Racking Beer

[akkasoothy]

what r the benifets off racking beer to a second fermenter ?? i have never done this before. i read that u should also add about 100g off suger to the secondary when u rack it?!!

 

[Brewer_010]

try running a search on

racking
bulk priming
cold conditioning

you'll find enough reading for a week

 

[brendanos]

You needn't add sugar to the secondary fermenter, unless you plan to immediately bottle from that fermenter. To rack the beer off it's yeast cake after the krausen (yeast layer on top of beer) has subsided helps to prevent off flavours (like vegemite or other strange yeast flavours) from the yeast leaching back into the beer if you plan to age it for a while before bottling. The sugar addition you're thinking of is an alternative to bottle priming, and is known as "bulk priming". You get a much more even and deliberate carbonation this way.

Theres a carbonation calculator on hbd.org/recipator that helps you figure out how much sugar you want to add.

 

[rough60]

I just rack to clear, put in fridge for 3 days, clear as. And dump a new cube in the cake.
If I wasn't dumping a cube on the old cake I'd just put the primary in the fridge to clear it a bit quicker.
Cheers.

 

[Guest Lurker]

Once upon a time there was a land where all was green. The people who lived in the green land were enthusiastic about brewing but got a bit silly sometimes. The rulers of the green land ran a microbrewery and knew a lot about brewing and were very open about sharing advice. The rulers of the green land had tasted a lot of samples of beer kept at 27 degrees, which suffered from autolysis. Thus, the rulers of the green land decreed that racking was good, to defeat the evil autolysis, especially at three quarters gravity, and that some oxidation in transfer was also good.

Then, the people in the green land, me included, started to notice their beer was often underattenuated, stalled, or tasting green. Eventually the rulers of the green land listened to the will of the people, and decreed that racking was bad, because it prevents the yeast cleaning up after itself, unless you kept your brew at 27 degrees, because really autolysis is not that common.

But the law of racking had now spread wide beyond the borders of the green land, and thus the legend of racking being good was born, and became enshrined as gospel for evermore, taking on a life of its own, and growing to include such concepts as adding 100 g of dex to generate the hallowed protective blanket of CO2.

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

Hide not thee behind thou protective blankies of CO2, for they are as the emperor's new clothes in the face of the oxidative transfer and the yeast autolysis visits ye rarely.

 

[Brewtus]

-------------------
No Mash Tun. No Chill.

No confirmed fatalities.

Should that not be
-------------------
No Mash Tun. No Chill. No Rack.

No confirmed fatalities.

-------------------------------





By the way I only rack to free up the fermenter.

 

[Inge]

Hi guys what's going on in this thread.

Oh.

:unsure:

 

[matti]

Golden rule IF racking

Ales:
Allow to ferment out. After 2-3 days on yeast cake at appropriate temperature->RACK.
Purpose: to prevent autolysis and clear the beer by chilling it.

Lager:
2/3 through fermentation.
Purpose: To rouse the yeast for thorough fermentation and to get rid of dead yeast cell that may spoil flavour.

Brewing kit ale this is completely waste of time but ok to apply for lagers....

I rack all my beers since I cannot filter yet

 

[brendanos]

Hide not thee behind thou protective blankies of CO2, for they are as the emperor's new clothes in the face of the oxidative transfer and the yeast autolysis visits ye rarely.

Good post. In fact, other than my post, this threads turning out to be pretty good value.

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

Golden rule IF racking



I rack all my beers since I cannot filter yet

I am at a loss as to why everyone is so wrapped up with the filtering game :huh: I gel my beer before kegging and after a very short time it becomes crystal clear Crystal clear that is, as why I don't filter. It saves me another process in beer making not to mention money for equipment.

Yes some will argue that it strips flavour, aroma etc. If you bottle it after filtering you will still get sediment unless of course you use a counter pressure filler. I have been using gel in my last 6 AG's with no noticible effects. Yes again some will say that if the process of brewing is done correctly you shouldnt get chill haze.

Rack to secondary, gel, and then a day or two later straight to the keg or cube to cc.

BYB

 

[Screwtop]

I am at a loss as to why everyone is so wrapped up with the filtering game :huh: I gel my beer before kegging and after a very short time it becomes crystal clear Crystal clear that is, as why I don't filter. It saves me another process in beer making not to mention money for equipment.

Yes some will argue that it strips flavour, aroma etc. If you bottle it after filtering you will still get sediment unless of course you use a counter pressure filler. I have been using gel in my last 6 AG's with no noticible effects. Yes again some will say that if the process of brewing is done correctly you shouldnt get chill haze.

Rack to secondary, gel, and then a day or two later straight to the keg or cube to cc.

BYB

Even easier process here.

Once fermentation has ceased drop the temp to 2, after 2 days rack to keg with gel added, immediately force carb and CC until ready to serve. Beer will be carbonated and pours clear after the first glass.

 

[Kleiny]

Once upon a time there was a land where all was green. The people who lived in the green land were enthusiastic about brewing but got a bit silly sometimes. The rulers of the green land ran a microbrewery and knew a lot about brewing and were very open about sharing advice. The rulers of the green land had tasted a lot of samples of beer kept at 27 degrees, which suffered from autolysis. Thus, the rulers of the green land decreed that racking was good, to defeat the evil autolysis, especially at three quarters gravity, and that some oxidation in transfer was also good.

