Lazy brewer.

Kev · Post by **Kev** » Monday Apr 18, 2005 10:48 pm

Ive been kit brewing for a little while now and the beer has been ok.

Lately as i work 6 days a week i realy only get to do this stuff on the sunday so this is what i do.

Brew a kit on a sunday & leave it in the primary fermenter untill i rack it to another fermenter the following sunday. (stopped brewing after 4-5 days)

Then leave it in this secondary fermenter untill the next sunday then bottle.

It just seems weird to leave the beer so long after the fermenting has stopped.

Do you guys see any problems with this ?

Jeff · Post by **Jeff** » Tuesday Apr 19, 2005 6:28 am

No, I reckon you're doing well. I leave mine in the primary for two weeks. Maybe you could do that then rack off for another week. This should remove even more sediment

r.magnay · Post by **r.magnay** » Tuesday Apr 19, 2005 6:42 am

If I spent that much time waiting for my beer to be ready, I would need half a dozen fermenters!

Kev · Post by **Kev** » Tuesday Apr 19, 2005 5:47 pm

Jeff wrote:No, I reckon you're doing well. I leave mine in the primary for two weeks. Maybe you could do that then rack off for another week. This should remove even more sediment

Two weeks hey, i thought its best to remove the beer from the yeast cake soon as & then let settle in the secondary.
Not that im an expert.

The less sediment the better i recon.

r.magnay wrote:If I spent that much time waiting for my beer to be ready, I would need half a dozen fermenters!

Yeah but im at the point were i brew more than i drink so i dont mind waiting, especialy if it may improve the beer.

Hrundi V Bakshi · Wednesday Apr 20, 2005 1:00 am

It is only needed to remove beer from yeast in primary when the temperature is hot such like 25 deg Celcius. If the fermentation is kept "cool" being in the low of 20s, then the yeast will reabsorb some of its by products as well as fall out of the beer.

It is a old homebrew myth that the beer should be rushed into the bottle. This problem is not there when the fermentation is good and cool. First things to learn for kit people is to practice good sanitation always and control temperature suitable for the yeast. Do these things and many silly myths shall go.

Post by **Oliver** » Wednesday Apr 20, 2005 11:25 am

I generally leave the beer in the fermenter for two weeks, with no apparent ill-effects. I do not rack.

I must be lazy, too!

Oliver

gregb · Post by **gregb** » Wednesday Apr 20, 2005 12:36 pm

Slack arse here has been known to go four or so weeks in the primary, with no noted ill affects.

Greg.

Kev · Post by **Kev** » Wednesday Apr 20, 2005 7:02 pm

Hrundi V Bakshi wrote:It is only needed to remove beer from yeast in primary when the temperature is hot such like 25 deg Celcius. If the fermentation is kept "cool" being in the low of 20s, then the yeast will reabsorb some of its by products as well as fall out of the beer.

I keep my primary down to around 24 to 26 deg as i keep it 1/2 submerged with water & ice blocks but the secondary is left at room temp approx 30 deg (north QLD) on the bench ready for bottling.

Would a higher temp realy make that much difference ?

pelican · Post by **pelican** » Wednesday Apr 20, 2005 7:32 pm

i havent ever racked my brew and maybey its me but i get no sediment in bottom of bottles (well when i say no sediment i get a fine film of sediment witch i turn through the bottle) beer is still nice and clear

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Wednesday Apr 20, 2005 9:10 pm

Pelican,

Thats what is supposed to happen.

Dogger

Hrundi V Bakshi · Thursday Apr 21, 2005 12:25 am

Kev wrote: I keep my primary down to around 24 to 26 deg as i keep it 1/2 submerged with water & ice blocks but the secondary is left at room temp approx 30 deg (north QLD) on the bench ready for bottling.

Would a higher temp realy make that much difference ?

Do you rack the beer for secondary or leave it on the yeast cake?
The problem with leaving the beer on the yeast at these temperatures is that the yeast will still be alive and active but out of fermentable sugars, so they will turn to the cells of their dead bretheren

The insides of the dead yeast cells are then being released into the beer and it has a singularly foul taste. If this scenario is avoided, then you have less to worry about. It is avoided by racking after primary fermentation is complete.

It is not a problem at lower temperatures and different strains of yeast are behave differently. There is no "rule". If your beer tastes good, then you should

Jeff · Post by **Jeff** » Friday Apr 22, 2005 6:08 pm

I've just gone and bought a second fermenter (container from Bunnings for $17) so that I could rack. I agree with others that the beer can be good (read clear) without racking but my purpose is so I can bulk prime before bottling - another lazy brewer...???

Kev · Post by **Kev** » Friday Apr 22, 2005 6:39 pm

Hrundi V Bakshi wrote: Do you rack the beer for secondary or leave it on the yeast cake?

Yeah as said i leave it in the primary for one week then rack to the secondary for another week.

There is a little bit of sediment in the secondary (of course) but i hope this isnt enough to cause the problems you discussed with the higher temps.

pelican · Post by **pelican** » Sunday Apr 24, 2005 1:35 pm

i never have racked befor. how is it done? do u run beer through tap or pour out through top?

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Monday Apr 25, 2005 2:32 am

Pelican,

If no one helps you out I will try. Our kit is different which is why I hope someone else will stand up to the plate. Your cry has been heard though

Dogger

Post by **Oliver** » Monday Apr 25, 2005 10:25 am

Pelican,

Racking is simply the transferring of the fermented or almost fermented beer to another fermenter. This leaves behind all the dead yeast and other crap that some people say will affect the taste of the beer if it's left in the original fermenter.

If you have a fermenter with a tap, get a bit of tube (see http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/forum/vi ... .php?t=602) that's long enough to go from the fermenter tap to the bottom of the second fermenter. The reason you need the tube is that just letting the beer run from one fermenter into another will admit oxygen, and this will likely lead to oxidation of the beer, which isn't good. You just want the beer to run in gently.

If your fermenter doesn't have a tap, you'll need to siphon it from one fermenter to the other.

Racking also allows you to bulk prime, which means you don't have to add sugar to each bottle to prime. Do a search and you'll come up with heaps of info.

Cheers,

Oliver

Jeff · Post by **Jeff** » Monday Apr 25, 2005 1:20 pm

Pelican, I've just bottled a nut brown. For the first time I racked into another container (see above), using a 1m piece of clear plastic hose purchased at the same establishment. The hose reaches to the bottom of the secondary. I left it a few days for any "stirred up" sediment to drop out then bulk primed with 110g of sugar. A small residue remained in the secondary, leading me to think the final beer may be clearer

The main gain however was in the bulk priming which allowed me to put 23 litres away in less than an hour

Give it a go!

Kev · Post by **Kev** » Monday Apr 25, 2005 1:26 pm

Whats the go with the bulk priming ?

Why dont people use the carbonation drops ?

Quick & easy !

the Baron · Post by **the Baron** » Monday Apr 25, 2005 4:01 pm

Kev, its expensive, I checked the price of the drops (not to extensivly) and the cheapest I could find was coopers drops at kmart for $2.50 for a 250g bag (didn't look for bigger bags), this is $10 a kilo for sugar. dextrose can be got at around $2.70 a kilo. If you prime at 8gm per litre your looking at under 50c for priming. Also you have more flexibility with doing it without drops, can make em more smooth or fizzy depending on what you want

pelican · Post by **pelican** » Monday Apr 25, 2005 7:43 pm

thanks for the hints and tips should have no problems now