Transfered wort

[Zippitydo]

We transfered our beer from primary to secondary container. This is our first time. As the brewmistress, I am in charge of research. Our questions now are..1) it was slow siphoning from primary to carboy. Any tricks? 2) What is the best way to avoid sludge? We did let it rest for several hours before brewing. 3) Do you measure beer with hydrometer before transfer? Thanks for any help

 

[landshark]

Not picking up sludge comes mostly with experience. And some of us still mess it up. Slow, don't shake it. To speed up the transfer make the height difference of the siphon greater. However several here will recommend against it, as it can cause more sludge to get stirred up. If you can, sit your primary in it's siphon position a few days before you siphon. That way moving it doesn't stir anything up.

Get the hydrometer readings before/during pitching the yeast and at the finish. If you are just transferring to a secondary to age it, I'd check probably whichever container would be easiest to get my hydrometer out of. Several of us don't secondary though unless we are aging or adding something extra like oak chips or hops.

Good Luck and welcome!