Whats taking the time

[billsack]

Hey folks,

I have a brew that I started 3 weeks ago. Its still in the primary fermenter and I want to rack it into a secondary.

I thought I should wait until the gravity is below 1008. Its nearly there but it seems to be taking some time.

Have I done something wrong here? Should it take this long or do I need to add more yeast or sugar? More importantly, have I messed up my brew?

 

[uwmgdman]

Depending on what your OG was, I'm guessing the fermentation is likely done. Mine fell from 1.042 to 1.010 after 5 days in the primary, I racked to the secondary and it didn't move the entire 10 or so days in the secondary. From what I've read, you'll want to bottle or rack to a secondary quickly, as you don't want your beer on the trub for too long. I don't know how much racking to secondary would help at this point, although it might still be worth it to allow the beer to clear up for a few days. Good luck.

 

[cweston]

You have no worries at all. In fact, my guess is that this is ready to bottle.

Very few beers finish any lower than 1.008. Not sure where you got the idea to wait for that landmark before racking to secondary.

Most folks here seem to more-or-less follow the 1-2-3 procedure...

1 week primary
2 weeks secondary
3 weeks bottle conditioning.

Although I have found that both the primary and secondary may not need that full amount of time, depending on a number of variables.

If I use a yeast starter and get a fast, vigorous ferment, I usually rack to secondary after 5 days.

You should bottle, or, if you're not ready to do that, rack to secondary and get the beer off the three weeks of trub (gunk) that's in there now.

 

[billsack]

Cool beans.

Thanks for the advice. I'll rack it off tonight into my office water fountain bottle!

The 1008 is the reading is says on my hyrometer. Its also what it said on the instructions!!! Its a Muntons Traditional Bitter if you have heard of that!

I still dont have enough empty bottles yet. It does taste quite good though. Just cloudy still. Have you any tips on getting rid of this?

I heard that gelatine granules were good but I have no idea where to get them from. Any suggestions?

Cheers.

 

[cweston]

The 1008 is the reading is says on my hyrometer. Its also what it said on the instructions!!! Its a Muntons Traditional Bitter if you have heard of that!
Cheers.

That's the target final gravity--an indication that fermentation is done.

I don't always take a hydrometer reading when I rack to secondary, but you definitely don't need to wait for it to hit the target gravity. The main purpose of secondary fermentation is to get the beer off of the trub (hops gunk, yeast waste, etc) that is generated during the most active phase of fermentation--the first few days. It continues to ferment a bit, much more slowly, after that. And clarify. (One nice thing about glass carboys is that you can see what it is doing. As it clarifies, you'll see the color change from the top of the carboy to the bottom.)

Racking sooner would help a bit with the clarity. When you do transfer to secondary, don't be too greedy about getting every drop: leave the sediment behind.

 

[billsack]

Cheers for the help

Will tell you you how it tastes in a few weeks!

 

[loopmd]

Cool beans.

Thanks for the advice. I'll rack it off tonight into my office water fountain bottle!

The 1008 is the reading is says on my hyrometer. Its also what it said on the instructions!!! Its a Muntons Traditional Bitter if you have heard of that!

I still dont have enough empty bottles yet. It does taste quite good though. Just cloudy still. Have you any tips on getting rid of this?

I heard that gelatine granules were good but I have no idea where to get them from. Any suggestions?

Cheers.

If you leave it in your secondary, things will clear up even more for you. I have used "polyclar" in the past to try to clear my beer up. It seemed to take everything out and I got bad carbonation from it. I don't use it any more. Also, we have talked on here in the past about using the water fountain bottles for primaries/secondaries. There are some concerns with the cleanliness of using plastic vs the glass carboy. It sounds like you just got started brewing and it's tough to start out with everything you need. I am sure your brew will be fine, but start saving for a glass carboy. It will be one of the better investments you will make in this hobby.


loop

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

The most surefire way I've found to clarify beer is to 'cellar' the secondary at 50-55F for a few weeks. I usually leave my secondary at fermentation temperature for a week after racking, and then move it to the garage (at least at this time of year) for another week or two. This will allow the chill haze to form and precipitate out.

 

[Truble]

Beegee- do you keg? If not, do you bring the bottles back up to temp after bottling to encourage carbonation?