the beer kits to the fermenter.
- Top up to 23 liters with cold water.
- Add the yeast from the kits when temperature is below 70 F.
- After vigorous fermentation is complete (about 5 days), add the last 2 oz. of Centennial hops to the fermenter (using a muslin bag or cheese cloth).
- Keep the hops in the fermenter for 20 days or until bottling, whatever is shorter.

 

[lumpher]

follow the recipe, and as an ipa or iipa is supposed to be out there, don't secondary unless you want to oak it

 

[earwig]

It will be up to you if you want to secondary. With that recipe I would just dry hop in the primary.

 

[kmac666]

Awesome, thank you. So i am assuming that only making in the primary, I will have enough carbonation?? I don't want a "flat" beer but I also don't want an overly carbonated beer either. Thanks for the quick reply!

 

[lumpher]

no, you won't be carbonated when just bottling it. make sure you do add sugar when bottling. adding 5 ounces of boiled sugar (boiled in a cup of water) will let it carb. make sure you read the sticky notes on this forum on bottling and carbing

 

[kmac666]

no, you won't be carbonated when just bottling it. make sure you do add sugar when bottling. adding 5 ounces of boiled sugar (boiled in a cup of water) will let it carb. make sure you read the sticky notes on this forum on bottling and carbing

OK that helps, thank you. Like I mentioned in the opening post, I do have these little sugar pellets Coopers provided that I can use when bottling but I prefer the idea of boiled sugar - seems more of a purest vs the somewhat cheesy pellets (though easy).

 

[lumpher]

take your bottling bucket (after sanitizing) and pour the boiled sugar in. siphon the beer into it. the swirling will mix the sugar in really good. if you just pour the sugar water into the beer, then bottle, some will be over-carbonated, and some will be dead

 

[kmac666]

take your bottling bucket (after sanitizing) and pour the boiled sugar in. siphon the beer into it. the swirling will mix the sugar in really good. if you just pour the sugar water into the beer, then bottle, some will be over-carbonated, and some will be dead

Got it, thank you

 

[dotnetdotcom]

If you want to use the Coopers tablets, you don't need to use a bottling bucket. You can bottle straight from the fermenter. You would have to take extra care to keep the racking cane from sucking up or disturbing the trub (it's harder than it sounds, at least for me).

The procedure you listed is a bit unconventional. There are 2 things I would change:
Step 2, I would not steep the crystal malt in water that is just under boiling temp. I'd use water that is between 150° and 160°F. When you get above the 170° range you risk extracting tannins from the malt.
Also, the last step... dry hopping for 20 days seems too long, but there's a lot of debate about it here. Seems like most people commenting here dry hop 7 to 14 days.

Read the "Beginner extract brewing howto" sticky in the beginner's forum for the most commonly used procedure. Except that it looks like your kit already has the bittering hops in the extract, so you are just boiling for flavor and aroma additions.