Will racking improve quality or just aesthetics of my beer?

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cwiseman77

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I've racked my last few brews to a secondary and they have come out a lot clearer. My question is will racking actually effect the quality of my beer or will it just remove sediment, make it less cloudy etc... To be honest I'm not really bothered if my beer is cloudy, if it is merely an aesthetic thing can I skip this step?

Is it beneficial to the quality to take the beer of the dead yeast or something? :hmm:
 
Its a personal preference, you can skip it of course.
 
No The opposite leaving in an fv especially a dirty one will increase the risk of infection.

Would you leave your beer in this

IMG-20121022-00088_zps21504af0.jpg


Extreme case i know but I left a beer in a primary for 2 weeks and it was a very clean ferment but i did notice a fungal growth around where the krausan had been inches away from the beer.

I drop into a secondary after about a week and leave it another week before bottling. :thumb:
 
graysalchemy said:
No The opposite leaving in an fv especially a dirty one will increase the risk of infection.

Would you leave your beer in this

IMG-20121022-00088_zps21504af0.jpg


Extreme case i know but I left a beer in a primary for 2 weeks and it was a very clean ferment but i did notice a fungal growth around where the krausan had been inches away from the beer.

I drop into a secondary after about a week and leave it another week before bottling. :thumb:


So I don't need to wait for a constant gravity reading before transferring? And then secondary in a nice cool place...concrete floor perhaps? (think it was you that told me that!)
 
No I tend to put in secondry once active fermentation has completed as in the above. I may then leave it a few more days at ferm temp for a diacetyl rest then put somewhere cool to drop out the sediment.

Some people don't bother and many micros wouldn't bother either, but to me it makes sense to get it away from all the dirty **** which festoons the sides of the FV.

:thumb:
 
graysalchemy said:
No I tend to put in secondry once active fermentation has completed as in the above. I may then leave it a few more days at ferm temp for a diacetyl rest then put somewhere cool to drop out the sediment.

Some people don't bother and many micros wouldn't bother either, but to me it makes sense to get it away from all the dirty **** which festoons the sides of the FV.

:thumb:

Right so can i work off a basic schedule of:

1. Leave in primary until FG is reached
2. Transfer to secondary
3. Leave for a few days at ferm temp for diacetyl rest (which can prevent off flavours from the yeast?)
4. Transfer to cooler area and leave for a week
5. Siphon to bottling bucket
6. Bottle
7. Condition
8. Drink

:pray:
 
cwiseman77 said:
graysalchemy said:
No I tend to put in secondry once active fermentation has completed as in the above. I may then leave it a few more days at ferm temp for a diacetyl rest then put somewhere cool to drop out the sediment.

Some people don't bother and many micros wouldn't bother either, but to me it makes sense to get it away from all the dirty **** which festoons the sides of the FV.

:thumb:

Right so can i work off a basic schedule of:

1. Leave in primary until FG is reached
2. Transfer to secondary
3. Leave for a few days at ferm temp for diacetyl rest (which can prevent off flavours from the yeast?)
4. Transfer to cooler area and leave for a week
5. Siphon to bottling bucket
6. Bottle
7. Condition
8. Drink

:pray:


That's pretty much what I do. I go with 10-14 days in primary, 10-14 days in secondary, bottling bucket then bottle.

Definitely works out well for me. You could probably ditch the secondary stage if you got a fast enough ferment but I would rather do it to be safe rather than sorry.
 
ScottM said:
cwiseman77 said:
graysalchemy said:
No I tend to put in secondry once active fermentation has completed as in the above. I may then leave it a few more days at ferm temp for a diacetyl rest then put somewhere cool to drop out the sediment.

Some people don't bother and many micros wouldn't bother either, but to me it makes sense to get it away from all the dirty **** which festoons the sides of the FV.

:thumb:

Right so can i work off a basic schedule of:

1. Leave in primary until FG is reached
2. Transfer to secondary
3. Leave for a few days at ferm temp for diacetyl rest (which can prevent off flavours from the yeast?)
4. Transfer to cooler area and leave for a week
5. Siphon to bottling bucket
6. Bottle
7. Condition
8. Drink

:pray:


That's pretty much what I do. I go with 10-14 days in primary, 10-14 days in secondary, bottling bucket then bottle.

Definitely works out well for me. You could probably ditch the secondary stage if you got a fast enough ferment but I would rather do it to be safe rather than sorry.

Right cool...don't think I'm going too far wrong....trial and error

Its the learning experience I love the most :ugeek:
 
If you bottle straight to bottles from the fermented you will not get a consistent yeast rate in each bottle and racking will smooth that out for you and improve consistency of carbonation in the bottles
 
these days, i do 2 to 3 weeks all in the one FV. Youd have to leave it for a couple of months of get any side effects or so ive read, but less than 4 weeks your good.

If you are dry hopping ive read its worth transferring to a secondary but havnt bothered yet.

I don't think it matters either way it just what works for you. lazy brewers, like myself do it all in one, and the cutting back on faffing makes the hobby more enjoyable for us id say, so works for us! Others for piece of mind will feel more relaxed after transfering and probably enjoy the process so it works for them. try both and see what works for you.

i don't think you'll find any real noticeable difference- think one of the brulosophy experiments covered this.
 
If you transfer to secondary, you have to do it just before fermentation has finished, if you can't do an oxygen free transfer then don't do it. If I am dry hopping I do it in the secondary using the vented co2 to purge the secondary, it gets the beer off the main yeast cake and does help clarity of the beer.
 
I skim the craap off the fermenting wort twice a day for around 4 days, each time wiping away the tide mark with clean kitchen tissues.....
 
I also skim the craap as it forms on the surface of the wort as it comes up to boiling point....
 
I skim the craap off the fermenting wort twice a day for around 4 days, each time wiping away the tide mark with clean kitchen tissues.....

Just so I’ve got this straight.... You open up your fermenter twice a day and remove the Krausen and wipe away the rim residue? I’ve not heard of anyone doing this before - is this something you’ve always done or did you start doing it because it provided some benefit to your brew? Clarity? Less off-flavours? I’m genuinely interested.

I know this is a zombie thread and not wanting to disturb the undead and all, but the only time I transfer to secondary is if I’m lagering. I’m quite certain my brews are fine staying in primary protected by a cosy CO2 blanket for the two weeks or so it takes to brew an ale. I do rack to bottling bucket for batch priming at bottling.

x
 
I skim the craap off the fermenting wort twice a day for around 4 days, each time wiping away the tide mark with clean kitchen tissues.....
That's not ****, they are live fresh yeast cells, the tide mark will never be an issue, only the yeast living in the fermenter. You will have more chance of spoiling a beer skimming and wiping.
 
No The opposite leaving in an fv especially a dirty one will increase the risk of infection.

Would you leave your beer in this

IMG-20121022-00088_zps21504af0.jpg


Extreme case i know but I left a beer in a primary for 2 weeks and it was a very clean ferment but i did notice a fungal growth around where the krausan had been inches away from the beer.

I drop into a secondary after about a week and leave it another week before bottling. :thumb:
I've left mine for 8 weeks with no issues as if it's sterile and sanitised prior to fermentation and your not opening and closing the lid to check it will be fine due to the co2 that is retained in the fermenter as byproduct of the yeast.
 
I have skimmed and cleaned for over 40 years never a bad brew - I just think dark brown fermentation craap should not enter the beer - breweries can't do this for practical reasons - and regular readers will know that I bottle in 4 to 6 days from yeast pitch - I ferment at 19 - 22 deg C
 

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