Racking How Long

[Brownie]

All,

How long is it safe to rack a beer for?

Is two weeks OK?

Is it different for an Ale V's a Lager?

What are the benefits?

What are the risks?

Note: Once secondary is finished I will bottle (not a Kegger).

So many questions, so little time.

Brownie.

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

If you are confident that there is a good Co2 blanket on top of it I'd be willing to put my neck on the line and say you can leave it in there for months h34r:

Oh, and I have found another 2 cases or so of PET bottles if you want them :beer:

PZ.

 

[muga]

I just kegged a lager that had been brewed for 2 weeks at 14 degrees and then rested for 2 days at 20 degrees, then racked for 4 weeks at 16 degrees and it smelt and tasted nice from the fermenter.

Just gassing it up now, never left a brew go for that long before so I hope it's not time wasted.

 

[hughman666]

i generally go 10 days in primary and then 14 days in secondary.

controlled temp is the key and the 100 can coolers from kmart do the job nicely.

time in primary all depends though, certain brews aren't ready to rack by day 10 of primary, if this is the case i rack 2 days after the primary has finished and then leave for 14 days in secondary. with 2 fermenters, i can constantly rotate brews between primary -> secondary -> keg/bottle ensuring maximum productivity :chug:

 

[DrewCarey82]

I do 5-7 days depending on when I have time to bottle.

I'll be bottling a beer tonight so its only 5 days unfortunately.

But because your moving it off the original yeast cake it can sit for greater amounts of time.

 

[Jazzafish]

I don't really rely on time for racking. I wait for the krausen to fall out before I rack.

Also, I rarely rack my ales. I have left the beer in primary for 3 weeks without any issues. I figure it is the yeast that makes the beer, so I'll let it!

Regular brewing fo me includes the following:

ALES:
Primary Fermentation @ 18*C to 20*C (depends on yeast) for 1 to 2 weeks
Rack into Keg or Rack into Bulk Prime vessle for bottling.

LAGER/PILSNER:
Primary Ferment @ 12*C to 15*C (depends on yeast) until Krausen has formed and fallen.
Raise Temp to 20*C for 2 days (diacetyl rest)
Rack to cube to condition for 2 to 4 weeks
Rack into Keg or Rack into Bulk Prime vessle for bottling.

 

[tangent]

i love that question!
A: when the top container is empty and the bottom container is full

Racking is transferring the beer/wine/mead from one container to another, leaving the crud behind.

I'm guessing you're asking:
How long for primary before racking?
or
How long for secondary after racking?

I don't want to sound like a school teacher, but we need to be speaking the same language and unfortunately there's a lot of unusual terms to learn as well.

"I wait for the krausen to fall out before I rack." Me too Jazza, but atm I have an APA using 1272 American AleII. It's been brewing slowly because of the cold weather, sometimes getting down to 14C and still chugging away. There's only a few points left before it hits the estimated FG and the krausen is still about 40mm thick. I'm still waiting to rack it and it's almost finished!??? wtf??

 

[jayse]

Wyeast 1272 is known for this tangent along with several other yeast strains, a reasonble large amount of the yeast will flocculate to the top and stay there for quite a long time well after the final gravity has been reached and the beer is well below fermentation temp. The beer underneath may be perfectly clear with half the yeast having flocculated to the bottom and a large number having flocculated to the top. You can rack the beer from underneath without any dramas ussually.
Generally i leave it for several weeks in primary like nearly all my beer.



Jayse

 

[Trough Lolly]

I just kegged a lager that had been brewed for 2 weeks at 14 degrees and then rested for 2 days at 20 degrees, then racked for 4 weeks at 16 degrees and it smelt and tasted nice from the fermenter.

Just gassing it up now, never left a brew go for that long before so I hope it's not time wasted.

