seondary and brew or wait

[hopalotamus]

have an ipa thats been in the primary for a week no airlock acton for a few days gravity is 1.016 i usally do 2 weeks in the primary before secondary to let the yeast clean up dilema is have the day off tomarrow and have everything to brew my next batch and grains are precrushed (been in the fridge a week now) should i wait or rack and brew? how much of a diffrence will an exra week in the primary make vs secondary?

 

[Darpa17]

Time is always good for any beer. But if you haven't seen the airlock move it may be time to rack out. You might get down to .012 if you wait another week, but you could be drinking it by then, eh? Also depends on weather you're kegging or bottling. If you keg, it won't matter you can just adjust the pressure, but if you bottle you could run the risk of over carbing your brew with unfermented wort and added priming sugar.

It's not uncommon for a ferment to finish that early either, assuming all the conditions (oxygen, nutrients, temp) are right.

You mentioned it was in a fridge... What temp are you fermenting at and what kind of yeast did you use?

 

[hopalotamus]

grain is in the fridge for next batch its precrushed because i dont have a mill yet this batch was at 60-62 WL dry english ale

 

[RM-MN]

I'd wait. Ive tasted the difference that leaving the beer in the fermenter makes and I wouldn't be in a rush to rack the beer off just yet. Your grains in the refrigerator won't suddenly go bad by leaving them a few more days. Have you ever seen rolled oats in the grocery store? The sit at room temperature in a cardboard tube until they sell and then you put them in the cupboard at home until you have time and inclination to make oatmeal. Do they go bad sitting there?

Better bet would be to blow about $15 at the LHBS and get yourself a second fermenter bucket. Then you can have 2 (or more) beers fermenting at once.

 

[Darpa17]

I'm going to have to agree with RM-MN. It would probably be better to get another fermenter. That gives you some breathing room.

The grains can last a bit when they're crushed, I wouldn't go over a week after crush date, though.

 

[kingmatt]

I'd let the yeast clean up after themselves before racking the beer off your cake.

I usually wait a minimum of a week after airlock activity stops before I even think of racking to a secondary.

If I don't need to dry hop I just leave the beer in my primary for 3 weeks.

Buying another primary fermenter is a better idea if you have the itch for another batch.

 

[hopalotamus]

yeah thought about another fermenter but local store is atleast 35-40 mins away

just have to wait i guess

 

[Homercidal]

If my LHBS was only 35-40 mins away I'd go for it. Actually, I know of one that is pretty close to 45 minutes away...

Anyway, I second or third (What are we up to know??) the getting another fermenter. It never hurts to have a spare bucket on hand for when the urge compels you.

 

[ACbrewer]

can you use your secondary as a primary fermentor? or is it to small? (aka 5 gal carboy) Either way, I'd say not to bottle, but to either rack and brew because you want more beer, or to wait. The grains will stay good if kept dry.

For a second bucket, you could try somewhere like Lowes or HomeDepot, but I think those are 5 gal buckets. Maybe Walmart's cake department has something.

 

[AnOldUR]

How big a beer are you planning on brewing?
If you must brew :cross: put the new batch in the secondary vessel with a blow-off.
Dry hop your IPA right in the primary when it's done.

 

[Golddiggie]

I've been using my 5 gallon carboys as primaries... Just need to know if the yeast is going to foam like a wench in heat, or if it will be more gentle... If it's going to foam up like it's got rabies, then use a blow-off tube setup on it and you'll be fine. After the first few days you can switch back to an airlock on it (once the high activity stage is over)...

Otherwise, make the trip and pick up a few more carboy's for primaries (if you're nervous about using the 5 gallon size for primary)...