When Do I Transfer To My Second Fermenter

[EverydayDiesel]

So for my 2nd beer I decided I would make a 3 philosophers (one of my favorites) clone
http://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/three-philosophers-clone-1

My question is, I brewed this on 2/8/2014 (11 days ago), When should I transfer to the 2nd fermenter. I was reading that the sediment, which is at least 1.5 inches in the 6 gallon carboy, is still at the bottom and I heard that it will have negative affects on the beer if it is left with the beer too long.


So how many days is optimal before moving the beer from the 1st fermenter to the 2nd?

Thanks in advance

 

[BobBailey]

Unless you plan on bulk aging the beer, dry hopping or adding fruit there really isn't any reason to rack to secondary. A month or so is not a problem. Unnecessary transferring just open another door for contamination.

Bob

 

[1BigBear]

The beer only "needs" to be in the primary until the fermentation is finished.

Most beers don't "need" a secondary. Yeast will settle out.

Autolysis, the big boogyman of leaving beer on the yeast cake too long, is pretty rare in beer making. It has as much to do with nutrients than length of time on the yeast cake.

If your fermentation is complete and it sounds like it is....Rack it off the trub and into a glass carboy. Sit for another week or so. Let it clear some more and keg or bottle.

Look up the 1-2-3 rule !

 

[RM-MN]

So for my 2nd beer I decided I would make a 3 philosophers (one of my favorites) clone
http://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/three-philosophers-clone-1

My question is, I brewed this on 2/8/2014 (11 days ago), When should I transfer to the 2nd fermenter. I was reading that the sediment, which is at least 1.5 inches in the 6 gallon carboy, is still at the bottom and I heard that it will have negative affects on the beer if it is left with the beer too long.


So how many days is optimal before moving the beer from the 1st fermenter to the 2nd?

Thanks in advance

That's the real question isn't it. How long is too long? I've heard of people leaving their beer in the primary for up to 8 months and they said that that wasn't too long. I think your patience will not let you leave your beer too long. Use your hydrometer to be sure it is done fermenting before you bottle. I've had a couple batches take 4 weeks.

 

[cobrem]

I'd move it to secondary after being the primary for 3 weeks. If you'd like, test gravity with a hydrometer, and wait two days to test again - if it's the same, primary fermentation is done, and ok to move.

If I recall correctly, 3 philosophers is a fairly high gravity brew, and I'd think it will benefit from some aging/bulk conditioning in the secondary.

 

[EverydayDiesel]

Thanks for the replys. I will let it set for a few more weeks and then move it to the secondary. I will also do the hydrometer test over a few days and see how it goes.

 

[EverydayDiesel]

One more question.

The 'trub' in the bottom, I do NOT transfer that to the secondary right?

 

[BigFloyd]

One more question.

The 'trub' in the bottom, I do NOT transfer that to the secondary right?

Correct.

Exactly why are you wanting to transfer this to a secondary anyway? It's a bunch of needless effort and increases the risk of oxidation.

A very good brewing rule of thumb to follow is: don't do anything to the beer unless there's a valid reason for it.