Ok so you guys know its a high gravity. I think we decided it was probably OG 1.076. It's been in primary for 8 days now I guess. Some people have told me leave it primary for 3 weeks then just bottle. Others say 3 weeks primary 2 weeks secondarythen bottle. Others say 1 week primary 1 week secondary bottle..... So I was thinking maybe ill go middle of the road and do 2 weeks primary 2 weeks secondary then bottle. What do you guys think? I want to put the oak chips in the secondary so I do want to secondary I guess.
Secondary is completely unnecessary. Anything you can put in secondary can go in primary once fermentation slows down. Every time you move your beer from one vessel to another you add oxygen and increase the chances of infection. Secondary does nothing in and of itself-time and gravity do all the work and they work as well in primary as they do in secondary.
Having said all that, if I make a cider or mead that needs to age a year or more I'll probably rack it to a 5 gallon carboy and put it in a closet so I can forget about it.
Ok so you think 3 weeks primary is fine? Add the oak chips after 2 weeks or now? It's been 8 days now and no bubbling anymore. And about the oak chips local homebrew shop said I could just toss em in no worries but my directions say boil them in a cup of water, drain the water and then put them in. What do you suggest? I thought the water would wash away some flavor but don't wanna risk the batch. And I think adding the oak as soon as possible will bring the most flavor....correct?
Here is the easy way, Soak them in Vodka for 1 month, run a 1 month primary, when you go to bottle, gently stir the vodka in your bottling bucket and bottle as normal.
I always run at least 4 full weeks in primary, 6 weeks is perfect in my eyes. Rarely do a secondary anymore unless i am making a very light colored ale.
You CAN use 1 cup whiskey if you prefer, but it WILL add more flavor than just the Oak Chips because whiskey is already aged in oak normally.
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The mind is like a beer, it does the most good when it is opened.
A couple of days in vodka should be plenty, then you can throw them in primary. 4 weeks in primary for a beer like this will not be a problem. leave it there 3-4 weeks, then bottle. Since this is your first beer you'll be impatient to drink it so leave it 2 weeks after you put the oak chips in.
vance and I have an agreement to not agree on anything in case you noticed.
A couple of days in vodka should be plenty, then you can throw them in primary. 4 weeks in primary for a beer like this will not be a problem. leave it there 3-4 weeks, then bottle. Since this is your first beer you'll be impatient to drink it so leave it 2 weeks after you put the oak chips in.
vance and I have an agreement to not agree on anything in case you noticed.
Oh Corky that is not true, we both agree that bud products suck and we do agree every once in a while.
See the 4 weeks in primary will not be a problem we agree on!
Oh and corky, on the wood chips, i was not meaning use the vodka to sanitize them or else i would totally agree with you on a couple days, i meant use the vodka to extract the flavor and then just add the vodka to the bottling bucket, which takes more than a couple days.
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The mind is like a beer, it does the most good when it is opened.
Thanks for the help guys. The wait is killing me lol.
Next question
Temp fluctuations.... It fermented at about 76 the first few days. I checked the temp last night and it was at like 62 or 64 I raised it up off the floor in my pantry where it is setting. Will that make any problems?
Thanks for the help guys. The wait is killing me lol.
Next question
Temp fluctuations.... It fermented at about 76 the first few days. I checked the temp last night and it was at like 62 or 64 I raised it up off the floor in my pantry where it is setting. Will that make any problems?
Well you will find that this Opinion will differ from a LOT of members here, but i run ALL of my fermentation's around 75-80 degrees, and yes i do get more esters, which i personally enjoy. Now if you want almost a neutral or less of a flavor coming from the yeast then yes 62-64 is a perfect range to run the fermentation, Depending on what yeast your using, so yeast like Saison prefer much warmer temps, but for a standard ale yeast, your golden at that 62-64 range for a clean beer.
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The mind is like a beer, it does the most good when it is opened.
Don't sweat it too much. Soon you'll have a 5 gallon batch with more flavor than a truckload of Coors Light. As you progress, you can worry about all sorts of fine tuning. Right now work on your sanitation so it's almost second nature. No matter what all you do right, poor sanitation can turn the best brew into drainpour.
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On deck: a clone of Carolina Beer Co's Rye Stout, clone of Breckenridge's Vanilla Porter,
Primary: Holiday brew
Secondary: Alt
Keg Conditioning: Big Muddy Monster clone attempt, RyePA, Honey Koelsch
On tap: Okto, , Bourbon Stout, Dunkelweizen, Tastebuddicide
Bottled: Mead, Quad Rajet, Granola Bar Braggot
Too much of everything is just enough.
- J. Garcia
Boiled the oak chips in a cup of water and added them to the bucket! I sprayed the lid and rim of the bucket with starsan before opening it.
Question....could I have added the cup of water that I boiled the chips in with no ill effect? For more oak flavor? The directions said tho drain it off and add just the chips so that's what I did.
Boiled the oak chips in a cup of water and added them to the bucket! I sprayed the lid and rim of the bucket with starsan before opening it.
Question....could I have added the cup of water that I boiled the chips in with no ill effect? For more oak flavor? The directions said tho drain it off and add just the chips so that's what I did.
It was Boiled so the odds of it hurting anything are very very very slim.
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The mind is like a beer, it does the most good when it is opened.
Don't worry it too much, we have all made beginner's mistakes and still brewed pretty good beer. Now we that we're past the beginner mistakes, we make the much more difficult and tragic expert mistakes!
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On deck: a clone of Carolina Beer Co's Rye Stout, clone of Breckenridge's Vanilla Porter,
Primary: Holiday brew
Secondary: Alt
Keg Conditioning: Big Muddy Monster clone attempt, RyePA, Honey Koelsch
On tap: Okto, , Bourbon Stout, Dunkelweizen, Tastebuddicide
Bottled: Mead, Quad Rajet, Granola Bar Braggot
Too much of everything is just enough.
- J. Garcia
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