Length of Primary Fermentation

sparkious · Post by **sparkious** » Wednesday Nov 16, 2005 4:37 pm

I've only just started using safale yeasts instead of the supplied kit yeast and have noticed a considerable time difference in fermentation. The kit yeasts (coopers, morgans etc.) seem to ferment out just over a week @ 22-24 c and the safale seems to be taking two to three weeks. Is this normal and if so is it a problem leaving it in that long on the yeast cake , my local H.B guy seemed to think that after two weeks you should be either raking into another bin or bottling anyway as it could " spoil ". If anyone has some answers I'd love to know. Also just like to say that this site is 'ken awesome and has been a handy resource many times over.

db · Post by db » Wednesday Nov 16, 2005 4:54 pm

in my opinion (i mainly brew ales) it doesnt really make much difference as long as you keep the temperature down.. & i've recently heard that, when brewing ales, leaving the beer on the yeast cake for secondary (at the correct temp) can help to 'clean' the beer up quicker, opposed to racking for secondary.. lagers on the other hand apparently need to be racked

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Wednesday Nov 16, 2005 10:21 pm

Lagers generally need to be racked for the exact same reason as ales- to avoid crazy flavours from yeast autolysis. The racking of a lager is also often so that it can be cold conditioned in another vessel (to free up your fermenter.

Your HB guy is proporting the myth of the ages regarding HB:

HB will get infected if you look at it wrong.

This is a myth. You can leave ales and lagers on the cake for as much, or as little time as you want. Personally, I rack both after about a week, and leave in secondary sometimes indefinately. As long as you have a good seal in your fermenter, you will be fine. The beer will not go "off."

If you are worried about your lid- as many brewers are, just use gladwrap.

Finally, brewing is meant to be easy. Ancient egyptians did it without hydrometers, kit & kilos, brew enhancer No. 2, etc. It is really a very simple process, but people build so much mystery around it. Relax people.

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Thursday Nov 17, 2005 3:33 am

Until you have an infected brew, the cleanliness is no myth.

I get funky flavours off the trub after a week, so yes I like to transfer. I have never had the yeast cook off and I have had them sit on yeast bed for months. In fact a couple have sat on yeast beds for a year. Anyone who bottle conditions has the brew sitting on a yeast bed

Dogger

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Thursday Nov 17, 2005 10:21 am

I didn't think that this post was about cleanliness. I thought that it was about when to rack?

As I mentioned before, I usually rack after a week as well.

There will always be a yeast bed (assuming no-one here filters) after racking. I was referring to the primary yeast cake.

db · Post by db » Thursday Nov 17, 2005 10:55 am

Chris wrote:Personally, I rack both after about a week, and leave in secondary sometimes indefinately.

you are the same chris (blackdragon8888) who was very recently asking this question on grumpys?

http://www.grumpys.com.au/read.php3?id=62442

(i have a forum problem

)

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Thursday Nov 17, 2005 11:04 am

db, I don't post on grumpys. sometimes on AHB.

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Thursday Nov 17, 2005 11:09 am

Oh no! there is more that one Chris out there homebrewing!

I am so disillusioned.

db · Post by db » Thursday Nov 17, 2005 11:12 am

Chris wrote:Oh no! there is more that one Chris out there homebrewing! I am so disillusioned.

& he has the same email address as you too! (edit: well he did have until your recent edit)

http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/forum/vi ... c&start=23

Chris wrote:db, I don't post on grumpys. sometimes on AHB.

cut the rubbish Chris

(sorry for the hi-jack guys

)

sparkious · Post by **sparkious** » Thursday Nov 17, 2005 5:22 pm

Thanks guys , I will keep my Blackrock I.P.A in for another week and hopefully it will have finished bubbling by then.

thehipone · Post by **thehipone** » Thursday Nov 17, 2005 6:28 pm

Chris wrote:
This is a myth. You can leave ales and lagers on the cake for as much, or as little time as you want. Personally, I rack both after about a week, and leave in secondary sometimes indefinately. As long as you have a good seal in your fermenter, you will be fine. The beer will not go "off."

Finally, brewing is meant to be easy. Ancient egyptians did it without hydrometers, kit & kilos, brew enhancer No. 2, etc. It is really a very simple process, but people build so much mystery around it. Relax people.

Autolysis is not a myth, but you can believe it is if you want. Your comment that you can leave it on the cake as long as you want is just wrong.

Yes the egyptians did make beer. They also used a straw to punch through the crust on top so they could actually drink it. Thankfully, there is a lot of SCIENCE out there that helps people understand how to make better beers. Sure, you dont need to understand all the science, It is still somewhat an art form, but the better you understand what is going on, the better control you have over your product.

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Thursday Nov 17, 2005 10:05 pm

Chris wrote:Lagers generally need to be racked for the exact same reason as ales- to avoid crazy flavours from yeast autolysis.

I think if you reread the first part of my post, you will see that I do not think autolysis to be a myth. Instead, I am saying that beer just "going off" is a bit of a myth. People seem to keep alluding to the fact that beer seems to spontaneously go off, which I believe to be a big myth. This is a statement that can stand alone, completely disregarding yeast cakes if necessary.