Secondary Question

[goonie]

Hey folks,

I transfered from my primary fermentor to my secondary a week ago. My primary was not as full as I expected and only came up to the level you see in the attached picture.

My question is whether it is fine that I left this lower level in the carboy or whether I should boil some water, let it cool, and then top it up before moving onto my bottling stage. I'm also curious as to whether the foam that is at the top of the carboy contains useful things (like yeast?) that would benefit from a water top up as it would join the rest of the brew if the level were higher.

Looking forward to some advice and happy to be here!

 

[Komocabo]

Adding water will lower the gravity. Leave it as is and bottle when your gravity readings stop changing for a few days (tells you fermentation is basically done).

It looks like you have some yeast that is still working away, and have developed some krausen. This is perfectly natural and ok. Im guessing that you racked to the secondary just a little too soon... also not a huge deal.

Happy brewing!

 

[ScottG58]

I would not water down the beer unless it is a Budweiser clone. Seriously though, adding water to the beer post-fermentation will change the flavor. The lower level in the carboy should not hurt anything. I would think that the beer would continue to release CO2 after transferred. You should not have to worry about oxidation as the CO2 should fill the space in the fermenter.

 

[goonie]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I was very hesitant about adding water to my delicious Grapefruit Bitter and glad the level is not a problem. I'll keep you all posted once I crack one.

 

[WyomingBrewer]

Well, the Primary answer to the Secondary question is......dont do it. But seeing as you did do it, that wont work this time. So, the answer is, that it is perfectly fine like that. Do not top off, EVER! This aint wine and even they have recently said the top off is a thing of the past. Thats a little freebie for the kit wine makers in here....Im not kidding, thats the latest. No top off on kit wine.

 

[eddie]

I usually leave my brews in the primary for three weeks or so and skip any secondary unless I'm adding fruit or wood chips then aging it for a while. The secondary won't hurt anything, it's just not really necessary. Time is more important.

 

[goonie]

Good to know. I'm new to scouring the internet for information. My entire procedure has always been based on friends and what the guys at the local store tell me to do.