Can U Rack Too Soon.. Or Too Late?

[badbillys]

Hi all
well i guess the tital says it all... Is it posable to rack too soon or too late?? wot are the concerquences of either... im about to rack for the first time and dont want to stuff it up!

Thanks

 

[Snow]

Simple answer - yes. My personal opinion is for Ales, don't rack before day 4 and don't bother after day 10 - just leave a couple of more days and then rack to your bottling bucket and bulk prime then bottle. For lagers, it's a bit trickier. I have only done three lagers, but from doing a bit of reading, I get the impression that, depending on the performance of my yeast, you should rack on days 7-9 then again on days 12-14, warm up for diacetyl rest, then lager for 4-8 weeks before racking to the bottling bucket.

There is good info on this at byo.com and howtobrew.com.

Cheers - Steve

 

[kingoftheharpies]

I agree with the yes but as a general rule for ales, 1 week in the primary, 2 weeks in the secondary and then bottle. Bigger beers require up to 2 weeks in the primary and a month in the secondary.

 

[Nearly]

King, does that still hold when the primary seems complete in 3 days? My ales seem to go very fast even at 22-24 degrees. It may be that the primary is not completely done but it is a long way towards done... stops bubbling and fg down to 1012 say, which is around what I expect given the addition of malt and corn sugar.

I am wondering what to do with an ale that seems done and has been racked to a jerry can. I could rack to keg and put in fridge at 4 degrees C and slow carbonate. Or I could leave out at room temp (15 to 25 degrees C) for a while in case the yeasties want to chew on the fusal alcohols etc.

If it is kegged in the fridge then cold conditioning will improve it but I think the yeasts will be asleep and not metabolizing fusals etc. Any thoughts?

 

[Gout]

I have wondered a similar thing. I normally brew, wait till the fermentation slow's then rack - finish the fermentation, then cool it down for say 2 weeks.

the other way i was doing it was ferment for the 1-2 weeks, once complete i then secondry and keep its cool (outside temps under 14deg c)

I then keg and keep cold 4deg for a month.

not sure whats best, to spend time in the secondry with the yeast or to keg and store cold.


P.S If your using coopers kits and the kit yeast they are dam quick! 5 days and there totaly finished ... esp at those temps 22deg

 

[Nearly]

Brewing has made me, (for the first time ever), jealous of you fellas that live in Mexico.

Being still new to brewing I am having trouble working out whether the beer in the keg really is improving or whether I am just getting to like the taste...

I dont think I am going to be able to produce really good beer till I can control ferment temp down to whatever I want... I will one day get a fridge to brew in.

 

[Jeff]

Well I have a fridge with a fan controler , for brewing and cold CC , I can only fit to jerries in it plus one fermenter, and they are there for 2-3weeks , then I keg and CC in the keg in another fridge for 3-4 weeks , crack and drink
Beautiful
:chug:

 

[Jeff]

Sorry it's all about racking , I brew lagers and rack when airlock activity slows , at 10c that's after about 2 weeks at 25c after about 3-4 days.
And it makes a difference , although I've never had those vegimite tastes
before racking , but cleaner and crisper

 

[Gezza]

Nearly

It does get hot in Mexico in Summer, so at times we have the same problem. Have you tried sticking your fermenter in a shallow water bath with a wet towel draped in it and around your fermenter?It is not as good as a fridge but worth a go. At the very least it is one step closer to convincing yourself, Yes! Ido need this fridge.

regards Gezza

 

[Snow]

Hey Nearly, with those 35C days we've been having in Kenmore/Ipswich over the last week, I have been putting a frozen 2 L coke bottle filled with water on the lid of the fermenter, then wrapping a wet towel over the whole thing. It's kept my brew at 19-20C for the past 5 days. The low humidity helps, because it evaporates the water from the towel quicker, which wicks away the heat from the fermenter. I just have two bottles frozen - one in the freezer, the other on the fermenter, then I just swap them over when I get home from work and again in the morning. Works a treat!

- Snow.

 

[Nearly]

Good idea Snow... thanks. I was already using a wet towel sitting in a tray of water but it seemed to keep it no lower than 22-24 degrees durig the hot days. The ice on top in the rotating bottles is bound to be much better.

One thing I noticed with the towel is that there were a few infections on the lid and outside of the fermenter after a weeks or so. Not on the inside.

Just a thought... I think I have been told that if you add salt to the water in the bottle it can be taken down to a lower temp in the freezer and so lasts longer/is colder. Dont know how much effect it has or if that would help here.

Just at the moment the temp seems to be moderating for a bit... hope so as I want to start another brew and would prefer to brew at around 18 degrees.

Gezza, yep you are right... I am convinced that a brewing fridge is a neccesity along with a cold conditioning fridge and a kegging fridge and a vegetable fridge and a drinks fridge and a main fridge. So far I only have the last three. (Plus my cousins kegging fridge on temp loan)

 

[GSRman]

"matter of fact im racking right now"

I usually leave it in the primary for 6-9 days, then secondary for at least a fortnight..