What were your gravity readings?
I've also read that ~70% of fermentation occurs in the primary and that racking to secondary allows the yeast a clean environment (and maybe a tiny amount of oxygen) in order to churn out the last ~30% of fermentation.
I've also read that ~70% of fermentation occurs in the primary and that racking to secondary allows the yeast a clean environment (and maybe a tiny amount of oxygen) in order to churn out the last ~30% of fermentation.
its only reading at 3.02 abv...
Idk where I read that 70/30 stuff so I won't refer to it anymore. Most people just buy beer. Some people want better beer so they brew it. Even fewer people want the best beer and, according to John Palmer, in general, transferring to a secondary leads to the best results (blanket statement). However, since we are discussing the brewing of a pale ale, I'll admit I am wrong and you don't need a secondary. I'm glad I looked into it though, because now I realize my 2 week primary, 2 week secondary, 2 week bottle conditioning may be hurting my beer.
Don't know if you've ever run across the Brulosophy stuff, but Marshall Schott and his associates try out different kinds of variables and see what happens when they're changed.
Two of the more interesting "exbeeriments" involve racking to secondary versus just a primary, and what happens when you ferment just in primary with a bunch of trub in the fermentor.
http://brulosophy.com/2015/03/22/the-impact-of-kettle-trub-part-2-exbeeriment-results/
and
http://brulosophy.com/2014/06/02/the-great-trub-exbeeriment-results-are-in/
and
http://brulosophy.com/2014/08/12/primary-only-vs-transfer-to-secondary-exbeeriment-results/
I have the Palmer book, probably have relied on it as you have, but some of that information appears to be dated. As malts have improved, yeasts have improved, processes have improved, some of the old "conventional wisdom" has gone by the wayside. What once was important because the yeast wasn't as versatile/robust, is not so important any more.
There used to be a real emphasis on getting the beer off the yeast cake and trub, as it was though (and my well have been the case) that yeast autolysis and other factors caused off flavors--thus racking to a secondary. But unless you're leaving the beer in the primary for more than a month or so, it doesn't seem to make any difference. If you're doing a very long-stage aging of the beer, getting it off the trub and yeast does make sense.
People will do what they do, but I stopped using a secondary after my very first extract brew.
This is the question I have--what are the numbers?
My OG was 1.048 using a refractometer.... I aerated my wort in my carboy and used 1 package of Us-05 dry yeast... controlled fermentation around 68 degrees for 10 days... my reading on my hydrometer today was 1.018...
Keep it at or above your current temperature, and check it again in 3 days or so to see if it is done. Obviously, keep using the hydrometer for post-fermentation checks.
Also, have you tested your refractometer against your hydrometer? Do they read the same thing at different gravities? Was the OG what you expected it to be, or was it off?
A 1.048 beer isn't going to be super alcoholic. If you mashed high or used lots of additional malts, you may be done. I wouldn't worry about abv. Good beer is good beer. If you want abv, get vodka. Otherwise, make higher gravity brews.
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