Two Questions

[Tsuyako]

That I'm pretty sure I know the answers to but would like some confirmation.

1) If a recipe calls for 1 oz cascade hops does that mean 1 oz no matter if it's whole or pellet?

2) Is it normal for beer to start fermenting again in the secondary? My current brew (i thought was done) created a krausen an 1" thick within an hour of racking.

Thanks everyone for the help!

 

[skyzo]

Yeah, 1oz is 1oz, the pellets will take up less space though due to them being more compressed together.
As for the secondary thing, thats happened to me once, I think its just from rousing the yeast when you go to transfer it. How long did you let it go in the primary before you transferred it?

 

[Tsuyako]

Yeah, 1oz is 1oz, the pellets will take up less space though due to them being more compressed together.
As for the secondary thing, thats happened to me once, I think its just from rousing the yeast when you go to transfer it. How long did you let it go in the primary before you transferred it?

It was in the primary for ten days before I racked it.

 

[JoeMama]

Less space is an understatement...

I brewed a Fat Tire clone a while back in which I used an oz of whole leaf hops for. It was a MONSTROUS ziploc bag full of these things that barely equated to an oz. I was impressed.

 

[Tsuyako]

Less space is an understatement...

I brewed a Fat Tire clone a while back in which I used an oz of whole leaf hops for. It was a MONSTROUS ziploc bag full of these things that barely equated to an oz. I was impressed.

I'll keep that in mind! I have a ziploc bag in my freezer of Cascade hops that I want to use.

 

[wyzazz]

1. I disagree with the above, 1oz of pellets is ~ 1.1oz of leaf ~ 1.21oz of whole. Or at least that's the best approximation I've been given.

2. The airlock may be bubbling bub your fermentation (depending on temps and whatnot) should be done now, you've probably just stirred up the brew by transferring it, and that makes some of the CO2 that the yeasties created come out of solution. However, if you've racked on to a new source of "food" for the yeast like fruit, honey, etc... ...then you could be getting an actual "secondary fermentation".

 

[lunchbox]

How do you know it's still fermenting? What was the gravity when you moved to secondary? What is it now?

 

[homebrewer_99]

...1oz of pellets is ~ 1.1oz of leaf ~ 1.21oz of whole...

OK, do you mean pellets, whole hops and plugs?

Most people recommend using 10% more whole hops versus pellets.

People specify what they used in their recipes so you can adjust accordingly.

If your brew started fermenting again then you either racked too soon or racked too much sediment over to the secondary...pure and simple.

By racking too early the yeast may not have had enough time to clean up after itself which could lead to diacetyl (butter) flavor. To correct this just add more of the yeast you used or 1 tsp of dry yeast. Let sit to ferment for another week at room temp to clear up.

If you racked too much sediment just let it sit. Time will take care of that for you.

Remember, fermentation is a natural process. The beer will tell you when it's ready. Just take your temp and hydrometer readings to chart its progress.

Never rack until the brew has fermented out. Your FG should be in the neighborhood of 75% of the OG. Check the yeasts attenuation numbers. 75% is somewhere in the mid range for most yeasts.

 

[Tsuyako]

When I racked it the gravity was 1.020 which I thought was a little high (live and learn right?). I don't know what it is now, I haven't taken a reading just for the fact that I wanted the krausen to go away. I think what happened was that I got to much sedament like homebrewer 99 said. There was next to no trub in the primary and a bunch now in the secondary. I'm going to make this batch again to make sure I'm doing it right.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Always better to match IBU or AAU's since hop acids can vary from batch to batch. If a recipe does not list the IBU's then it is lacking critical info.

You had CO2 coming out of solution at racking lest you racked too soon.