Your Thoughts On Racking Please

[stakka82]

A question along the lines of this thread:

I'm going to brew a lager not this weekend but the next (the 18th probably). I'll let it ferment out for 3 weeks, then do a couple of day d/rest, then a week later I go to europe for 5 weeks. I'm thinking about racking to a secondary and then leaving the ferm fridge at 2 degrees (as low as it goes) for the duration of my trip, then bulk priming and bottling on return.

Thoughts? Will I get off flavours if I DONT rack to secondary for that 5 weeks? This will be the first time I have racked to a secondary for anything else but bulk priming.

The yeast will be 34/70, the beer an aussie lager.

 

[DUANNE]

the beer will be fine, if way to clean for an aussie lager!

 

[Tony]

I filter most of my beers, and if im filtering i CC in primary for a few days to settle most of the yeast and filter it clear.

I dont filter very hoppy beers like APA or IPA. These beers get the same CC in primary, then racked and a bit of geletine added to help settle the crud, and then racked to the keg and carbed. BUt never is the beer alowed to warm up once i have racked.

At my house in Tamworth where i started brewing, i never had an issue racking but im my current house in the hunter valley...... i get the dreaded white lace wild yeast bug. Its what stopped me bottling and racking.

Planning on moving again in the next year so fingers crossed the new place wont have the same issues.

cheers

 

[kelbygreen]

yep them damn wine yeasts! I had one starting to take over chilled and kegged before it done to much. OT where you moving?

 

[Wolfy]

Racking is weird.

I can't get the same kind of clarity without getting the beer off the primary yeast cake.

IMHO, give it more time at colder temps.
Pretty much everything will settle leaving you with beer as bright as can be.

 

[jakethesnake559]

OK...thanks for all the very valuable feedback :beer: (as expected from this top notch forum).
I'm snowed under with a million things non-beer related, which means I'm taking the non-rack option of just dropping the temp to 2c and leaving it 'till I get back.
Will look for any noticable improvement in clarity and potentially add this step to my normal procedure.
Thanks agian!!
Jake.

PS - I'm heading to WA, any Micro-brewery recommendations?...oh wait, that's way off topic h34r:

 

[jakethesnake559]

A quick update for anyone interested...

Got home from WA on Saturday, kegged the APA on Sunday.
Noticeable improvement in clarity, and my decision to throw in a few extra g's of citra in before leaving was well worthwhile!!

Clear and delicious :icon_cheers: !

Will be adding the cold condition step to my process from now on...thanks again all.

Jake.

 

[freezkat]

Great!!

I still need to repeat, I never have had a problem racking into glass.

Also higher alcohols and hungrier yeasts will help

Bleaching out our fermenting fridges once a month would do much to avoid impromptu ferments.