Leaving brew in primary for longer?

[Kippo]

Was surfing the net and came across a website on 'how to brew beer'. Had a look around and came across a paragraph that suggest that you leave your brew in the primary fermenter for a total of 2-3 weeks for a better beer. Is this correct, because i have just left my brews in primary for 1 week like the coopers cans say?

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

Was surfing the net and came across a website on 'how to brew beer'. Had a look around and came across a paragraph that suggest that you leave your brew in the primary fermenter for a total of 2-3 weeks for a better beer. Is this correct, because i have just left my brews in primary for 1 week like the coopers cans say?

I got this bit of info from Grumpy's forum & I think it will give you a better idea of what you need to do Kippo.

Racking & CCing
* Ferment for 1 week
* Rack (transfer) beer to second vessel and leave at fermenation temp for 3 days
* Move vessel to fridge for 4-7 days and lager (cold condition) at 0-4*C
* Remove vessel from fridge 12-24 hours before bottling
* Rack (transfer) beer on top of dissolved priming sugar, gently stir the whole mixture of green beer and priming sugar then bottle immediately.
* Store bottled beer at 15-24*C in the dark for at least a month (by all means taste one every week but it ain't ready!)

[Kippo]

Thanks for that mate. Only prob is that i dont have a fridge ready and also dont have a second vessel to transfer into. I am still just using the bottled conditioning method. Coopers say to Brew in fermenter for 1 week and then bottle for 2 weeks, ater adding carbonation drops so thats all i have been doing. I am hoping to get my hands on a second vessel very very soon.

Would leaving the brew in the primary fermenter for a longer period of time before bottling enhance the brew?

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

Would leaving the brew in the primary fermenter for a longer period of time before bottling enhance the brew?

No probs mate!
I think the only benefit of leaving it longer would be to allow the yeast cake to settle more & clear it a bit, plus if your gravity readings are a little out, it will finish off the fermenting process

[silkworm]

Guys I have read somewhere that leaving the brew for a couple of days longer allows the yeast to reabsorb some of its byproducts and take them out of the beer. This is especially the case if the brew temps were a bit to high.
Correct me if I am wrong on this microbiologists out there! Chris, Dan....
I let mine generally brew for a week, then rack for a week the bulk prime and bottle. No problems so far.....

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

Thats pretty much what I have learned as well silky, I didnt think leaving it for a couple of extra days would hurt it but Im sure there will be controversy (spell check) with this

[Kippo]

Since i have only brewed one brew and that was just using the coopers method (Ferment for 1 week, bottle and then let sit for 2 weeks), i am not familiar wuth the process of racking. I know that you need a second vessel, but what else do you need? And how is the brew transfered into the second vessel?

Cheers, Kippo.

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

Since i have only brewed one brew and that was just using the coopers method (Ferment for 1 week, bottle and then let sit for 2 weeks), i am not familiar wuth the process of racking. I know that you need a second vessel, but what else do you need? And how is the brew transfered into the second vessel?

Cheers, Kippo.

Here ya go mate...are you copying all this into a printable document?
Racking
* Rinse the hose thoroughly in One-Shot (replace with what ever you use to sanitise) and hot water.
* Have a clean fermenter under the upper fermenter, ready to receive beer with the lid off.
* Place one end of the tube over the upper fermenter tap and the other end of the tube resting at the base of the clean lower fermenter.
NOTE: Ensure that the tap for the lower fermenter is closed
* Loosen the lid of the upper fermenter so that the airlock does not run backward and open the tap to run the beer through the tube into the lower fermenter.
* The tube will fill and the lower fermenter will begin filling
* As the beer gets down close to the tap of the upper fermenter, remove the lid and look into it.
* Look to see that you recover ALL the beer and allow the yeast cake to remain behind.
Replace the lid and airlock on the now full fermenter, leave the fermenter in a cool dark space (a fridge would be ideal!) for 3-5 days, then advance onto bulk priming.
Overly long times in the secondary (for light ales- more than 6 weeks) may require the addition of fresh yeast at bottling time for good carbonation. Always use the same strain as the original. This situation is usually not a concern.

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

Racking gear
25 ltre pail
Airlock and grommet
Tap and sediment reducer
0 - 30 Celsius adhesive thermometer
Clear PVC tubing for transfer (food grade hose) 2 metres

[Kippo]

Hell yeh man cheers. Once i learn more about it the questions will slow down.

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

Its ok mate, thats how I learned...plus everthing I leared & asked about, I pasted into a Word doc now called Jacks Brewing Bible!

[Kippo]

Thanks mate thats helps heaps. Yeh so at the moment i dont have a fridge available, but i think that i may be able to find a cool, dark place somewhere in the house that would work well. Now all i have to do is get a second fermenter.

Cheers, Kippo.

[Mewshew]

Very helpful snippets there JS, now I actually know how to do it properly. Just one thing, where would I buy "food grade hose"?

[Ed]

If you're going to do the racking thing, get comfortable with the idea first, make sure everything is set up ready to go and well sanitised. Racking increases the danger of infection, try and avoid any unnecessary splashing or aeration. Read the "how to brew" section relating to this a few times. IMO, it's much safer to rack whilst there's some activity still present in the airlock.

And yes, you can leave the beer in the primary for a period. Certainly there shouldn't be anything wrong with letting it sit there for a couple of weeks, unless you're impatient like me

Cheers, Ed

[Kippo]

Jack you said to leave the fermenter in a cool, dark place after it has been racked. Since i dont have a fridge, i was thinking of purchasing a wooden cupboard and chucking a couple of bags of ice in it, and then putting the fermenter in that. It is around 27C here now and the temp in the cupboard is reading 19-20degs. Do u think that it wuold be cool enough in the cupboard if i put ice in it?

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

Jack you said to leave the fermenter in a cool, dark place after it has been racked. Since i dont have a fridge, i was thinking of purchasing a wooden cupboard and chucking a couple of bags of ice in it, and then putting the fermenter in that. It is around 27C here now and the temp in the cupboard is reading 19-20degs. Do u think that it wuold be cool enough in the cupboard if i put ice in it?

Sounds like you're onto a winner there Kippo....19*C is perfect for Ales mate!...go to it!

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

Very helpful snippets there JS, now I actually know how to do it properly. Just one thing, where would I buy "food grade hose"?

You can get this hose from your local HBS Mew!

[Kippo]

You beauty lucky i am getting a big pay this week!

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

You beauty lucky i am getting a big pay this week!

Well....if ya gettin a big pay this week, go get some racking gear mate...only way to go...I've never done it man but I am so keen...just call me mustard!

[Kippo]

Not a bad idea. However i am at the moment saving a fair bit of funds for a car, so this week i may just get the cupboard. But by the look of my shifts for next week that will be an even bigger one aswell so next week looks like the go!