Beginner-ish questions on primary, secondary + flavourings

[ilikepeas]

Hi there,

I've just kicked off my 3rd homebrew. I've learnt a couple of things from previous brews (be careful when siphoning, use bottled water, sterilise everything properly, etc) so I'm hoping that this will be a really good one. I really just wanted to run a few things but you guys to see what you thought.

Primary fermentation:
Just kicked this off in the brewing bucket in the kitchen which should keep the temperature pretty constant. I've left previous attempts for 2 - 3 weeks until the bubbles stop coming through but was wondering whether to go for 3 - 4 weeks this time?

Secondary fermentation (in a keg):
So after primary, I put the beer in to the secondary barrel. Last time I also added some fruit for extra flavour at this stage along with the priming sugar. Does that make sense you? I normally don't bother with bottling but might do a couple this time. Last time I left it in the keg for about a week before drinking which worked pretty well. I haven't bothered with a carbonator before but might give one of those a go this time as well.

So I suppose what I'm looking for is a sanity check. Does this sound right to you guys? I read through tubby_shaw's kit post which was great but any other tips, tricks or advise are more than welcome!

 

[dennisking]

Are you checking with a hydrometer. You will get a more accurate idea when it's fermented.

 

[ian808]

I think you'll find a much tastier beer if you leave in keg for at least 4 weeks. Normally 2ish weeks at room temp and then cooler for at least another 2 but it'll get better with age. I think 7 to 10 days is enough in FV but more is better

 

[Fil]

once the primary has finished, best checked with a hydrometer as suggested above, you can leave it a bit longer to clear a bit more, but there is no benefit leaving it sat doing little or nothing unless your undergoing a lagering process at lower temps. so transfer it out int either a 2ndary bucket to clear more and add the sterile flavourings you like, or into the keg/bottles as soon as you can.

maturing in the bottle in the cold after a few weeks in the warm to condition will benefit the flavour no end, 4 weeks minimum, and the longer the better, keep your lips off it for a few months and u will appreciate patience is the secret ingredient

 

[ilikepeas]

Thanks all!

So yes, definitely will use the Hydrometer for checking the fermentation before kegging this time. So that that would be, wait for the bubbles to die down, then check the hyrdrometer over 2 - 3 days, does that sound right?

It's a kit bitter but yes patience and leaving it a bit longer then it says on the instructions seems to be the key. Last time I did quite a light beer and I added some lime in to the 2nd ferment and that seemed to work well for flavouring. I was thinking Orange or cherry this time but will see.

@ian808 - Maturing in the bottle, would that be after the keg or at the same time?

 

[ian808]

If your going to drink Bottled beer mature in bottle if your plan is to leave in keg mature in keg. You can't mature in keg and then bottle. I use keg as a bottling device as it's easier than syphoning from FV to bottles I've never used it for keeping beer and drinking from it. I recently got some mini kegs but none are ready to drink yet, the hold 5 litres so won't take long to drink and no chance of beer going flat

 

[ilikepeas]

If your going to drink Bottled beer mature in bottle if your plan is to leave in keg mature in keg. You can't mature in keg and then bottle. I use keg as a bottling device as it's easier than syphoning from FV to bottles I've never used it for keeping beer and drinking from it. I recently got some mini kegs but none are ready to drink yet, the hold 5 litres so won't take long to drink and no chance of beer going flat

Thanks Ian. I think I'll probably just mature in the keg.
Fermenting is definitely under way! I'll post some pics when I get to the next stage if anyone's interested.

 

[ilikepeas]

Decided against bottling in the end. Here's my kegged beer:

It's going to be a long 4 weeks.... :)

 

[jonnymorris]

once the primary has finished, best checked with a hydrometer as suggested above, you can leave it a bit longer to clear a bit more, but there is no benefit leaving it sat doing little or nothing

Just to clarify, once the intial fermentation has finished there is real benefit to leaving it alone for a week or so more. The yeast is still active clearing up some of the byproducts of fermentation so don't rush to get in the bottle/keg. Patience is your friend.

...so transfer it out int either a 2ndary bucket to clear more...

I think the concept of using secondary to clear more is a bit of a myth. Your beer will have been slowly clearing in your primary fermenter only to get all mixed up when transfering to another. Leave it alone and it'll clear faster. When you're ready to bottle, transfer to another vessel, add priming sugar and bottle/keg.

 

[ilikepeas]

In case you were wondering, here is my finished brewed beer:

As you can see it's pretty clear. And tastes good. I froze the orange before adding it to the keg and the flavour has come through the ale-y taste pretty well.

Cheers for all of the tips. In the end the waiting paid off and really helped clear the beer. I'm already thinking about what to go for next.

Edit: Any tips for getting the head to last for longer? I'm guessing that a carbonator would help but I haven't used one before.

 

[LeithR]

If you drew that excellent looking pint from your barrel then thats probably as god a head as you are likely to get. PB's will not support a high pressure, they are not designed to do that. You can bottle your brew and condition in the bottle, that will get you a nice head that will last.

You can do it from the PB with a bottom tap, its a bit of a fiddle but should work for you. Put 1/2tsp sugar in each bottle release then pressure in the PB then pour from the PB using a short piece of tubing attached to the tap (you don't want to aerate the beer and chance it going off) then condition bottles as usual i.e. 1 week in the warm then at least 1 week in the cool. There should be enough suspended yeast in the beer to get conditioning working. You'll need to re-pressure your barrel again after doing this.

 

[rpt]

You can get a nice head with a pocket beer engine. This is just a syringe. Draw some beer into it and then squirt it into the glass just under the surface.

 

[NickW]

You can get a nice head with a pocket beer engine. This is just a syringe. Draw some beer into it and then squirt it into the glass just under the surface.

+1 works a treat

 

[ilikepeas]

It's got a pretty good head when it's just drawn but it just doesn't last very long. I'll try and get a pic later with a decent head.

Bottling is definitely the way to go next time.