Floaties

[Brownbeard]

I have my first batch in the carboy right now, going to bottle on sunday. I have noticed that there are a lot of little floaties in the brew. They appear to be husks from the grains that were steeped in the brewing process. I am wondering, what is the best way to avoid getting those in the bottling bucket, and what is the best way to avoid getting them there in the first place? I used the bag that came with my recipe kit, is there a better type of bag I should be using? Also, I have my carboy in the cellar. After I rack it in to the bottling bucket, is it OK to bring that upstairs to do the bottling, or will that be too much jostling of the brew?

[toneyc]

The bag that came with your kit should be fine. If you are carrying the carboy upstairs and bottling immediately, that could be the problem. If possible, move the carboy hours ahead of time, maybe the night before, to give it a chance to settle. Secondly, how long are you keeping the beer in the fermentor? We all do things slightly differently, but I keep mine in the primary for 1 week, then the secondary for 1 week, and sometimes a tertiary for another week to allow for further clearing. I'm in the weekend brewer camp and things just line up that way for me.

:)
Toney.

[paul84043]

Isn't this fun!!!

Typically you will want to transfer your beer into a secondary for anywhere between just a few days to a couple of weeks depending on the strength of your beer.
The 5 gal carboys are the absolute best thing in the world for this.
Here's how it works...
When you initially top off your wort in the primary, you overfill by about 1/4 gallon to account for all the extra goodies you pour in, I used to strain, but it's not worth the effort and alot of times you want those in your primary. It's so much easier to just pour it in!

Then when you transfer, you fill your 5 gal secondary right up to the neck, this practically eliminates airspace and makes it impossible to splash the beer around. You may have a tiny bit of beer left over, but it's a small price to pay for perfection.
Be as careful as you can "reasonably" to keep from moving too much stuff over, but don't freak out about it either...

Let it sit for a while, I usually let them sit a week in the secondary.

Then when it's happy bottling time, you will have another layer on the bottom, but it will be very small.
Once again, if you move the carboy, do it carefully, but with it as full as it is, it's impossible to splash it around.
Be sure to buy the handles, you don't want to drop one of those babies!!
I carry mine up and downstairs (as long as my back will hold out) and it's not a problem, just watch our for G.I. Joe assault vehicles or the barbie porsche on the stairs....
Transfer into the bottling bucket (I use an autosiphon 12$ at your homebrew store, it's a godsend)

Dont worry too much about getting some stuff in your beer, after a secondary, it's so small that I don't even worry about pouring the beer carefully out of the bottles anymore, there just isn't enough stuff there.
There is also such thing as TOO clear, you need some yeast to ferment and carbonate your beer..
Anyway,
Add your boiled, sterilized priming sugar as the bottling bucket is filling and it will pretty much stir itself, though I stir gently after anyway...better safe than flat.
Put bottling bucket on high and bottle away.

I bottled a Hefe last night...mmmmmmm....

[Brownbeard]

I had the brew in the primary for 4 days, once the lock stopped bubbling, I moved to the secondary. My seccondary is a 6.5 gal carboy. It has been there for a week already and I am going to let it sit until sunday, that is going to be my first opportunity to bottle. So, I can bring it up the night before, let it settle overnight, and then it should be settled enough to bottle? I am also in the weekend brewer camp. By the time I get the kids fed and in bed at night, the only think I want to do with beer is drink it. My wife has been pretty cool about the whole thing. The day I did the wort, she took the kids to her mom's for the afternoon.

[Brownbeard]

Is it strange that I will sit and watch my beer for any signs of fermentation?

[denver brewhoo]

I am on batch #7, all since June 15. My wife has caught me like 3 or 4 times sitting in the basement, watching my beer. Maybe it's a newbie thing....she found it humorous enough that she has told the story to roughly 3000 people...

[barley ben]

not at all. right now you are still hooked on the thought that you screwed something up. when i first started brewing thats all i did, just sit and stare at it all day. "why isn't it bubbling yet, wow look at it go, why did it stop already, is it supposed to look like that". i even worried about it while i was at work. as soon as i walked in the door, i would go straight to it just to make sure everything is still ok. after a while you will only spend half your day staring at it!!!! so yeah, its normal.

[barley ben]

oh yeah, Welcome to your new obbsession!!!

[MagTheGrate]

weird? not at all... I've been caught by my wife checking my ferment with a flashlight in the middle of the night while getting up to go to the bathroom. The only problem is the state of "undress" that I was in......:D

[Brownbeard]

Yeah, the wife thinks it's pretty funny. I have got to the point where I am spending every free moment I have on brewing, whether it be looking at my beer, reading about brewing beer, or talking about brewing beer. My 2 year old just went to spend 4 days with my folks, so I am going to be able to get all my bottles washed in advance. Should make bottling go smoother.

I am using "One Step" sanitizer. Instructions say it is not necessary to rinse before bottling, is that correct?

[YamahaXS]

just use the amount that they say to use and you do not need to rinse.

cheers and beers.

[barley ben]

yeah, just soak for a bit and your ready to go. just make sure the bottles are cleaned good before you sanitize with it. it is not a cleaner, just a sanitizer.

[Brownbeard]

BAH! My local brew supply only has handles for the 5 gallon carboys. It will not fit my 6.5 gallon carboy. Looks like I may be bottling in the cellar. Hell, probably the closest I'll ever get to being a monk.

[Payson]

I don't have a handle and I lug the beasts around without any problem and I'm no Hercules. In fact, I worry that the handles put too much pressure on the neck... stressing it and possibly leading to a disastrous loss of nectar!

[Brownbeard]

GOT ONE!!!

[paul84043]

You don't actually carry it BY the handle, you still support it from the bottom!!
You are quite right, you'd probably pop the neck off eventually.

It just gives you that little extra to hold on to, these babies get slippery when you're cleaning them! and it's reassuring to know that one hand has a solid grip when you've still got two flights of stairs to go and you feel the bottom slowly sliding out of your hand....

My only almost-disaster has been dropping one in the sink while cleaning....it didn't break the carboy, but it chipped the hell out of the sink!
The wife noticed as soon as the sink was in sight....

[fuji6100]

I've been caught by my wife checking my ferment with a flashlight in the middle of the night while getting up to go to the bathroom

LOL, funny you should mention that. I actually modified one of my fermenting bucket lids to have a transparent plastic "peephole" in the top so I could look down into the fermenter and watch the action. My girlfriend is quite familiar with me hanging out in the closet with a flashlight watching the bubbles.

[danno]

for those that haven't yet, you HAVE to do a primary ferment in a glass carboy... watching all the swirling action is VERY cool...

and don't forget that blowoff tube...

[Brownbeard]

My next purchase is going to have to be a 5 gal carboy, that way I can go glass on both.

[barley ben]

[QUOTE]watching all the swirling action is VERY cool


yeah, the first high gravity brew i did, i seriously sat on the floor in front of it amazed for who knows how long. i was almost completely zoned out just watching the action in the carboy. it was the first time i had ever seen anything like that.

[tubetek]

Howdy BrownBeard...
Humble suggestion- If you are going
to watch PRIMARY fermentation, I
recommend the 6.5 gallon carboy.
With 5 gallon batch, there is enough
headspace to contain the head without
a "Blowoff tube". I realize this means
purchasing a 5 gallon carboy for the
secondary, but being able to trust your
brew to remain where it belongs
(Inside the fermenter!) while at work,
sleep,etc. is well worth the price.

tubetek