Second go at extract

[kolonial72]

I broke down and opened one up today. I must say, I'm very pleased. The hop, spice, and grain flavor seem well balanced. Not really any citrus in the flavor, but a faint sugestion of it comes through in the aroma. The beer tasted a bit young, but that's to be expected at this point. Not as hazy as my last (first) batch, but still a little bit of haze. I suppose I'll try another one in about a week.

Here's one thing I didn't expect. There was a layer of sediment in the bottom of the bottle. This particular bottle came from the middle of the lineup, so it's not the dregs of the bucket. The stuff looked kinda like trub, which I thought I was careful to exclude from the fermenter and even more careful to exclude from the bottling bucket. I was able to soak the bottle to get the stuff out. What do you suppose is up with that? Could it be dead yeast?

[Redweasel]

Yep, spent yeast. Completely normal for bottle conditiond beers. Just leave a sip or so in tje bottle so you don't pour it in the glass.

[Lamppa]

you'll get good a pouring all but 1/2 oz out without getting any yeast.

The secondary for 10-14 days cuts the sediment by something like 75%.

When I put my last brew in the secondary there was appx 3/4 inch of pure yeast on the bottom when I racked it out. Without the secondary, all of that yeast got devided up into 50 bottles.

[PseudoChef]

Originally Posted by Lamppa

you'll get good a pouring all but 1/2 oz out without getting any yeast.

The secondary for 10-14 days cuts the sediment by something like 75%.

When I put my last brew in the secondary there was appx 3/4 inch of pure yeast on the bottom when I racked it out. Without the secondary, all of that yeast got devided up into 50 bottles.

Where are you pulling that 75% number?

Like I've said before, gravity is gravity. The yeast are going to settle out whether you leave it in primary or secondary. Secondary has nothing to do with yeast falling out faster.

[Lamppa]

I agree, the yeast will settle out, primary or secondary, but hes not going to leave it in the primary for 3 weeks.


and the number is from a VERY secure, very intellegent source, my arse.

[kolonial72]

There's a thought. I don't (yet) use a secondary, but if I leave the beer in primary for 3 weeks, is it really going to be better than 2? Really, that's a question about deminishing returns. Also, I thought about leaving the primed beer in the bottling bucket for a couple of hours to let everything settle out a bit after racking, but I didn't have the time. Whaddaya think about that idea? (I feel like a few hours wouldn't make an appreciable difference.)

[flyangler18]

but hes not going to leave it in the primary for 3 weeks.

Why not?

There's a thought. I don't (yet) use a secondary, but if I leave the beer in primary for 3 weeks, is it really going to be better than 2? Really, that's a question about deminishing returns. Also, I thought about leaving the primed beer in the bottling bucket for a couple of hours to let everything settle out a bit after racking, but I didn't have the time. Whaddaya think about that idea? (I feel like a few hours wouldn't make an appreciable difference.)

I tend to be a primary-only brewer for 99% of the beers that I brew, and 3-4 weeks is the typical time those beers stay on the cake before racking to packaging. The only exception to that is my Mild, which I take grain to glass in two weeks (kegged, obviously) and it's perfect.

An extra week certainly won't hurt anything, and it may, to your palate, make an appreciable difference.

As for the bottling bucket, there's no need for let it settle after you've primed. In fact, the sooner it gets in the bottle, the better. If you're getting too much trub in the bottling bucket, one thing I can advise is more careful racking and allowing the primary sit for a few hours after you've moved it prior to racking the beer off into the bottling bucket. Make sense?

[Lamppa]

the only reason I never left the beer in the primary for 3 weeks is because I was scared. Especially on batch 2, like he is.
The instructions in the kit said 4-7 days primary and people said 21 days? That was too scary for me then.

[kolonial72]

Originally Posted by flyangler18

As for the bottling bucket, there's no need for let it settle after you've primed. In fact, the sooner it gets in the bottle, the better. If you're getting too much trub in the bottling bucket, one thing I can advise is more careful racking and allowing the primary sit for a few hours after you've moved it prior to racking the beer off into the bottling bucket. Make sense?

The sooner it gets in the bottle, the better - is that because it is exposed to nasty, bacteria-laden air before it's bottled? The careful racking part definitely makes sense, as I fell to the greedy temptation to get as much of the liquid as possible into the bottling bucket. I'll likely leave more waste next time to avoid some of this. I didn't think of letting the primary sit for a few hours (Duh!), but that makes sense too. Curious q, how does your mild benefit from less time than what you normally use?

Originally Posted by Lamppa

the only reason I never left the beer in the primary for 3 weeks is because I was scared. Especially on batch 2, like he is.
The instructions in the kit said 4-7 days primary and people said 21 days? That was too scary for me then.

For me, it's less about scared and more about impatient. But people can change, eh? At any rate, the kit instructions - which I follow loosely with some application of Palmer - say 4 to 6 days. Shouldn't be a big challenge for me to move that to 21 days. Heck, this time it was 16 days just due to convenience.

Thanks, fellas!

[marzen41]

i always rack off primary as soon as vigirous fermentation is complete mainly less than a week. i just like to get it off the trub as quick as possible. let it sit in secoundary for a week ,or until i get around to kegging