Photohype
Active Member
It has been a week ago today that I brewed my first 5 gallon batch of Brewer's Best English Brown Ale. The only issue I ran into was that the water temperature did go above 170º while I was steeping the grains, so I took the pot off of the burner completely to bring the temperature down to steeping range. I'm not sure if this leeched any tannins into the wort or not, I hope not. I do not have a wort chiller so I wound up having to cool down the wort with an ice bath. I left the lid off of the pot while I slowly stirred the wort to aid in the cooling process. I put the hydrometer in the wort to take a reading and it was a little under what the specs said it should be. It is stated that the OG should be 1.045 - 1.049. When I took the reading, it was at 1.043. Would this present a problem?
I put the lid on and placed the airlock on top and it has been in my basement with a constant temperature of 72º this past week. The airlock bubbled really well the first 24-36 hours and then seemed to stop completely. Even though I cannot see inside of the plastic fermenting bucket, I am able to put a light on the backside of the bucket and see the shadows of the fermenting bubbles that are on top of the wort, so I am guessing the co2 is escaping from some other area.
I have read both of the pro's and con's of transferring the wort into a secondary fermenter. My local brew supply store recommends to everyone to transfer into a secondary, although they did tell me that many people do well with just leaving it in the primary without transferring. I have been reading John Palmer's How To Brew. I have the latest revision book. He does talk about secondary fermenting and the risks involved in transferring into a secondary. However he did mention at the end of the fermenting chapter that leaving the wort in the primary fermenter can result in off flavors if they sit on the trub for too long.
So... Being that it is about that time that I should transfer into a secondary, should I? Or should I just leave it sit in the primary and not worry about transferring it into the secondary at all?
Another question that I have is concerning taking hydrometer readings. I have not opened the lid on my primary since it was placed the day I brewed. I really do not want to contaminate the beer at all. How vital is it that I take a hydrometer reading in relation to the risk of contaminating the brew by opening the lid? If I were to transfer the beer into a secondary, I would definitely take a hydrometer reading at that time. Also, if and when I do take a hydrometer reading, if I have the hydrometer test tube and the hydrometer sanitized, would you suggest I return the wort that I use in the hydrometer reading back into the wort or just to pour it down the drain?
How long do I leave the wort in the primary before bottling? If I secondary, then how long do I leave the wort in the secondary before bottling?
Thanks!
I put the lid on and placed the airlock on top and it has been in my basement with a constant temperature of 72º this past week. The airlock bubbled really well the first 24-36 hours and then seemed to stop completely. Even though I cannot see inside of the plastic fermenting bucket, I am able to put a light on the backside of the bucket and see the shadows of the fermenting bubbles that are on top of the wort, so I am guessing the co2 is escaping from some other area.
I have read both of the pro's and con's of transferring the wort into a secondary fermenter. My local brew supply store recommends to everyone to transfer into a secondary, although they did tell me that many people do well with just leaving it in the primary without transferring. I have been reading John Palmer's How To Brew. I have the latest revision book. He does talk about secondary fermenting and the risks involved in transferring into a secondary. However he did mention at the end of the fermenting chapter that leaving the wort in the primary fermenter can result in off flavors if they sit on the trub for too long.
So... Being that it is about that time that I should transfer into a secondary, should I? Or should I just leave it sit in the primary and not worry about transferring it into the secondary at all?
Another question that I have is concerning taking hydrometer readings. I have not opened the lid on my primary since it was placed the day I brewed. I really do not want to contaminate the beer at all. How vital is it that I take a hydrometer reading in relation to the risk of contaminating the brew by opening the lid? If I were to transfer the beer into a secondary, I would definitely take a hydrometer reading at that time. Also, if and when I do take a hydrometer reading, if I have the hydrometer test tube and the hydrometer sanitized, would you suggest I return the wort that I use in the hydrometer reading back into the wort or just to pour it down the drain?
How long do I leave the wort in the primary before bottling? If I secondary, then how long do I leave the wort in the secondary before bottling?
Thanks!