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After racking off my last 4 brews i'm a bit worried that there will not be enough yeast left in the bottle to secondary ferment,has anyone come accross this problem or am i just worried for nothing.The only reason i'm asking this question is because when i look into the bottle i can,t see any sediment in the bottom of the bottle.

I think thats a good thing and is one of the resons for racking, but I dont have enough practical experience to say for sure- I'll leave that to others

mark68 wrote:After racking off my last 4 brews i'm a bit worried that there will not be enough yeast left in the bottle to secondary ferment,has anyone come accross this problem or am i just worried for nothing.The only reason i'm asking this question is because when i look into the bottle i can,t see any sediment in the bottom of the bottle.

You're just worried for nothing

I too am new to racking, only having done the last half dozen or so brews. I've found that there is still enough beasties in supension to facilitate carbonation. Don't worry.

Racked my last 8 with no worries.

This is probalbly a question for a whole new thread, but, what is racking?? and how is it done?

lager_girl wrote:This is probalbly a question for a whole new thread, but, what is racking?? and how is it done?

Thanks to Grumps for this info...Racking is the term given to the practice of moving your beer from one container to another via a food-grade hose.
The time for racking a beer takes place at the end of a ferment, to cold condition or when tranferring to keg.

The major commercial breweries do exactly the same process for the same reasons and we se no reason why the clever home brewer can't do the same!
The process is particularly suitable for the homebrewer given the limitations of our equipment and is recommended by Grumpy's as mandatory practice for people wanting to achieve a cleaner, clearer and thoroughly fermented beer.

To RACK the beer you must have 2 fermenters of similar capacity and at least a metre of 12mm non- toxic, plastic hose. (your primary fermenter is now up on a bench or at least at a height that another fermenter will fit easily underneath it)

· Rinse the hose thoroughly in One-Shot 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.

· NOTE: Ensure that the tap for the lower fermenter is closed

im glad you added that part

racking makes sence. would you use finnings in either fermenters? before or after racking?

lager_girl wrote:

· NOTE: Ensure that the tap for the lower fermenter is closed

im glad you added that part

racking makes sence. would you use finnings in either fermenters? before or after racking?

I've never used finings LG but I would assume it would be after racking.

I was talking to my local HBS about it and he said that as I had a brew fridge and was prepard leave the beer in the secondary a little longer finnings weren't necessary.

He did recommend dropping the temperature too when the fermentation had finished.

So I'd be inclined to go for the finnings just to see what happens (after racking to secondary) vs. leaving it a bit longer in the secondary at cooler temps.

Cheers

I took on racking a while back, and glad i did. A much clearer beer is bottled and a full ferment is ensured.

Dont ever worry about losing yeast for secondary ferment in the bottle, theres always suspended yeast in your beer.

Another good practice for racking is to cold condition, when youve racked put your vessel into a fridge at about 2 degrees. Improves the beer no end. Then bottle

JaCk_SpArRoW wrote:I've never used finings LG but I would assume it would be after racking.

Hey Jack, use the finings 24 hours before racking, that way you get as much yeast as possible out of suspension in the primary, you'll still have enough for bottle conditioning (unless you filter while racking) and then again 24 hours before bottling.

It is a preference thing, as I used to use fiinings, but have stopped since racking my brews, as racking works just as well to reduce sediment in my opinion.

Cheers and beers.

Well from what i can see i'll be looking forward to clearer and better tasting brews after adopting racking as standard practice.It's amazing how there could be enough leftover yeast in there to carbonate when it looks so clear,but it must work.I've noticed that it also takes at least a couple of points off the gravity as well which is handy with high gravity beers especially.

Finings? NO!

When making beer try to remain true to the German Purity Law.

Beer = water + malt + hops + yeast.

Finings! Yuck. hey! It's just an opinion!

So Shane,

You're saying no to dextrose, glucose, corn syrup, and dry enzimes then?

The reinheitsgebot is good and all, but I'll be sticking to that when I'm all grain, as a kit & kilo brewer adjuncts are everything when customising.

General wrote:So Shane,

You're saying no to dextrose, glucose, corn syrup, and dry enzimes then?

The reinheitsgebot is good and all, but I'll be sticking to that when I'm all grain, as a kit & kilo brewer adjuncts are everything when customising.

well, yes apart from that crap I throw into the bottles now to carbonate, that's what I aim for. Unfortunately it can't be helped that some recipes call for garbage to be thrown in.

So if I got this correct:
At the end of primary I should turn off my heater and allow beer to cool for a few hours.
Move beer to 2nd fermenter. Leaving behind sediment.
Allow to settle and cool for a few days.
Bottle.

I dont have enough room in the fridge so i'll have to go with the wet towel option in a cool room.

I wonder if anyone has a giant centrifuge.[/code]

Nick,

You got it right.

Shane,

You can always carbonate with dry malt extract, instead of dextrose, carbonation drops etc.

General wrote:

You can always carbonate with dry malt extract, instead of dextrose, carbonation drops etc.
_________________
Jeffro

Fe-Brewery, best month of all.

what r corbonation drops like? do they change the taste at all???

nickdablack wrote:I wonder if anyone has a giant centrifuge.

We have big centrifuges and ultrafuges at work, but I doubt one of the accepted uses is brewing

lager_girl wrote:what r corbonation drops like? do they change the taste at all???

LG, the various carbonation drops I've seen are made from dextrose, so they would have the same effect as using dextrose to prime. Minimal effect on taste?