Racking, is it really worth it?

[rwh]

Boonie, that's probably due to more residual CO2 dissolved in the beer. When you rack, you disturb the beer, making more CO2 bubble out (which I reckon is the reason you see a burst of activity in the airlock). When there's still a bit to go in the fermentation, this CO2 in the beer is replenished, and some of it is carried over to the bottles.

That's what I reckon, anyway

[Throsby]

Gentlemen,

Due to a ruptured hop bag and a fairly cloudy test sample (and some holiday procrastination), I have decided to chance my arm and try racking for the first time. I figure it clarify the beer and also give me a chance to try something new.

I've borrowed the second fermenter and hose et al from a mate - just need to sanitise it all and I'm ready to go.

My primary fermentation is pretty much complete. From reading this and other threads it appears that i'm better off transferring it while there is still a little action going on. Should I add a bit of sugar to the secondary vessel to create some CO2 to protect the brew??

How long will I need to leave the beer in the secondary before bottling? Palmer says two weeks - is this always correct or are there variables (type of beer, my OG, etc) that I must consider??


Cheers,

Throsby

[drsmurto]

I rack. I know Jamil preaches the virtues of not doing so....

I leave my beer in primary for 2 weeks minimum to allow the yeast to not only eat thru all the sugars but to clean up after themselves. Yeasts are very messy little critters.

I then rack to either a cube, plastic jerry can or another fermenter and then place it in the conditoning frideg at 1C.

I dont add any extra sugar.

I note that people suggest adding a little bit of sugar to get some CO2 above the beer. I dont. I find that the act of racking disturbs the beer enough such that small amount of CO2 that was dissolved in the beer now comes out of forms that layer.

If you are doing this for the first time i would suggest maybe being more cautious than me so either rack before it has finished fermenting or add a few tsp of dex after racking.

[Throsby]

That sounds like really sound advice Doc, cheers for that.

I have a beer fridge out the back that has enough space for a fermenter. Am I better off putting the secondary fermenter in there for the whole time?

Insofar as adding sugar is concerned, I have no dex or malt in the house - just same (raw) table sugar. Is this suitable or should I just leave that step out? I would be best off dissolving it in some boiling water, right? What kind of quantities are we talking?

Thanks again mate - this is exciting stuff!

[drsmurto]

If you can put the fermenter in the fridge and fermentation is complete then yes, i would leave it there for as long as you can and as cold as you can get it without the beer freezing. 1C is what i aim for, any colder and i start freezing the small yeast samples.

On the odd occasion that i have added sugar to 'restart' fermentation to get a CO2 lower i simply sprinkled raw sugar into the beer but i would advise you dissolving it in boiling water first and adding it, a few tbsp should be sufficient. You dont need to wait till it cools as you the volume you have is so small.

I prefer to cold condition in a sealed container with a smaller head space. This sounds very contradictory to my previous post but in reality, its just so i can fit more than one into the fridge at a time! As it is sealed (no airlock) i dont want too much additional CO2 being formed so i dont add sugar when i do this.

The longer you leave it in the fridge, the better it is IMO. You can then treat it with some gelatine (dissolved in hot but not boiling water) to make it even more clear.

Cheers
DrSmurto

[Boonie]

That sounds like really sound advice Doc, cheers for that.

I have a beer fridge out the back that has enough space for a fermenter. Am I better off putting the secondary fermenter in there for the whole time?

Insofar as adding sugar is concerned, I have no dex or malt in the house - just same (raw) table sugar. Is this suitable or should I just leave that step out? I would be best off dissolving it in some boiling water, right? What kind of quantities are we talking?

Thanks again mate - this is exciting stuff!

G'day Throsby,

If you are going to put in the fridge
1. Don't add the sugar
2. Wait til ferment is finished before putting in fridge

I am a big fan of racking.

I generally rack when ferment is finished. I am pretty sure rwh adds dex for the CO2 blanket, but I have racked with and without sugar with the same success.

Main thing with racking is to ensure you are very stringent with sterilisation.

Cheers

Boonie

[Boonie]

Beat me again Doc...you type fast.

Gelatine is also known as "Finings".

I just added some to my "Toohey's" wedding special...yep I am back into K & K until after a wedding in April as I am supplying all the "Beer"....7 Kegs worth so I am testing the CC, Fining, Racking etc... to get the beer as clear as possible.

