Can i move beer mid fermentation?

[dand]

I just started into brewing and have started with a Festabrew wheat ale kit, but i had a question about moving it before i bottle.

To start it, being my first kit and having no idea what to do i went to a friends house who makes wine and watched how he cleaned/sanitized everything and i decided to start the kit there as he already had everything set up for it. After reading about primary/secondary, bottling and everything that goes along with it i would like to do the bottling at home instead.

I realise that stirring everything on the bottom up is a bad thing, and moving it around too much and getting too much oxygen into it is also bad. I have also read that most wheat bears benefit from staying in primary longer compared to other types, so i am kind of stuck and looking for advice.

What i would like to do is: leave it in primary for a week and a half, rack to secondary in a 5L better bottle then move it home, which is about 5 blocks away, driving carefully to avoid as many bumps as possible, then leave it for a week and a half or two weeks before i bottle at home.

Is this a bad idea? Should i just bite the bullet and bottle it there when the time comes? And should i leave it in the primary bucket untill i bottle (it doesn't seem to have the greatest seal compared to the BB and airlock) or go to secondary a while before bottling?

 

[Schumed]

I think your plan is fine....not ideal but it should be fine...I would give it two weeks in the primary

 

[duboman]

As long as you don't agitate the beer too much that O2 is introduced and cause oxidizing you should be fine.

 

[dand]

As long as you don't agitate the beer too much that O2 is introduced and cause oxidizing you should be fine.

Would it be better to leave it in the BB with a bung and airlock for at least day or so to let the CO2 displace some air before i make the move, or is the fermentation slow enough at that point it wouldn't make much of a difference?

 

[Mozart]

Would it be better to leave it in the BB with a bung and airlock for at least day or so to let the CO2 displace some air before i make the move, or is the fermentation slow enough at that point it wouldn't make much of a difference?

I'm a new homebrewer myself, so I will gladly stand corrected by those who know more. That said, were it me, I might try to move it while it's still in primary. The reason is that in primary, it will have a nice, thick protective layer of CO2 atop it that will help prevent any inadvertent oxygenation -- CO2 production is heavier in primary.

Once it's moved, I'd let it settle in whatever position you're going to rack to secondary from and give anything that did get stirred up a chance to settle again before racking.

Is there a particular reason you're racking to secondary? Dry hop? Fruit addition? If not, many of us don't rack to secondary at all and just let our beer fully ferment in primary, then bottle.

Cheers!

 

[Hang Glider]

What i would like to do is: leave it in primary for a week and a half, rack to secondary in a 5L better bottle then move it home, which is about 5 blocks away, driving carefully to avoid as many bumps as possible, then leave it for a week and a half or two weeks before i bottle at home.

Is this a bad idea? Should i just bite the bullet and bottle it there when the time comes? And should i leave it in the primary bucket untill i bottle (it doesn't seem to have the greatest seal compared to the BB and airlock) or go to secondary a while before bottling?

I would leave it in the primary to transport - the layer of CO2 on top is dense and will minimize any oxygenation. Transferring to a secondary almost always introduces some oxygen, no matter how careful you are. Then, let it all settle back down a few days, as transporting will certainly rouse the yeast and get a bit more fermentation activity, or at least some off-gassing.

 

[dand]

The reason i was going to move it in secondary is because i assumed it would stir up too much from the bottom of primary and i thought the better bottle would be easier to carry with less weight.

 

[billl]

Moving in the primary will stir up more, but there is a real simple fix to that.... let it sit a couple days.

And really, hefe's don't need a secondary anyway. Just let it sit 2-3 weeks total, test gravity to make sure it is done, and then bottle. It is supposed to be cloudy and a bit yeasty.

And don't worry too much about oxidation. Obviously, you don't purposely slosh it all around, but the big impacts from oxidation happen with time. Hefe's don't really need any aging, so you should bottle and then start drinking as soon as they are carbed. As long as you are making some effort to keep the O2 exposure to a minimum, you'll be fine.

 

[Rhumbline]

No problem moving it in the primary. I regularly agitate the primary to keep the yeasties happy during primary fermentation.

Just one more of those stupid things I do that keep turning out great beer!