Brewday - 30th March

[eskimobob]

Could anyone spare the time to explain how to treat beer post-fermentation?

Hi NAS, Sorry to hear you are not yet happy with your EB Stout - don't give up on it yet though

In terms of what you should do, it really depends how you plan on packaging your beer. Since you have transferred to a pressure barrel and it's a stout, I'd say what you have done is fine. Racking to a secondary bin is often done to allow the beer to fall bright (perhaps with the addition of finings of some sort) but when making a stout it's not very obvious if there is some remaining yeast therefore I don't bother with the secondary. There seems to be more people simply leaving the beer in the primary for a bit longer and forgetting about the secondary altogether for all beers now.

[Jim]

Almost 6 days since pitching and the SG is down to 1012 at 15C.

How does that sound? Am I being too impatient to think it should be lower than that? The yeast cap has disappeared apart from bits of froth on the surface.

I really don't want to lose this brew so I guess I'm just looking for reassurance (and I want to get on with brewing the Styrian Stunner this weekend)

12 is fine after 6 days. I always leave the beer in the primary for about 10-14 days, then it goes into a pressure barrel to condition. Are you bottling or barreling, BB?

[Jim]

Hi BarrowBoy! Loved your action shots.

You are at the stage where I was least comfortable with my first brew and I'd love it if someone could give some
further advice.

My EB Stout reached it's TG in about 6/7 days and, like you said, the yeast head had almost completely
subsided. (which I had intended to skim... ah well) but I really was very unsure about how to treat the
beer at this stage.

Many people talk about racking to secondary, which I honestly don't quite understand yet. Is the purpose of
this simply to get the beer off the trub at this stage or does it have a further purpose?

What I ended up doing with mine is adding some priming sugars and racking it to a pressure barrel.
Tasted it one week afterwards and although it tasted promising, it's still far off resembling a good pub pint.

Could anyone spare the time to explain how to treat beer post-fermentation?

Thanks!

After only a week in the barrel, you can't expect it to taste great. Go back in about a month.

[SteveD]

The purpose of racking to secondary depends on when it's done. Some rack, as you say, towards the end of fermentation to clear the beer down and maybe prime prior to barrelling/bottling.

Others rack much earlier, at about half gravity, just about when the yeast has reverted to anaerobic fermentaion, and the primary fermentation is completed in the new fermenter, usually under airlock. The reason for this is to clean the beer up by removing from it the primary head, trub, hop, and protein debris - all left behind in the primary fermenter. What ends up in secondary is the beer, and clean active yeast in suspension only. The fermentation is allowed to finish at it's own pace, under lock and safe from air, and also free from the varieties of muck initially got rid of. It can stay like that for weeks. Also when you barrel/bottle the yeast left in the secondary is clean, and re-useable.

Some people cite risk of infection/oxidation as a reason for not doing it, but if your sanitation is good, and you thoroughly purge air from the new fermenter with CO2, and rack carefully without splashing or excessive bubbling, there should be no problems. Brakspear use this system, called 'dropping'.

[notassuch]

Thanks for your replies chaps!
That's made things a whole lot clearer and put my mind at rest.

[BarrowBoy]

Almost 6 days since pitching and the SG is down to 1012 at 15C.

How does that sound? Am I being too impatient to think it should be lower than that? The yeast cap has disappeared apart from bits of froth on the surface.

I really don't want to lose this brew so I guess I'm just looking for reassurance (and I want to get on with brewing the Styrian Stunner this weekend)

12 is fine after 6 days. I always leave the beer in the primary for about 10-14 days, then it goes into a pressure barrel to condition. Are you bottling or barreling, BB?

Thanks Jim and all. I haven't been on here for a couple of days to read these responses but last night I racked it to secondary (so that I could free up the fermenting bin - although, doh, I've just realised I coould have used the bin I've racked into!!) and will leave it until the weekend then it's going into KK.

Today I'm getting on with the Styrian Stunner which is to be bottled.