Ive now got an fv fridge and brewing a lager at mo at 18c. When i second ferment it to clear, do i need to put in fridge at 18c again or can i leave it in a cool room in house so i can get another beer fermenting. Does temperature matter?
2nd fermenting
- Thread starter neddy
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Soz. Im fermenting the beer then transfering to another fv without sediment for a week to help it clear so was unsure if the temperature mattered. As it means i can get another brew fermenting in the fridge if it didnt
Kev888
Regular.
It may sound weird, but in some ways transferring to a secondary FV can actually slow the settling process; the reason being that all the fine stuff thats beginning to slowly drop towards the bottom gets mixed up again during the transfer. A secondary fermenter is perhaps most commonly used in order to remove the beer from dead/dying yeast at the bottom, which if left for too long can cause off-flavours (autolysis), and/or if you were using finings it avoids the crud being stirred up off the bottom when you stir them in.
Unfortunately its a matter of debate as to how long it takes for autolysis to become an issue. Conversely you don't want to rack 'too' soon -partly because you don't want to rob the beer/wort of working yeast prematurely, and partly because its worth waiting for the worst of the stuff to finish settling out first or you'll transfer it anyway. I'd say 'at least' wait for the fermentation to die down to almost nothing visible, and then its up to you - personally I tend not to bother with the secondary FV at all if I'm kegging within two or three weeks, but I will if I'm leaving it much longer or if for some reason it is on the warm side.
Settling can definitely be speeded by chilling if you have the option, but if thats a problem then given more time it will settle at normal fermentation temperatures. There is sometimes confusion between a secondary 'fermenter' and the priming fermentation (in kegs/bottles etc) that some people call the secondary 'fermentation' - this priming fermentation does need to be at more normal fermenting temperatures for the yeast in question.
Cheers
Kev
Unfortunately its a matter of debate as to how long it takes for autolysis to become an issue. Conversely you don't want to rack 'too' soon -partly because you don't want to rob the beer/wort of working yeast prematurely, and partly because its worth waiting for the worst of the stuff to finish settling out first or you'll transfer it anyway. I'd say 'at least' wait for the fermentation to die down to almost nothing visible, and then its up to you - personally I tend not to bother with the secondary FV at all if I'm kegging within two or three weeks, but I will if I'm leaving it much longer or if for some reason it is on the warm side.
Settling can definitely be speeded by chilling if you have the option, but if thats a problem then given more time it will settle at normal fermentation temperatures. There is sometimes confusion between a secondary 'fermenter' and the priming fermentation (in kegs/bottles etc) that some people call the secondary 'fermentation' - this priming fermentation does need to be at more normal fermenting temperatures for the yeast in question.
Cheers
Kev
rpt
Brewing without a hat
Once fermentation has finished (i.e. gravity constant for 2 days) then I'd leave it for another 3 days to allow the yeast to clean up after themselves. Then transfer to the second FV. This can then be cold to help stuff settle.
Kev888 said:
+1 for that
this is what Jamil Zainashelf says. Tranferring to secondary to clear doesn't make sense because you are just mixing your beer up again after it is starting to clear. Also, using fresh healthy yeast, and on a home brew scale mostly using small flat bottomed fermenters, there is very little risk of off flavours from autolysis. I have kept a lager in the primary FV at cool temperature for 5 weeks with no off flavours. The problem occurs on a larger scale and with conical fermenters where the yeast is under pressure and the dead cells can soon inpart off flavours.
The only reason I transfer to a 2nd FV is to batch prime when bottling so to the FV with the little bottler attached.
I normally transfer/batch prime and cool @ <5°c for a week. There is no chance of the fermentation restarting until the temp rises and bottle sediment is minimal.
I normally transfer/batch prime and cool @ <5°c for a week. There is no chance of the fermentation restarting until the temp rises and bottle sediment is minimal.
rpt
Brewing without a hat
Interesting technique that sounds like a good idea. Do you ensure the beer is below 5C before adding the priming sugar?
rpt said:
Exactly. After primary has finished, I tend to leave it to fit in with work so if I know I'll be bottling at the weekend will cool down to <5°c on around Weds. and transfer on Thurs. which leaves a few more days clearing time.
I've had no issues with carbonation levels using this technique.
Kev888
Regular.
Some micro/commercial breweries stop the fermentation happening (and promote settling) by chilling, in a slightly different way. They chill just before the primary fermentation finishes, i.e. when there are still some fermentables left, and then warm up a bit later when kegged/bottled to cause carbonation.
They have to be confident of what the FG will be though, so I'm not necessarily advising this for home brewers - IMO its generally safer/easier to prime with a known quantity of fermentables.
Cheers
Kev
They have to be confident of what the FG will be though, so I'm not necessarily advising this for home brewers - IMO its generally safer/easier to prime with a known quantity of fermentables.
Cheers
Kev
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