Some advice for today's brew day

[NadoHawk]

So I have Northern Brewer's Spiced Winter ale in primary right now and will transfer to secondary. Does it still need to be temperature controlled or can it be removed from my fermentation control unit?

Also I was going to brew an Irish Red Ale to double fill my unit, but found out this weekend it also takes a four week fermentation period according to NB and ended up not being prepared for a traditional brew.

Luckily, I have old Coopers kits on hand to have a short brew day. Unfortunately, they are getting past their prime and will need some extra work done to have the flavors stand up.

What's the best kind of specialty malt and hops to use in an all extract (3.3 Bries pilsner) Australian Draught?

 

[andy6026]

How long has it been fermenting?

 

[JimRausch]

I've done the NB Irish Red several times. 3 weeks in primary(pretty much standard for me) and it'll be ready to package. There's nothing special or different about that recipe, except that it is real goooood.
To answer your 1st question, if your winterale is finished fermenting, you can transfer it(or not) and the temperature will not matter as much. In fact, cool it down below 45* and it will clear up quicker. If it is not finished fermenting, then don't transfer.

 

[NadoHawk]

How long has it been fermenting?

It's been in the primary for two weeks at slightly over 68 F.

I might take it out for the secondary, but since I've been given permission to use the spare fridge for another two weeks, I might as well as get another beer in before the end of the year. It was a really late brew season this year...I've only bottled one batch so far.

 

[unionrdr]

Use a hydrometer to make sure it's at a stable FG before racking it anywhere.

 

[RM-MN]

Use a hydrometer to make sure it's at a stable FG before racking it anywhere.

And then don't bother racking it. There is only one advantage to racking that beer....it frees up a fermenter but with every secondary there is a chance of infection. Yours may not get infected but for not very many dollars you can get a bucket fermenter and make your next batch in that.

The only time I rack beer is to the bottling bucket. It clears up at least as fast in the primary as it would in secondary.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

As the others said... check gravity to make sure its done... If so... go for a secondary... I would say if you are confident in your sanitation routine and have the space to secondary, go for it.
The reason I would say go for it is that you stated that you want to brew a Irish Red Ale... I'd skip the use of your lme that you said is old, brew the Irish red and rack send that wort right on top of your yeast cake that you have in your primary fermenter that you used for the spiked wit... I'm guessing you used S-04 or London? Either would work as a good yeast for your Irish Red Ale.

Some may argue that because it was a spiced beer you may want to rinse your yeast prior... I would say go for it if you want to, but if it was me... I'd just throw caution to the wind and rack it right on top... You will have a great yeast cake for your next batch and no need to make any other arrangements.

Good luck

 

[william_shakes_beer]

In general, the most important time to control fermentation temperatures is during the primary ferementation phase. I have a dedicated single fermenter chamber, so I just pop it in and leave it for the entire period, usually 4 weeks. If I NEED to push out another batch before the current batch is complete, I will leave the early batch in for minimum 2 weeks, then rotate out and put the newer batch in the chamber for ITS primary fermentation period. On occasions when I do a double batch, i put one in the ferm chamber and the other in my redneck swamp cooler. I split a Guiness that way, and left each in its respective chamber. the one in the proper chamber had a better presence of acid malt than the swamp batch. However, the difference was subtle.

 

[unionrdr]

And then don't bother racking it. There is only one advantage to racking that beer....it frees up a fermenter but with every secondary there is a chance of infection. Yours may not get infected but for not very many dollars you can get a bucket fermenter and make your next batch in that.

The only time I rack beer is to the bottling bucket. It clears up at least as fast in the primary as it would in secondary.

My whole point was not to rack it till it's done, not to the bottling bucket or anywhere else. Didn't think I had to be more litteral...