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Sparrow62

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I have only downed three kit brews to day and am experimenting as I go along. I have done some research regarding average times a brew should stay in primary and secondary. I propose to Rack and Bulk Prime prior to bottling from now on. In Brisbane at the moment and with the type and style of brew that I am trying, the fermentation appeares to cease after the 3rd or fourth day. I beleive that after two consequative SG equal readings the brew should still remain in the fermenter for another few days to settle, etc.

I propose to try a magical figure of 7 days for all stages. 7 days in primary, than rack and bulk prime. Leave in secondary for 7 days than bottle. Leave in bottle for 7 days in my cupboard and place in fridge for 7 days. That is a total of 28 days and that should be enough to give it a good taste.

Can any body see a fault in my logic or can offer a better suggestion.? :chug:
 
Sparrow62 said:
I propose to try a magical figure of 7 days for all stages. 7 days in primary, than rack and bulk prime. Leave in secondary for 7 days than bottle. Leave in bottle for 7 days in my cupboard and place in fridge for 7 days. That is a total of 28 days and that should be enough to give it a good taste.
I would think you will need longer than 7 days in the bottle out of the fridge, once you put it in the fridge the yeast will stop working. I haven't bottled for a while but I always found a minimum of 2 weeks was required.

Also it sounds like you are planning on bulk priming when you are racking to secondary in your description? Hope thats not the case! I am sure its just a typo :huh:
 
JasonY said:
Also it sounds like you are planning on bulk priming when you are racking to secondary in your description? Hope thats not the case! I am sure its just a typo :huh:
Thanks JasonY.
It obviously shows from my message that I am a Newbie and can't express myself too well in this new language. See if I can rewrite my thought differently here.

I propose to allow my next batch to ferment in Primary 3-4 days until all bubbling ceases. I will than check the SG say on the 4th day and again on the 5th day. If both readings are identical, I believe it is ready to bottle. However, I want to leave it in the primary for another 3 days (total of 7) to allow the brew to setle and clear a bit.

On the 8th day, I propose to bulk prime my second carboy and rack the brew to this fermenter and leave for 7 days to settle.

I would then bottle the brew and allow to mature in a dark and cool place for 7 days.

After this I would place some bottles in the fridge for 7 days before tasting.
That is a total of 28 days before sampling.

I hope the above exlains my thought a little better. Am I wrong to Bulk Prime and Rack to another fermenter, or is my whole approach wrong?
 
Sparrow62,

The only thingsyou've really got wrong is that you should only bulk prime immediately before you bottle. So your process should be:
- 7 days in primary
- Rack to secondary
- 7 days in secondary
- Bulk prime and bottle
- 7 days in cool dark place
- 7 days in your fridge

The longer you leave your beer in the bottle, the better it will be. There are heaps of different opinions, but the bare minimum is two weeks, preferrably four or more.

Good luck with it.
 
Yep what Corey said.

Personally I generally leave it in primary for a week or longer if it is still showing some airlock action. Rack it and leave for another week. Keg & drink (or bottle if you don't keg).

Everyone is different but this method seems to work for me at the moment.
 
Oops. Thank you all for puting me back on the right path. Just as well I tried my way in writing first. I think I got it now. I had information overflow and got a bit confused.

Good brewing...
 

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