Rack Or No Rack

[DzRBenson]

Hi All,

Im on my 2nd brew atm, Australian Pale Ale with cascade hops, however after fermenting at a bit to high (24-26c) temps the Beer still has quite a few particles in it, and not sure maybe a small hint of wine smell.

So question is, Should I rack this beer or leave it in the fermenter for another week, or just be done with it and tip it out?

I have never racked before, so but can see the process only question I have is about zero head space, does that mean using another 25L fermenter is out of the question for a 23ltr brew?

Cheers

 

[Kleiny]

First of all you need to look at some way of keeping that temp down under 20.

Its not to say its bad now and may taste good try a sample from the fermenter and see. If it still tastes ok see if you can chill it down as cold as you can get it to make all the bits drop out and clear up. Only do this once your beer has finished fermenting.

I dont usually rack and i now there is differing points on this forum, its up to you and wether you have another container.

I would leave it in the fermenter and cool it down then bottle when you reach final gravity, use a Hydrometer if you have one.

Kleiny

 

[raven19]

Kleiny is on the money above for sure.

Dont tip it out!

How long has it been fermenting for? You can leave it in Primary for up to a month will no ill effects.

Crash chilling (once you have steady FG readings over 2-3 days) should help drop a lot of suspended yeast/hops etc out of the beer.

 

[flano]

my last couple of brews have all sat around 24 -26 dgs.

They were an ale and just a basic I dunno what you call it...nick's 20ltr lager rippoff??

Both turned out fine...in fact excellent.
Once the fermentation had calmed down the temp dropped to about 20-22.

This what I do and it works for me.
no racking to 2nd vessel.
I just put the whole fermenter in my spare fridge...sometimes I add gelatine ...sometimes I don't.
Personally I reckon it works.
But I couldn't be bothered most of the time.

I have noticed that gassing times will vary if you have the beer in the fridge for a week or two before gassing.
Less gassing time is needed.

 

[DzRBenson]

Cheers for that,

The brew has been on for about 9 days I think, Im going to get a large esky this week, with a bunch of frozen bottles around it and try and lower the temps.

I really have no room for a fridge, so Im going to try swamp cooling from now on, so I will taste today and smell again, It was barely a wine smell but it was there. So will check SG today and see what it is, 2 days ago it was 1011.

 

[raven19]

Keep in mind also the smells emitted from the yeasts are often by products and wont necessarily represent what the beer will taste like.

 

[MeLoveBeer]

If it was me, I'd leave this brew at the 22 degrees for a while (possibly even another 2 weeks) to give the yeast a chance to clean up. The first couple of days in your fermentation are the most important to keep the temp low, and a couple of weeks at 22-24 degrees will assist the yeast in cleaning up the by products of the hi temp fermentation (though for some characteristics, the damage has been done I'm afraid to say).