Siphons suck trub, man...

[fretlessman71]

I'm afraid I may have sucked up a fair amound of the trub racking from primary to secondary. What do I have to look forward to/worry about? Anything I need to keep in mind?

[Caffinehog]

Relax. Don't worry. Have a homebrew.

90% of the time, it won't give an off flavor unless it gets into the bottle. Just be careful you don't take too much of it when siphoning into the bottling bucket. In any case, you'll still have good beer.

[toneyc]

No worries, it'll all settle out in secondary.

:)
Toney.

[fretlessman71]

Cool. Relaxing as we speak.

Does this mean I ought to leave it in 2ndary a little longer than I would have under optimum conditions?

BTw... gravity was at 1.030 at 70 degrees. what does this translate to for the proper 60 degree reading? anyone know?

[barley ben]

That difference in temp should only add 1 point to your gravity. 1.031 now.
And also, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the trub that made it into the secondary shouldn't change anything as far as when it's ready to bottle. You will just want to be a be more carefull when transering this time so it doesn't end up in you bottling bucket(If that's what you use) and in the long run into your bottles.

[barley ben]

one other thing you could consider doing is sanitizing a hop bag and using it to cover the end of the siphon. I was thinking about doing it myself. Should filter out just about everything except the yeast.
If anyone else has suggestions about this working, please post. I haven't ever tried it and don't want to give any bad info. Not to say I'm gonna try it myself so hopefully it will work!!

[fretlessman71]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
Cool. Relaxing as we speak.

Does this mean I ought to leave it in 2ndary a little longer than I would have under optimum conditions?

BTw... gravity was at 1.030 at 70 degrees. what does this translate to for the proper 60 degree reading? anyone know?

Took another reading today, and it's still at 1.030. Am I doing something wrong? I keep feeling like my FG should be a lot lower than that... say around 1.015 or so. It doesn't seem to be moving! What did I do, or what CAN I do?

[brewmonkey]

Check into buying a stainless steel racking cane. Mine came with a "spring" on the end of it that holds the bottom out of the trub.

[fretlessman71]

Yeah, but am I doing something that is killing the yeast too early?

[brewmonkey]

What kind of beer is this, what yeast did you use and was it extract or all grain (and any specialty malts used)?

[fretlessman71]

Here goes.... it was a Brewer's Best Irish Stout kit that I added lactose to so I could make a sweet stout instead....

7# Plain Dark Malt Extract
8 oz. MaltoDextrin
12 oz. Crushed Crystal Malt 60L
4 oz. Crushed Black Patent
4 oz. Crushed Roasted Barley
2 oz. No. Brewer Hops
0.5 oz. Fuggles
...and approx. 10 oz. lactose.

I used the White Labs Irish Ale yeast.

[fretlessman71]

Maybe the lactose contributes to a higher gravity....?

[S.F.B.]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
Maybe the lactose contributes to a higher gravity....?

That would be my guess. Lactose is not fermentable. It adds sweetness and body. I don't know how much gravity it would add but it definitely does contribute to it.

[fretlessman71]

Hey... I've got some old DME sitting in a jar I could use for priming. How much should I use, and do you think it's still good after 6 months or so?

[davesarman]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
Hey... I've got some old DME sitting in a jar I could use for priming. How much should I use, and do you think it's still good after 6 months or so?

If you've kept it in a closed container, you should be good. I use DME for priming and have always had good luck. I buy a 2-3 pound bag and put in an airtight Tupperware type container. I use 1 3/4 cup per 5 gallon batch, boil for 10 minutes in 16 oz. of water. (I think that's how much I use, I'd have to refer to my notes, which are at home. I'm currently at the office.) I've always used light or extra light DME regardless of the style I'm making, and I don't think that small of amount will have much if any impact on flavor or color. I've been thinking of switching to using a wheat DME for priming to help with head retention, but I'm not sure if DME will have any impact on that. I know I've read that wheat malt helps with head retention, bu not sure if it was just grain, or if wheat DME whould help also. Any one know for sure?

[fretlessman71]

I could draw out a pint of the batch and boil up the DME in that, too, couldn't I? I already added water I didn't need to during the secondary (mixed lactose up with water to make it a sweeter sweet stout)...

[davesarman]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
I could draw out a pint of the batch and boil up the DME in that, too, couldn't I? I already added water I didn't need to during the secondary (mixed lactose up with water to make it a sweeter sweet stout)...

I don't see why that wouldn't work...give it a try. Although I don't really think of it as adding water. In essence, you're adding an additional shot of wort...unless you're concerned about the additional volume?

[fretlessman71]

I think of it as watering down a good beer a little bit. I'd like to keep the quality over the quantity, too. If I get one beer less out of the batch, but the rest are better as a result, I'm all for it!