My mate, who loves my HB, asked me to provide samples for the groom....he loved it .

Cheers

Boonie

[Throsby]

Far out - it really is interesting how many variations on this theme are out there.

I think fermentation is very close to being complete. It started fairly low (1039) and is now 1007.

Just sanitising the equipment now.

I would like to use the fridge mainly for the stability of temp it can give me. Primary fermentation temps have been a little heywire with the recent heatwave and all so I figure a nice bit of stability can only help (better late than never).

Second fermenter I'm using has an airlock so it isn't "sealed" as such, but I doubt that's an issue.

When you say the longer in the fridge the better, what is the upper limit on this before it gets silly? Two weeks?


Should I transfer a little of the trub or absolutely none of it?

Thanks again guys.

[Boonie]

When you say the longer in the fridge the better, what is the upper limit on this before it gets silly? Two weeks?


Should I transfer a little of the trub or absolutely none of it?

Thanks again guys.

Transfer no trub.....2 weeks is plenty

Cheers

Boonie

[Bizier]

My current process is 2 weeks primary, crash chill, fine, cold condition a few days & rack for bulk priming. I am getting the clearest beers I have ever made with this method. I have a fridge that fits 2 fermenters and I brew 2 beers that I can give a uniform treatment regarding the temps.

[Throsby]

Gentlemen - thanks a million for all the help. Especially how expeditiously that help was proffered.

The racking went so unbelievably smoothly. It was a really simple process. Ended up with 20 of the original 23 litres in the second fermenter. Was tempted to tip the primary one and chase an extra litre or so but resisted the temptation (quality over quantity and all that).

Threw the second fermenter into the beer fridge out the back and there she shall stay.

Couldn't be simpler.

While I don't think racking is something I will do EVERY brew, it's a handy little way to clarify a beer that needs it.


Thanks again,

Throsby

[drsmurto]

I leave my racked beers in secondary in the conditioning fridge for as long as possible. Up to 3 months, style dependent. I have 1 in there now thats been there for 4 weeks.

Losing 3L is a bit much. I dont think i leave behind any more than 250mL.

I rack all my beers, lagers thru stouts. Its not just about clarity. I argued against bulk conditioning for quite a while but have found that extended time in secondary at close to 0C has improved my beers dramatically.

[Trough Lolly]

...and if space is a problem, rack your beers into a keg for "secondary conditioning".

[warra48]

Sound the trumpets !! Stop the presses !! Breaking news !!

I've actually racked a beer today. Yes, the brewer who has often questioned the value of racking has finally been forced by circumstances to rack a beer.

I'm off to NZ on Tuesday, and don't have time to bottle it before I go.

My Hobble Gobble Ale has been racked, and dry hopped with 20 gr of Challenger pellets. It is now cold conditioning. OG 1.059, FG 1.010.

5300.00 gm Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 91.70 %
350.00 gm Crystal, Medium (Bairds) (170.0 EBC) Grain 6.06 %
50.00 gm Caraaroma (390.0 EBC) Grain 0.87 %
50.00 gm Chocolate (1200.0 EBC) Grain 0.87 %
30.00 gm Black Malt (Bairds) (1300.2 EBC) Grain 0.52 %
26.00 gm First Gold '06 [7.90 %] (60 min) Hops 21.3 IBU
20.00 gm Challenger '06 [7.90 %] (20 min) Hops 9.9 IBU
28.00 gm Styrian Goldings [2.30 %] (20 min) Hops 4.0 IBU
23.00 gm Styrian Goldings [2.30 %] (0 min) Hops -
15.00 gm Challenger '06 [7.90 %] (0 min) Hops
20.00 gm Challenger '06 [7.90 %] (Dry Hop ) Hops

Fermented at 19.5ºC with the slurry from a 2.5 litre starter of WY1469. It took off at a sprint once it was pitched, and ran hard for 2 or 3 days. Then it went to sleep, until I roused it by twisting the fermenter and giving it a gentle swirl. It took off again, and crawled out of the top of the fermenter. This seems to be a true top cropping yeast. I've never seen such a healthy looking layer of yeast sitting on top of the brew.

The hydro sample tastes very very promising. Clean, malty, balanced bitterness, but very complex. I have high hopes for this one, and think this is one which might mature well over several months (if I can keep my hands off it).