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Tophat665 · 10-22-2006, 11:31 AM

If you are fermenting in a glass carboy, you really don't need to rack to a secondary at all. If you're using a plastic bucket, and brewing a regular strength ale, then you really don't need to worry about it either. Two reasons for a secondary: Plastic buckest don't entirely block oxygen; they just slow it down. Over the course of a couple of weeks, there's not problem. Over the course of a couple of months, your beer will oxidize a little and pick up a wet cardboard sort of taste. Not an issue for a regular ale fermentation, definitely an issue for lager and strong ale fermentation. The other reason is that, if you let the beer sit on dead yeast too long, the yeast starts to break down (autolyzes) and imparts an off flavor to the beer. Again, a couple of weeks is not ptroblem, but longer than a month is.

When the bubbling stops, or slows way down, take a sample of beer and measure the gravity. Do that every 24 hours until you get the same gravity 3 times in a row. That means the yeast has fermented all the available sugar. The other way to have a pretty good idea that the yeast is done is that there will be no bubbles floating on the beer. At that point, you're ready to bottle. It shouldn't be more than 2 or 3 weeks for a regular strength ale.

For the bottles, to get them clean:
If you are using bleach as your sanitizer, mix a weak bleach solution with warm water and fill all the bottles. Let them sit for half an hour. Empty them and rinse with hot water. Inspect them for gunk. Remove any gunk with a bottle brush and resanitize those bottles. If you're bleaching, then don't get oxygen barrier caps. You'll have to boil them to get them bug free, and boiling the oxygen barrier type removes any advantage over the regular type.

On the other hand, if you are using iodophor, you'll need to cleen the bottles first:
If there's no visible gunk in the bottles, just run them through the diswasher. If there is gunk in them, soak them a couple of hours in hot water (Oxyclean will help, too) and then scrub them with a bottle brush, then run them through the dishwasher. Always inspect for gunk. Have more bottles than you need on hand, because some of them won't come clean with any reasonable amount of effort - that's what the recycling bin is for.

Once clean though, iodophore is easy: mix half a capful of iodophor in 2 1/2 gallons water in your bottling bucklet (should be the color of apple juice or good pilsner). Fill one bottle. Pour from one bottle into another. Top off the second bottle and set the first bottle aside to dry. Repeat until you've gotten all the bottles thoroughly wet on the inside and lip. Wait 5 minutes. Don't rinse. You're ready to bottle. (Don't forget priming sugar - you may want to boil your priming sugar before you start cleaning the bottles and set it aside to cool while you get your bottles ready.)

Hope that helps.

10-22-2006, 11:31 AM	#37 (permalink)
Tophat665 Minion of the scaléd ones Location: Northeast Jesusland	If you are fermenting in a glass carboy, you really don't need to rack to a secondary at all. If you're using a plastic bucket, and brewing a regular strength ale, then you really don't need to worry about it either. Two reasons for a secondary: Plastic buckest don't entirely block oxygen; they just slow it down. Over the course of a couple of weeks, there's not problem. Over the course of a couple of months, your beer will oxidize a little and pick up a wet cardboard sort of taste. Not an issue for a regular ale fermentation, definitely an issue for lager and strong ale fermentation. The other reason is that, if you let the beer sit on dead yeast too long, the yeast starts to break down (autolyzes) and imparts an off flavor to the beer. Again, a couple of weeks is not ptroblem, but longer than a month is. When the bubbling stops, or slows way down, take a sample of beer and measure the gravity. Do that every 24 hours until you get the same gravity 3 times in a row. That means the yeast has fermented all the available sugar. The other way to have a pretty good idea that the yeast is done is that there will be no bubbles floating on the beer. At that point, you're ready to bottle. It shouldn't be more than 2 or 3 weeks for a regular strength ale. For the bottles, to get them clean: If you are using bleach as your sanitizer, mix a weak bleach solution with warm water and fill all the bottles. Let them sit for half an hour. Empty them and rinse with hot water. Inspect them for gunk. Remove any gunk with a bottle brush and resanitize those bottles. If you're bleaching, then don't get oxygen barrier caps. You'll have to boil them to get them bug free, and boiling the oxygen barrier type removes any advantage over the regular type. On the other hand, if you are using iodophor, you'll need to cleen the bottles first: If there's no visible gunk in the bottles, just run them through the diswasher. If there is gunk in them, soak them a couple of hours in hot water (Oxyclean will help, too) and then scrub them with a bottle brush, then run them through the dishwasher. Always inspect for gunk. Have more bottles than you need on hand, because some of them won't come clean with any reasonable amount of effort - that's what the recycling bin is for. Once clean though, iodophore is easy: mix half a capful of iodophor in 2 1/2 gallons water in your bottling bucklet (should be the color of apple juice or good pilsner). Fill one bottle. Pour from one bottle into another. Top off the second bottle and set the first bottle aside to dry. Repeat until you've gotten all the bottles thoroughly wet on the inside and lip. Wait 5 minutes. Don't rinse. You're ready to bottle. (Don't forget priming sugar - you may want to boil your priming sugar before you start cleaning the bottles and set it aside to cool while you get your bottles ready.) Hope that helps. __________________ Light a man a fire, and he will be warm while it burns. Set a man on fire, and he will be warm for the rest of his life. Last edited by Tophat665; 10-22-2006 at 11:34 AM.. Reason: Add why to the what.