Rookie Question/issue

[Jkrags]

Hi all - So we posted last week we were having issues getting a good SG reading on our coffee porter in the secondary fermentor in anticipation of bottling. So we wont bore you with those details but the end result was we took all your sage advise and left it in to continue frementing.

Todays reading (using our new plastic hydrometer test jar -best thing ever!) is 1.016 (probably add .0015 temp adjustment). The recipie states final gravity of 1.01-1.015. Our OG was high at 1.056 (top of range for recipe). There are still a few bubbles coming, few and far between.

SO...we now also have a pale ale that is ready (after one week is already .011 away from FG) and needs to go into the secondary (asap right?) and we only have one car boy!

Option 1 - leave porter in carboy and pale ale in the primary for a week?

Option 2 - Bottle the porter and put the PA in the CB?

Option 3 - Move the porter to the bottling bucket for a week and put the PA in the CB?

Appreciate further sage advise for our rookie game plan!

 

[kev211]

I (as many on this forum) do not secondary. Secondarys come from the days when yeast would leave off flavors when they died off. Todays yeast dont do that, so its fine to leave the beer on the yeast cake. So unless your aging over something, dryhopping and plan on harvesting the yeast, etc. I dont think secondary's are necessary. So I would leave that pale ale be right there in primary. Moving it to secondary only risks infection and/or oxidation. As for the porter... Take another gravity reading in a few days (say... Saturday?). If the gravity hasn't changed, bottle away. If it does, leave it be a little longer.

Good luck!

 

[CA_Mouse]

Technically, you don't need to use a secondary unless you are racking onto fruit, other sugar sources or wood. Personally, I stopped transferring to a secondary even for dry hopping. When you rack off of your primary yeast, unless you are adding sugar, there is rarely ever additional fermentation happening. The bubbles that you are seeing are most likely off gassing of CO2. If you are that close to the expected FG, let the fermenter warm up about 5*F to allow the yeast to clean up after itself. This will generally bring your beer into the area that you are expecting.

 

[timdillon36]

My advice is to leave the porter where it is for another week. In 5 days u can check gravity and check again at 7 days and if those 2 are the same u are ready to bottle. (People say 3 days in a row at the same gravity but u don't really need that middle point if the first and last are the same.)

For the apa I would say leave it where it is for another 2 weeks and then check your gravity.

Moving from primary to secondary is just an extra point to introduce oxygen or an infection.

Even if u reach FG in 7-9 days your beer will turn out better in the end if u leave it a while longer in primary so the yeast can "clean up" their mess.

Good luck and welcome to the addiction. Good things come to those who wait.

Edit: guess I was a slow typer but I'm glad we all gave the same general advice.

 

[Jkrags]

Thanks all! Okay we will let them all ride for now.

 

[CUrchin]

I also don't believe in secondary fermentation (how do those yeasties know they are in some secondary world, anyway?), unless you need to add stuff (oak/fruit) or it's strong stuff that needs bulk aging, or if you desperately need the primary for something else. The more you move your beer, the greater chance you are going to introduce bad things--> Moving to a bottling bucket for a week at this point is asking for oxidation, and increases the risk of infection. You have been warned.

I personally primary most beers for 2-4 weeks, and occasionally longer when I am busy or lose track of things.

For dark beers I usually primary a month- They usually benefit from some aging.
For hoppy beers 2-3 weeks. Hops fade with time so you want to process these beers sooner. That said, 3 weeks usually leads to a clearer beer.

I know people like to take copious gravity readings, but I personally only check gravity when I am darn sure my beer is done. Again, the more you open that fermentor and play, the more bad things that can get in there. This is why I now use buckets. I no longer feel the need to watch (I know, we all like to watch). Trust me, the yeast know what to do.

Unfortunately, having some patience almost always is to your benefit with this hobby. Cheers.

 

[lbond2]

You have some great advice so far....

I rack to secondary depending on my gut feeling and strain of yeast. If I want extra clarification and halt yest from fermenting and force them into a clean up stage, I usually choose secondary fermentation. I also move the ale to a colder spot int house to maintain F.G. its all up to you, just remember...clean, sanitize, and reduce oxidization no matter what.

 

[kev211]

(how do those yeasties know they are in some secondary world, anyway?)

Yeasties are the wisest of all the single celled organisms. Just ask my newest ipa

 

[MFWINZLOW]

^^^ This

 

[unionrdr]

Sounds to me like the porter is really close to FG. Take another reading today or even tomorrow & see if the numbers match. If they do, bottle. If they don't, hurry up & wait some more. The pale ale definitely isn't done yet, what with projected FG readings being some 11 points above that yet. It'll need another week or so yet in primary.

 

[RM-MN]

Hi all - So we posted last week we were having issues getting a good SG reading on our coffee porter in the secondary fermentor in anticipation of bottling. So we wont bore you with those details but the end result was we took all your sage advise and left it in to continue frementing.

Todays reading (using our new plastic hydrometer test jar -best thing ever!) is 1.016 (probably add .0015 temp adjustment). The recipie states final gravity of 1.01-1.015. Our OG was high at 1.056 (top of range for recipe). There are still a few bubbles coming, few and far between.

SO...we now also have a pale ale that is ready (after one week is already .011 away from FG) and needs to go into the secondary (asap right?) and we only have one car boy!

Option 1 - leave porter in carboy and pale ale in the primary for a week?

Option 2 - Bottle the porter and put the PA in the CB?

Option 3 - Move the porter to the bottling bucket for a week and put the PA in the CB?

Appreciate further sage advise for our rookie game plan!

I'd recommend that you choose option 4, leave the porter where it is for another 2 to 3 weeks since it will need more time to mature before it is at its peak for drinking. Leave the pale ale right where it is for another week to 10 days, then if it is at a stable FG, dry hop it in the bucket and wait another 3 to 10 days for the hop aroma to be absorbed, then bottle it. Since the two beers will be ready to bottle at about the same time, get ingredients so you can start new batches in both the bucket (5 gallon batch) and carboy (4 gallon batch). That will keep you occupied while your beer that you bottled carbonates and matures a bit more. This will help you develop a pipeline so you won't feel the need to drink the beers you produced before they are really ready. When you get enough beers ahead, you can brew an imperial stout and put that away for the year long maturing that will make it really easy to drink.

 

[Jkrags]

Hello - need some help again. We took the advice to wait 7 or so days before bottling. The gravity reading has remained the same at 1.016 and there has been no bubbling for several days so we decided that today would be bottling day. However, noticed it started bubbling. Thinking this may be due to a slight increase in air temperature. So, should we go ahead with the bottling and use less sugar or wait even longer before bottling? Thanks!

 

[Iseneye]

If the gravity is stable you can bottle. You get bubbles when the temperature increases or the fermenter is moved.

In terms of the amount of priming sugar you can (should) use a calculator and enter the warmest temperature the primary has been at.

 

[Jkrags]

Thank you!!!