Secondary fermentation advice

[Neil1454]

Hi,

I want to try and get as much of the yeast and hop pellet trub out. Usually I just bottle after the fermentation has finished after adding finings and sat a few days.

If I move it via a siphon from one fermentation bucket to the next and add some finings. Will that be safe if I try not to introduce much oxygen into the wort? The finings needs to sit for a few days.

I'm going to put the beer in 5 and 20 litre kegs and wanted to try and keep as much crap out as I can.

Thanks

 

[terrym]

I often rack off beers into another FV towards the end of the primary. So my answer is go ahead.

 

[Hoppyland]

My answer is slightly different (surprise, surprise - two brewers don't agree!)
I also tend to rack off the primary - but I'd always worry about oxygen, even if I didn't "splash" on transfer. So:
1. You could transfer to secondary and purge the headspace from a large CO2 cylinder (I do this, always excellent results)
2. You could transfer (maybe dry-hop at the same time) & add a little bit of sugar, so you'll still get CO2 protection (this is what I used to do before I invested in the CO2 cylinder, and it did work pretty well)
Anything else I'd regard as risky - either through oxygenation or airborne infection.

 

[foxy]

Hi,

I want to try and get as much of the yeast and hop pellet trub out. Usually I just bottle after the fermentation has finished after adding finings and sat a few days.

If I move it via a siphon from one fermentation bucket to the next and add some finings. Will that be safe if I try not to introduce much oxygen into the wort? The finings needs to sit for a few days.

I'm going to put the beer in 5 and 20 litre kegs and wanted to try and keep as much crap out as I can.

Thanks

I am aware you cannot yet buy the snub nose fermentasaurus but what you can do is ferment in a cube, push the co2 into another cube and then into a blow off that way you will not have to use your co2 gas bottle. I use PAA for sanitising which will last for several days but you co2 will ensure the second cube stays sterile. Transfer tap to tap, no oxygen or bugs.

 

[pms67]

Looks good mate, I was going to fit a tap to my no chill cube but always wondered how I would clean the Krausen off the inside, any tips?

 

[foxy]

I used to buy sodium percarbonate in bulk until I read about the stability a bit of dampness and you could look forward to a chemical fire. I now use sodium perborate stable but a little slower. Will clean any crud off the fermenters. With the snub nose fermetasaurus which is PET any crud comes straight off with a swirl.

 

[Hoppyland]

For me, the important thing is to clean your vessel immediately - don't wait, or it will harden & get more difficult.
Personally, I use sodium percarbonate: pour a tablespoonful into your vessel, add about 250ml boiling water , cap and shake. At this stage I fit a cap with airlock - the heat will cause a lot of expansion of the gases inside the vessel.
Foxy is right. Sodium percarbonate releases oxygen, and oxygen vastly increases the rate of combustion. If you want this demonstrated, then put a bit of sodium percarbonate into a cup (maybe a teaspoon). Top up the cup with boiling water. When it is fizzing, strike a match and put the lit match close to the bursting fizz. You'll get a lot of crackling and increased combustion of the match (watch your fingers!).
But, I use percarbonate a lot - and with dry storage there seems to be no problem. I guess they wouldn't be able to sell "Oxyclean" if there really was a practical safety issue.

 

[foxy]

Keep Perc in the dark, cool and dry easier for you guys to keep it cool than here.

 

[Neil1454]

For me, the important thing is to clean your vessel immediately - don't wait, or it will harden & get more difficult.
Personally, I use sodium percarbonate: pour a tablespoonful into your vessel, add about 250ml boiling water , cap and shake. At this stage I fit a cap with airlock - the heat will cause a lot of expansion of the gases inside the vessel.
Foxy is right. Sodium percarbonate releases oxygen, and oxygen vastly increases the rate of combustion. If you want this demonstrated, then put a bit of sodium percarbonate into a cup (maybe a teaspoon). Top up the cup with boiling water. When it is fizzing, strike a match and put the lit match close to the bursting fizz. You'll get a lot of crackling and increased combustion of the match (watch your fingers!).
But, I use percarbonate a lot - and with dry storage there seems to be no problem. I guess they wouldn't be able to sell "Oxyclean" if there really was a practical safety issue.

So just using that amount of sodium percarbonate and the 250ml of boiling water would clean all the crap off?
I thought you needed to fill it up with water and add the sodium percarbonate and leave to soak ?

 

[cheshirehomebrew]

I rack off into a carboy to dry hop for 5-10 days and throw the trub away