Then, the people in the green land, me included, started to notice their beer was often underattenuated, stalled, or tasting green. Eventually the rulers of the green land listened to the will of the people, and decreed that racking was bad, because it prevents the yeast cleaning up after itself, unless you kept your brew at 27 degrees, because really autolysis is not that common.

But the law of racking had now spread wide beyond the borders of the green land, and thus the legend of racking being good was born, and became enshrined as gospel for evermore, taking on a life of its own, and growing to include such concepts as adding 100 g of dex to generate the hallowed protective blanket of CO2.

That story was awesome can draw me some picture to go along with it
it could include some batz and hop goblins

this is my kids new bedtime book :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Wrenny]

I'm with screwy and the story teller.

For me racking potentially causes more trouble than it's worth. I've had lagers in the primary for a month and ales for 3 weeks at 18-20 deg with no sign of autolysis.

I used to have huge problems with infections, and racking just added one more possible chance of picking one up. It was also another time consuming process for no real gain.

Just ferment, chuck them in the fridge for a day or two then keg/bottle.

Cheers,
Wrenny

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

I am at a loss as to why everyone is so wrapped up with the filtering game ...

I believe it is a horses for courses thing.

There is considerable black and white in brewing, ie: neighbours tend to become a bit friendlier when they find out you're a brewer. But, there is also a considerable grey area where what is right for one brewer is wrong for another. Some of that can be attributed to how a particular element fits into their entire process. Some can be put down to personal preference.

I used to transfer all my beers off their yeast cakes at some point in the process.

Now, I don't transfer (most of) my beers off their yeast cake until I am packaging the beer and at that point, I get quite clear beer. But I pass it through a filter on its way to the bottle or party keg. It gets it a little clearer again and - most importantly - I *want* to do it that way. I just want to. I might change my mind in a couple of batches and stop filtering to find that it was all a waste of time because some other thing was making my beer clear. But for the moment, that's how I do it and I'm happy.

Filtering is a slightly different issue to transferring off the yeast cake in that the cost of entry is higher, so you want to be sure you're not throwing your money away. I've got two filter cartridges and one housing, so I can filter my finished beer as well as my brewing water. I'm happy with that level of expense and the final outcome of all the carry on.

Having said all that, I would advise people to give both Rack and No Rack a go to see how it works for them.


No Mash Tun. No Chill. No Rack. No Connective Tissue or Swim Bladders...

 

[mfdes]

+ 1 no rack unless for a specific reason (i.e. need to use a fast decaying yeast cake like WLP300)

MFS

 

[geoffi]

I used to rack ALL my beers to secondary. But I've recently been just letting them sit longer in primary. The only exceptions have been a couple of under-attenuated brews that I've racked and pitched new yeast into to get the gravity down a bit.

I think my beers have improved significantly since I started doing this. Fewer 'weird' flavours, cleaner, smoother.

And less work. Gotta love that!

 

[mfdes]

I have found the main thing for me is that a few extra days in contact with the yeast (up to 5 or so in my case) mean I don't have to mature the beer in the keg for several weeks before it hits its peak: it's ready to go just about off the mark. This I find especially useful in American Pale Ales that I want to drink fresh.

MFS.

 

[deebee]

Once upon a time there was a land where all was green. The people who lived in the green land were enthusiastic about brewing but got a bit silly sometimes. The rulers of the green land ran a microbrewery and knew a lot about brewing and were very open about sharing advice. The rulers of the green land had tasted a lot of samples of beer kept at 27 degrees, which suffered from autolysis. Thus, the rulers of the green land decreed that racking was good, to defeat the evil autolysis, especially at three quarters gravity, and that some oxidation in transfer was also good.

Then, the people in the green land, me included, started to notice their beer was often underattenuated, stalled, or tasting green. Eventually the rulers of the green land listened to the will of the people, and decreed that racking was bad, because it prevents the yeast cleaning up after itself, unless you kept your brew at 27 degrees, because really autolysis is not that common.

But the law of racking had now spread wide beyond the borders of the green land, and thus the legend of racking being good was born, and became enshrined as gospel for evermore, taking on a life of its own, and growing to include such concepts as adding 100 g of dex to generate the hallowed protective blanket of CO2.

I remember this land well. Its all documented on this forum somewhere in 03 and 04.

When I started to brew (and frequent this forum) I was told you had to rack your beer mid-ferment in order to rouse the yeast, ensure full attenuation, avoid autolysis and get clearer beer. Some brewers said it was the single most important factor in improving their (shithouse?) beer.

Over time I realised my beers were not attenuating and I did some googling (although in those days we called it altavisting) and discovered that racking can cause stalled ferments. So I stopped racking and my under-attenuation problems stopped. So why would you do it: extra work, extra risk of infection and oxidation, stuck ferments, no noticeable benefit?

I went a step further in challenging the autolysis myth and started to leave my beers on the yeast cake longer. I discovered that this made my extract brews a lot cleaner, drier and smoother. I have left beers six weeks on the yeast cake without the sky falling in, though I have always kept temps down. Clearly, yeast is good, not bad.

My conclusion: racking is for bulk priming or for moving your beer into a keg or a lagering vessel. I have found no useful place for it in actual fermentation.

 

[Murcluf]

Been struggling with this for a while whether racking was benifical or not, have been racking religously for yonks but now having second thoughts. Currently mulling over leaving it on the pat longer and only racking for bulk priming, have noticed improvements with leaving on pat for 10 to 14 days over only 7. But no benefit for racking longer then 7 days

Cheers