[post="125375"][/post]​

G'day Muga,
Your schedule looks ok, and like Jayse, I almost always leave my beers, both ales and lagers, in primary for at least 2 weeks. May I suggest that after your diacetyl rest, you lager your lager for 4 weeks at about 3 degrees, not 16, if you can do so. 4 weeks plus of extended cold conditioning for lagers really help their flavour profiles and general composition. You should get a more crisp, refreshing lager with a cold lagering and the longer you can leave it in the 3 degree lager zone, the better the lager will be IMHO.
Lagering a lager at 16 degrees is a bit risky, especially if you used a true lager yeast strain that prefers the wort at around 10 degrees when it's going through the adaptive and attenuative phases of fermentation.
Without going into full beergeek mode a 16 degrees lagering may result in adding diacetyl precursors to the beer, giving a noticeable butterscotch flavour. If you do want to read a bit more of my thoughts on diacetyl, here's a bit of light reading that I posted elsewhere on the thread...click here!... h34r:

Cheers,
TL

 

[Brownie]

All,

Seem as though the original question got lost somewhere in the translation, th eone exception is Fingerlikin_B who seemed to catch my drift.

My question was or maybe should have been:

Q. I have racked an Ale from the Primary Fermenter to a Secondary Fermenter, how long can I leave it in the Secondary Fermenter safely?

But given the time and space issues, it has meant I have another question.

Q. Would it be ok if the temperature for the Secondary Fermentation for the above mentioned Ale was below 18C say around 14-15C?


Cheers
Brownie.

 

[Bizarre]

All,

Seem as though the original question got lost somewhere in the translation, th eone exception is Fingerlikin_B who seemed to catch my drift.

My question was or maybe should have been:

Q. I have racked an Ale from the Primary Fermenter to a Secondary Fermenter, how long can I leave it in the Secondary Fermenter safely?

But given the time and space issues, it has meant I have another question.

Q. Would it be ok if the temperature for the Secondary Fermentation for the above mentioned Ale was below 18C say around 14-15C?


Cheers
Brownie.

[post="125562"][/post]​

Personaly I'd suggest once your ferment is done and things have cleared to the extent you want, I'd bottle/keg. The thing is - yes you maybe could leave it for 3 or 4 weeks - but is it wise. When your yeast are not the active dominant "bug" in the beer there is the chance of something else taking over possibly spoiling the beer. Obviously rack times etc do depend on what you are trying to make also.

I always rack (usually after 5 - 7 days depending on how fast the ferment is going, but then I never really make any lagers etc) - but only when the ferment is still going (I know ppl who rack when the ferment is done - that makes me nervous! ), so that you get your carbon dioxide blanket back. I guess you could leave it for 3 weeks or maybe 4 if you wanted to, but In my humble opinion I would advise against it - bottle or keg it instead and let it condition that way. At least its sealed away from contaminants and wont spoil.

Just my thoughts/ramblings - and umm hehe - yeah I've had a few brewskies so I hope that makes sense!

 

[Trough Lolly]

Q. Would it be ok if the temperature for the Secondary Fermentation for the above mentioned Ale was below 18C say around 14-15C?
Cheers
Brownie.

[post="125562"][/post]​

Yep, that's fine - and you can leave it there for weeks, unless your sanitation protocol was poor and you get an infection! Without knowing how the secondary was prepped and where it sits, etc, it's honestly a bit like trying to ask how long is a piece of string.

Brownie, I'd bottle after 3 weeks if you can.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

I have had no problems with ales in the secondry for 2 weeks.Just dont open the tap or cap to let an infection in..


And...that w1275 sure can ferment in the secondry and take you by suprise.....

 

[Brownie]

All,

Thanks for the good advice.

T/L To answer you question, Secondary was sanitised in a bleach solution and warm water for about 2 hours.

Secondary sits under my stairs in the Garage, within a 125 L tub encased in polystyrene.

Brownie.

 

[matti]

All great info.
Just noticed on my lager the crown is receding.
Higk krausen lasted from day 2-3 to day 5. DAY 6 Today Going to give the wort a 48 hour rest at 12-16C. then day 9-10 cool it down to 8-9C in 48 hours. Rack on day 10 or 11. Check clarity . and ferment at 8-9C until ready for CCing minimum 3 weeks.
Does anyone allow the Krausen recede completely before diacethyl rest?
I.e Am I jumping the gun?
And where can I get Icingglass from?
Point is, I don't want the yeast to flocculate to quick by adding finings too early an icingglass will clear the beer 2-3 day priot to bottling while fining may take a week. I am also concerned that if I expose the wort that long before bottling i will loose the CO2 protective layer and expose the green beer to oxidisation for a week instead of couple of days.
<_<
Matti