Racking / Priming

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Monday Jun 20, 2005 11:14 pm

G'day everybody,

I have been following this forum for a short time and would agree with other new members that it a great resource and a good read.

I have just started brewing again after a break of 20 years! Just started brew No. 5 and am encouraged to rack and bulk prime after reading some of your comments. This one is a Morgans saaz pilsener/ Pilsener Urquel clone, Saflager yeast, extra hops currently in the shed at 14-15deg, should rack on the weekend.

Hope not to cover to much old ground so if I do just point me in the right direction.

When I get to the bulk priming stage and assuming I have lost anything from 1 to 4 litres from racking and testing should I be calculating the priming sugar amount or will the recomended 180 - 200g do? Am I worrying to much.

Comments appreciated

Hully · Post by **Hully** » Monday Jun 20, 2005 11:35 pm

G'day again

Forgot username above

db · Post by db » Tuesday Jun 21, 2005 9:04 am

Hully i calulate my priming sugar at 7-8g per litre before transfering to the bulk primer

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Tuesday Jun 21, 2005 9:23 am

db,

you are priming lite for 23 litres

I am thinking its about 14 g for a good pilsner or North American style Beer

British are about 12,

Stouts/Porters 9

But I like mine fizzy

Dogger

db · Post by db » Tuesday Jun 21, 2005 9:59 am

yeah 22-23 in the primary.. so around 20-21 after racking. so approx 160-170g.
I used to prime at 10g a litre (tried 12g once - it got messy) but i found that the longer i kept the beers the fizzier they got.. after a month they were stupidly over carbed. but i suspect this had something to do with the temps my beers are stored at (18-20deg on average.. & higher in summer.. i would keep em colder if possible, but i cant)
what temps do you store yours at DD? i presume colder than mine?

Hully · Post by **Hully** » Tuesday Jun 21, 2005 8:29 pm

Thanks guys

My first couple of brews have been a bit flatter than I prefer.

Hopefully this will fix that

Hully · Post by **Hully** » Tuesday Jun 28, 2005 11:19 pm

Just racked my first brew, used 2m of hose coiled into bottom of secondary. All started well but flow stopped about half ay through. Thought tap was blocked so removed and checked but was OK. After a bit of fiddling got some flow by pulling some hose out of the secondary. Has anyone else had similar problems? Think I will cut hose a bit shorter for the next one.
As this is a lager looking to leave in secondary for 2 weeks, temp currently at 16C, should I try and get back to 13C for thtat time

db · Post by db » Wednesday Jun 29, 2005 10:05 am

hully.. hose length shouldn't be an issue. try moving the primary fermentor to a higher position.. & dont use a sediment reducer

Evo · Post by **Evo** » Wednesday Jun 29, 2005 11:50 am

Yeah, the further the hose is under water (or beer in our case) the more pressure it requires to flow through. To get around this I normally just gradually move my second fermenter away from the primary keeping the hose JUST under the water (beer) level.

flosso · Post by **flosso** » Wednesday Jun 29, 2005 12:21 pm

Evo wrote:Yeah, the further the hose is under water (or beer in our case) the more pressure it requires to flow through. To get around this I normally just gradually move my second fermenter away from the primary keeping the hose JUST under the water (beer) level.

On top of this - the more beer that is in the primary, the more pressure there will be forcing beer through the hose - so it is a catch 22 in that you need more pressure the further the hose is underneath beer, but you are getting less pressure because there isn't as much beer in the primary.

I just make sure that the primary is a fair bit higher than the secondary and haven't had a problem yet.

gregb · Post by **gregb** » Wednesday Jun 29, 2005 12:23 pm

Primary on kitchen bench, racking bin on kitchen floor.
Never had a problem.

Greg.

db · Post by db » Wednesday Jun 29, 2005 1:20 pm

Evo wrote:Yeah, the further the hose is under water (or beer in our case) the more pressure it requires to flow through. To get around this I normally just gradually move my second fermenter away from the primary keeping the hose JUST under the water (beer) level.

well when you put it like that it makes sense

length does matter

yeah i have my primary at bench height & i've never had issues

Friar · Post by **Friar** » Wednesday Jun 29, 2005 9:49 pm

Go with gregb's suggestion

Gravity sucks

let it do the work

F

Hully · Post by **Hully** » Wednesday Jun 29, 2005 9:50 pm

Thanks guys

Thought it would be like a siphon. I had primary on bench, secondary on floor.

Guess it's like db said, length does matter. Obviously mines too long so I will just have to cut mine in half

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Wednesday Jun 29, 2005 10:49 pm

No,

and it sounds like I am one of the few that syphons

Dogger

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Thursday Jun 30, 2005 10:36 pm

Hully wrote:Guess it's like db said, length does matter. Obviously mines too long so I will just have to cut mine in half

Don't take too much off - you still want enough to coil in the bottom so that your bulk-priming solution is well mixed.

With the bit you do cut off, use it to extend your bottling tube - it makes filling bottles stupidly easy, because all you do is move the bottler on the end of the tube, rather than lifting bottles up to the tap all the time.

Tony

peterd · Post by **peterd** » Monday Jul 11, 2005 1:32 pm

Been away - missed this thread up 'til now.
Length has very minor effect (only matter of "drag" as liquid passes walls of tube - longer tube, more drag).
Major issues are relative head heights, "lift" distance (how high the liquid has to be "lifted" before is flows downhill), and tube diameter (assuming it is both fairly standard, and constant (i.e. doesn't vary over its length), we can ignore this one).
Conventional wisdom has it that distance tube under surface has no effect. If I remember correctly, Physics books agree.

Hully · Post by **Hully** » Wednesday Aug 17, 2005 10:26 pm

just an update on this, my first lager.

Racked after 10 days SG1015, in secondary for 13 days.

Bulk primed 180g sugar in 500ml water, boiled. Finished with 19l

Bottled into a mix of longnecks, stubbies and a few 1.25l coke bottles in that order. Did not stir. Left for 4 days at room temp then have been in the fridge for 4 weeks, out today.

Having a few PET bottles in a batch is handy as you can give them a squeeze to get an idea of how carbonation is progressing.

Because the batch only had 4 days to ferment before going into the fridge the PET bottles are still about the same hardness as when they went in. I am hoping there is still some active yeast left to finish. As noted in other posts I may have uneven sugar mixing because I did not stir and these were the last filled.

I have just bottled my 2nd lager, and am planning to "lager" in the fridge as per the first batch.

Sould I leave it a bit longer to carbonate before lagering or go as per the first and let carbonate after.

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated

Post by **Oliver** » Wednesday Aug 17, 2005 11:10 pm

I'd leave to carbonate for a couple of days, then lager.

But I don't think there's any reason you couldn't lager first, then allow secondary carbonation when you remove it from the lager cellar (or fridge

)

Oliver

Hully · Post by **Hully** » Thursday Aug 18, 2005 10:09 pm

Thanks Oliver

The waiting is the hardest part of this lager thing. Cant wait to try one