Racking to Secondary - Timing and Tips

[Budista]

Hey all,

My first post to this forum resulted in a couple really helpful answers, so I'm going to just go ahead and ask my next question.

I'm in the midst of the primary stage of a draft beer (Brewers Spring Draft Lager), which seems to be going well enough. I had a bit of a muck-up where the fermentation on the first day kicked up my temp to about 80 degrees for 7 or 8 hours, but I've put it into a big water bath since and have kept it almost static at 71 degrees (the instructions suggest 68-75 degrees). I understand that a bit more time conditioning will help to mitigate any issues resulting from this mistake and can be patient.

What I want to know is when I should move to my secondary fermenter. I know a lot of people suggest that first time brewers not take their chances, but damnit I have a pretty new carboy, the directions explicity suggest secondary and I'm confident in my sanitation (my brewing partner is an OR nurse and I've worked in food services).

My starting SG was 1.051 and the final SG is supposed to be between 1.019 and 1.013 (according to Brewers Spring). Is there a number I should hope to hit before racking into my carboy? My primary is a food-grade pail that came with the kit, so I don't have the luxury of counting air bubbles on a fermentation lock. The directions give me a 5-day period in the primary, but I'd rather do this right if there's a SG I'm looking for.

Moving past that, when I'm actually racking INTO the secondary, do I want to avoid the foamy 'head' and layer of trub on the bottom of the primary? Is it the point to get as little solid material into the secondary as possible, or should I be sucking up a bit of that material to aid in further fermentation?

I'm going to go ahead and guess that I don't want to just pour the beer into a funnel out of the primary and get all those solids along with aeration, but beyond that a few tips would be great.

Thanks for any help!

- Budista

 

[mightynintendo]

You should definitely wait until the krausen (the foamy head) drops completely back into the beer. Once the krausen disappears there will be a bunch of brown gunk sticking to the sides of the bucket where the krausen once stood. That's to be expected. Just let it be. There may be some residual foam on the surface of the beer but nothing like what existed with the krausen. That's also ok. The best way to determine when to rack is by taking gravity readings. Once your krausen is gone start taking a daily sample. When the gravity stays exactly the same for three days in a row, then it is time to rack to a secondary if that's what you want to do. I can't give you a specific time as every fermentation will happen differently, just give you these guidelines within which to work.

When you do rack to the secondary, yes, try to leave the trub on the bottom of the primary as much as possible. Put the end of your siphoning system a couple inches above the top of the trub, and as you drain, slowly lower the siphon to stay below the surface of the beer until you notice the tube go cloudy. At this point you may stop siphoning or try tilting your primary bucket a bit to get the last little bit of beer, but be warned that it will be cloudy and will add to the trub in your secondary.

 

[Walker]

It's strange that you have a lager with instructions to ferment at that high of a temp, but ignoring that part.....

Be patient. Don't rack to early because it'll seriously hit the brakes on the fermentation. Fermentation should actually be DONE when you transfer to a secondary. The secondary is just a place for the beer to sit and mellow out and age a little.

I would definately not rack until the kraeusen (the "foamy head") has collapsed and vanished an you can see the surface of the beer. (I just let them sit for 1 or 2 weeks before transferring... usually closer to 2 weeks).

When you transfer, avoid the sediment as much as possible. There will still be a ton of yeast floating around in the beer that you can't see, and you don't want that cake of stuff at the bottom.

Siphon it out, and siphon it carefully. You want a very calm transfer.

Then seal it back up and wait another week or two before bottling it.

 

[Budista]

Mightynintendo: Thanks for the tips there regarding the racking. I was wondering just how to get the beer that sits right above the trub, and would likely have made the mistake of just putting the cane into the trub. Thanks for saving me that trouble.

Walker: The more I read, the more it seems odd that a Lager is working at such high temperatures. Does it make sense for me to put the secondary into a colder environment for a week or two? I might be able to find some fridge space somewhere.

I'll hold off on touching the beer until the kaeusen is gone. At this rate, it seems like it'll be quite a while as it's still very thick and is still bubbling (though not nearly as aggressively).

Patience is a virtue, right?

- Budista

 

[mightynintendo]

You can ferment lager yeasts at an ale schedule. It's not unheard of. I wouldn't sweat it too much.

 

[Walker]

Walker: The more I read, the more it seems odd that a Lager is working at such high temperatures. Does it make sense for me to put the secondary into a colder environment for a week or two? I might be able to find some fridge space somewhere.

What nintendo says is true. It's just not ideal for the lager strains of yeast.

I also think that some companies package up lager-ish tasting ales and then call them lagers, but a traditional lager will primary ferment in the 50's and then have to be stored for weeks and weeks in the 30's in a secondary. Lagers are kind of a pain because of the temp requirements, so most homebrewers make primarily ales that can be done at room temp.

As for storing your beer cold. It might not be a bad idea, but it's yet anothet step in the process and thing you have to deal with.

Even with my ales, I keep the secondaries at cooler temps than the primary. Ferment a little under 70, secondary closer to 60... this is not some fancy intended scheme, though.

I use an old fridge with an external thermostat as a fermentation chamber and I have the thermostat set for the low 60's. When beer is in primary fermentation, it pumps out a lot of heat and the beer in the fermenter will be around 68*F while the rest of the fridge, including beer in a secondary sitting right beside that primary, it is about 62*F.