Racking To Secondary

[uncyp]

Just a quickie about racking - I have had my first brews (Lager and a Pilsener) in Primary for 2 weeks and was going to "rack" them to secondary. Is it just a case of pouring them through hosing into the 2nd fermenter whilst avoiding splashing/oxygenation. What is racking on to gelatine? I was going to use finings after 6 days in secondary then keg them. Ideally I would like my 1st beers to be as clear as possible (and tasty).

 

[JestersDarts]

GDay Uncyp



Basically you are trying to clear your beer, right?



So you want to get that beer away from the sediment. So rack the beer to secondary as you described.


Chilling this right down will help the beer clear too. Racking onto gelatine is going to help clear the beer and racking onto the gelatine helps it disperse through the beer. The gelatine glops together, grabbing the cloudyu particles, and settling them on the bottom of the fermenter again, so you will be left with more sediment, but clearer beer.



Im pretty sure using finings is the same principal.



Doing all of these things you are going to get lot of the cloudiness out of your beer



short of filtering

 

[manticle]

Just a quickie about racking - I have had my first brews (Lager and a Pilsener) in Primary for 2 weeks and was going to "rack" them to secondary. Is it just a case of pouring them through hosing into the 2nd fermenter whilst avoiding splashing/oxygenation. What is racking on to gelatine? I was going to use finings after 6 days in secondary then keg them. Ideally I would like my 1st beers to be as clear as possible (and tasty).

There are a few ways. One is as you describe - clean, food grade hose on one tap run to the bottom of the second fermenter and drain out most of the beer gently. You can also siphon from the top of the first into the second.

Another way, described here: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...;showarticle=68 (see bottom section 'how do I rack to bulk prime?") , involves tap to tap transfer. Avoids opening the second fermenter and is potentially much more sanitary (providing all vessels and equipment is clean and sanitary).

Personally I just wack a hose on the end of the tap and use the first method but it's good to know what's available.

Finings = gelatine so if you are buying expensive little packets marked 'beer finings' then save yourself some money and just buy edible gelatin from the supermarket. Make sure you dissolve it in hot water before use (don't sprinkle straight in or you'll get lumps of jelly in the brew).

 

[jivesucka]

does the same apply to cider? left an empty fernenetor with the intention of siphoning into it with an airlock?

 

[manticle]

Not quite sure what your question is but if it's whether you rack in the same way then yes.

 

[kbe]

Finings = gelatine so if you are buying expensive little packets marked 'beer finings' then save yourself some money and just buy edible gelatin from the supermarket. Make sure you dissolve it in hot water before use (don't sprinkle straight in or you'll get lumps of jelly in the brew).

I tried this with gelatine, pre mixing with hot water. Do not know how successful it really was. It came out in clumps through the bottle filler and more than once it clogged the stop value.

 

[manticle]

Suggests to me you didn't dissolve it properly. If dissolved properly it works very well.

 

[flano]

Suggests to me you didn't dissolve it properly. If dissolved properly it works very well.

how much gelatine to how much boiled water ?

Is the water still boiling hot when you add it to the fermenter?

 

[manticle]

I generally add about a teaspoonful to a small cup of boiling water and stir well to dissolve. I used to cool it a little (don't cool it too much or it sets) but that amount of hot will do bugger all to 20 odd litres of fermented beer so now I just chuck it straight in. Works best if the beer is chilled first.

 

[bum]

Works best if the beer is chilled first.

I wonder if this is the issue more than it not being dissolved so well?

 

[manticle]

When I first started adding finings, I added to non chillled beer and got ok results. The only time I've had jelly lumps is when I stupidly added finings straight to the brew.

 

[kbe]

I wonder if this is the issue more than it not being dissolved so well?

I had cold crashed the brew prior, so maybe it was.

 

[flano]

I generally add about a teaspoonful to a small cup of boiling water and stir well to dissolve. I used to cool it a little (don't cool it too much or it sets) but that amount of hot will do bugger all to 20 odd litres of fermented beer so now I just chuck it straight in. Works best if the beer is chilled first.

cheers,
I am going to give it a crack.

Funnily enough ( I do the grocery shopping in my house and most of the cooking) my missus got me to get some of that edible gellatine last week so she could make healthy jelly for the kids.