Secondary Question

[MoreBeerEh]

Ok. I moved my brew into the secondary carboy on Friday night. Today the airlock isn't bubbling. Could this be a problem or is it time to bottle?

[mrwaz]

Did you take a gravity reading? (Most times i don't) If you did, it should tell you if your beer is done. If not, that's o.k too.

If you do rack to a secondary you've done the important thing and gotten you beer off the sediment on the bottom.

I usually let sit for about a week or so to let it condition a bit then rack it to my keg.

I'm not advanced enough to tell if by letting it sit to long I've created off flavors in my finish product. So far I havn't created an undrinkable beer by letting it sit in the secondary for a week or two before bottling.

[beerturtle]

I'd allow it to sit in your secondary for at least 5 -7 days. It's okay to not see many bubbles; most beers (with avg. SGs) are like that. The yeasties are still in there cleaning up the beer. What did you brew, anyway??

[MoreBeerEh]

I've got a recipe called Downtown Honey Brown. It is VERY dark right now. Will it clear up at all or is it supposed to be dark like that?

[barley ben]

It may not lighten up in color a whole lot but it should continue to brighten. Also you are looking at a large quantity and when poured into a glass, it usually looks alot lighter. I had several pales that looked real dark in the carboy, but came out perfect when I poured them. That much beer can block light from passing through and make it appear darker than it really is.

[fretlessman71]

Is there ever a reason to do a THIRD fermentation? For example, what if (and I think I might have) I sucked up too much of the trub when going from 1st to 2ndary? Could I let it settle and rerack? Would this do anything?

[Stodbrew]

Fret-

If you sucked some trub into the secondary, let it settle out and try not to suck into the bottles. The less handling a beer goes through, the better. I have no doubt you'll be fine by leaving it in the secondary.

Cheers!

Steve

[Caffinehog]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
Is there ever a reason to do a THIRD fermentation? For example, what if (and I think I might have) I sucked up too much of the trub when going from 1st to 2ndary? Could I let it settle and rerack? Would this do anything?
This is quite doable... and something you might do if you add fruit in the secondary. You run the risk of oxidizing it, though. A little CO2 from a kegging system 'poured' into your 'tertiary' fermenter might serve as a little insurance.

[MoreBeerEh]

Ok. I moved my brew into the secondary on Friday. There are no more bubbles right now and no activity on the surface. I am itching like hell to bottle it. Can I yet?

[Jughead]

It could be bubbling when you are not looking. Or, it could be a stuck fermentation. If you bottle a stuck fermentation and add priming sugar and shake it up a little, them boom, you have bottle bombs. Chances are it's done and you could go ahead and bottle. If you know the OG and yeast attenuation and the current FG, you can make sure it's done. I won't bottle anything that's above 1.020 (keeping in mind the types of beers that I make)

[MoreBeerEh]

Mine is at 1.010. Is that still too early?

[Jughead]

1.010 should be okay (unless you're making something out of the ordinary).

[barley ben]

When in the secondary, it never hurts to give it an extra day or two just to make sure. All it will do is condition a bit.

[MoreBeerEh]

Well, it's bottled and put away. I hope everything goes well. I had quite a bit left over and I couldn't help but to pour myself a glass. It is flat but wow, it tastes great! A very dark beer but tastes wonderful.

[DarCoop]

Originally posted by MoreBeerEh
Well, it's bottled and put away. I hope everything goes well. I had quite a bit left over and I couldn't help but to pour myself a glass. It is flat but wow, it tastes great! A very dark beer but tastes wonderful.

That is a great feeling, to get a btach in bottles and get to drink up last bit that did not go into bottle and realize what great stuff you have made.
Congratulations on getting one step closer to great homebrew.