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View Full Version : Strange Brew Part 2


paul84043
04-16-2003, 08:27 AM
I have only brewed 9 batches of beer so far so my experience is somewhat limited, but in that time I have already seen some of what I would call extremes in processing for no real reasons that I can discern.

My Belgian Dubbel finally finished!!!! I bottled it last night. It went for nearly a month, but finished with a real good F.G. of 1.009. (it's going to be one fantastic beer!!)

An Amber Ale that I purchased online that I have really been looking forward to is the exact opposite. It went normally for a week or so then began to slow down, I figured is was getting done, but when I took a reading, it was high, way high....1.020.

My local brew shop said that they would like to see an absolute minimun of 1.015 before bottling, so I'm not far off considering that it started around 1.064.
So, I have been agitating the fermenter gently trying to keep active yeast suspended to continue it's holy mission....it seems to be working, but very slowly. It's probably got another week to go until it finally gets "done".
Oh, another thing on the Amber is that it has a very fruity taste, almost to the point of being tart. I am wondering if I have an infection going on, but the other sypmtoms are not there. There's no funky stuff floating in the beer, no off odors, it smells really good and actually tastes real good as well. I was wondering if the tartness could just be the unfermented sugars since the gravity is still so high?
I'm going to be real bummed if I have to toss this batch. One of the bad parts is that you just don't know until it's bottled and aged wether or not it's really no good...

I racked into a secondary last night for the first time, it was a breeze, that "auto siphon" is an amazing tool!! I was surprised at the amount of stuff it left behind.

How long after you rack to a secondary do you wait to take readings? I was thinking two weeks...

S.F.B.
04-16-2003, 11:45 AM
I usually don't take a gravity in the secondary. I have left batches in the secondary for up to 2 months with no significant change in gravity. My understanding is the second is mainly for clearing. All of the big fermenting takes place in the primary.

That being said, The beers that I have bottled after that long in a second have taken a long time to carbonate. Up to 45 days.

paul84043
04-16-2003, 01:41 PM
Okay...then that would lead to the question, when do you rack to your secondary? When the Kreusen falls and activity drops off initially, or after the bubbling has dropped almost to a stop?

I hope I didn't do it too soon....it had been going for a week, the foaming had receded completely and it was bubbling at about 15 seconds per bubble.

There are visible signs of continuing fermentation, a very light film of fine bubbles and the airlock is pressurized so I know that I didn't kill it or stop it...

S.F.B.
04-16-2003, 02:05 PM
I rack when it is bubbling through the air-lock about every 90 seconds to 2 min. It is usually about 10 - 15 days.

YamahaXS
04-16-2003, 03:38 PM
sounds like SBF has a process similar to mine...

i prefer not to sweat schedules and details, so I just wait it out, and if I am not sure whether to rack or bottle, i just wait some more.... :D

I do beer activities on Fridays....

So, i will brew on a friday, rack on the following friday, then bottle 3-4 fridays later. Start drinking 2-3 fridays after that.

thats about a 2 month cycle.... since it takes me about a month to drink the beer, i try to have a couple going simultaniously.

paul84043
04-16-2003, 05:27 PM
If I waited a week, than I should be okay...

shughes600
04-23-2003, 01:31 AM
I rack after high krausen. I use the thumbrule of once I am off the bubble a second rate. In New Lager Brewing by Noonan he recommends racking after you lose 2/3 of the OG. This seems to coincide with the reduction in fermentation activity.

mmmBeer...
04-23-2003, 07:48 AM
I don’t worry about schedules either…I try to get things done when I have time. However, that usually works out to one week in the primary once high krausen has started. I like it to still be producing some bubbles in the fermentation lock so that the air in the headspace is replaced with CO2 after I rack to secondary. I let it sit in secondary for 3-4 weeks depending on when I will have time to bottle.

Never had any problems with this schedule and get pretty clear beer.