2 newb questions

[fireballmatt]

I've already learned so much from browsing the forums here (stopping by lowes to get some paint straining sacks...my funnel kept clogging this past weekend!)

However, I do not have a local HBS, the closest is an hour away. I need some pH strips pronto as I've got a cyser that might have a low pH and the yeast is having trouble getting started. Does anyone know where I can pick up some pH strips? I had thought maybe a pet store with an aquarium section, but wasnt sure if the strips were the same that a HBS would carry.

Also, after racking from primary to secondary, how often do most people leave the brew in secondary? I keep seeing this 1-4 weeks, but is there any specific indicator that I should bottle? I really don't want to keep opening the secondary every week to check SG, but is that what it takes? If I accidentally sucked some of the yeast/sediment up from the primary into the secondary should I rack again before bottling, or just be careful of it when it comes time to bottle?

[Barley-Davidson]

The aquarium pH strips will work fine. Sucks not having a LHBS, doesn't it? You really have to plan well.

For ales people ofter go 1-2-3; 1 week in primary, 2 weeks in seconday, 3 weeks in the bottles.
As far as racking again when you bottle, you're going to want to do that anyway, assuming you're going to bulk prime. This will get your beer off any yeast that floculated in secondary and also mix in your priming sugar.

Welcome to the board and brewing :x

[DrunkenSatyr]

Pretty much ditto the above. Walmart has PH strips and as for the secondary, you really don't even need it, but since you are using one (nothing wrong with that or nothing really any better about not using one....) the 1 2 3 week rule is pretty well accepted. When I did use a secondary I would let the beer sit a Minimum of 2-3 weeks in there then dropped the temp of the clearing tank to the mid to low 40's for another week then racked off to a bottling bucket.

[Ó Flannagáin]

Not 100% about the ph strips, I've only checked my ph a couple times. I really want to start though.

Secondary time reallly depends on what the beer is. I know my stout and hefeweizen I just leave in primary for 10-12 days then bottle/keg. But with american ales, red ales and the like, the 1-2-3 method tends to work best. For strong ales, I like to leave in secondary for a month at least.

Picking up a little sediment from primary to secondary is gonna happen, not much you can do about it.

When it comes to bottling time, you should transfer from secondary to a bottling bucket and not bottle straight out of the secondary vessel.

Oh, and I suspect someone will probably come in here soon and say "I don't ever use a secondary," which is fine too.

[yellowforks]

i dont really know anything about the ph either. as for secondary, i always use a secondary for at least a week just to reduce sediment and yeast in the final beer. i then rack from secondary into a bottling bucket, add priming sugar and spent a monotonous hour bottling.

I think the 1-2-3 rule is pretty good, but depending on how much time I have, sometimes I let things sit longer or shorter. I dont think there is a magic formula that works for everything so you just have to experiment. In my experience, nothing has ever gone terribly wrong.

also, i dont really have a LHBS either. There is a hardware store in town that just sells very basic stuff, so I have to order online. Several online homebrew stores now offer flat rate shipping, which is great because you can get 130 pounds of ingredients for the same shipping rate as ordering 20#. i usually use austin homebrew, midwest supplies or northern brewer

welcome aboard and happy brewing!

[fireballmatt]

Thanks for all the advice! I'll swing by Wal-Mart on the way home and see if I can find the pH strips...failing that there's a pet lovers warehouse I can check...I'm pretty sure they have an aquarium section.

I don't have a bottling bucket at the moment, which sort of sucks, but its on my list of things to buy. That being said I don't have much choice to bottle straight from the secondary. I'm considering getting a variable volume stainless fermenter to use as a secondary which actually has a valve attached and might be useful for bottling. I saw those were mostly used for wine, anyone have any idea how they would work for beer?

As far as the 1-2-3 rule, sounds easy enough to apply! One thing no one mentioned, is the 3 week bottle conditioning at the 70ish degree mark like the fermentation, or should the bottles be refrigerated during those 3 weeks?

[Ó Flannagáin]

70 degree's for sure. YOu want to make sure they are good and carbed before getting them cold.

Some of my strong ales, that are 7% abv + have taking a couple months to get good and carbed.

[fireballmatt]

That's good to know don't want bottle bombs from this batch as from the initial wort taste it's going to be awesome.

[Zeno]

Another newb question about the 1-2-3 rule...

I thought that the 1-2-3 rule was based on the initial time in the primary.

For example... 10 days in primary -> 20 days in secondary -> 30 days in bottle.

The "1" is the primary. The "2" is twice the primary time. The "3" is three times the primary time.

Is that correct?

[Ó Flannagáin]

Not really, Zeno. 123 rule is 1 week, 2 week, 3 week... it's not a perfect rule though, so many variations work there's really no actual standard.