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on my 5th rack and ive been racking at end of fermenttation thus far

as i dont have time to have fun tomorrow or friday nite! im wondering if ii racked to early, ive heard 1016 is rackablle time, buut i couldnt wait and ii want too bottle this weekend

so racked at 1020,
good, bad, ugly?
you tell me...thanks

b
oh heres the recipe to the "Realiser",
out of hydrometer tasted very IPA and i like that
probably the perle hops, been playing with hops lately

1.7 kg can Cooper's Real Ale
1.5 kg can Cooper's Light Malt Extract-liquid
20g Perle hops pellets @ 20 minutes
Another 15 minutes boil,
20g Perle hops pellets @ flameout
Added Real ale kit
11.5g SafAle yeast US-56
19L to Realise

Depends on who you speak to but some rack about 3/4 of the way through fermentation and some after it is done, ive done both and i now usually choose to leave them until they are finished cos there is a risk of stuck fermentation, both ways resulted in the same finished product though except a little less sediment in the one racked after finishing as the yeast has a little more clean up time

lethaldog wrote:Depends on who you speak to but some rack about 3/4 of the way through fermentation and some after it is done, ive done both and i now usually choose to leave them until they are finished cos there is a risk of stuck fermentation, both ways resulted in the same finished product though except a little less sediment in the one racked after finishing as the yeast has a little more clean up time

Yeah Lethal, my mate always racks his after 3 days, no matter what.

His turn out OK. But I always wait til it is finished too.

Just ensure Buscador that the FG is stable before bottling. IE Check tomorrow night, Friday and Saturday and bottle Sunday if it is stable.

How is your temp?

or better still, leave it in the secondary for a couple of weeks if you can stand it, it makes a big difference

will probably wait through the weekend, bottle next week during the week, if time, or wait an extra week

just went out to the shed to grab a couple coldies for dinner and there iis already a nice white top on my ale, this suckers quick,
brewing at 20*C, a bit high but need a brew fridge in future

b

I used to rack all of my beers, but no longer rack any.

There really is no need to rack in my case as I filter, even if I didn't filter I wouldn't rack. Every time you move or transfer you increase the risk of contamination / infection.

The benefits of not racking are less chance of infection, allowing the the beer to sit in primary reduces the risk of stuck fermentation, also assists in the reduction of Diacetyl, and if you CC in primary the yeast will over a week or two settle out anyway.

Buscador back to your original question, I'd expect that your brew would have a finishing gravity of around 1.016 so, 1.020 isn't that far away. Leave it in secondary and perhaps raise the temperature a couple of degrees to about 20c, which should help your brew finish off.

The easiest way to work out your FG is taking the OG and use the attenuation guide from the yeast to work out where it should finish. Eg. OG 1.040 with a yeast that has 75% attenuation should give you about FG1.010.

AC

The racking question comes up a lot and I am always interested to see who reckons what.

Today, I'm in the racking camp. I do not find that my beers clear any quicker (I suspect good storage conditions help that more), but I do get less sediment in the bottle (which seems to slow down carbonation) and a little more attenuation - probably because I secondary in a warmer place than I primary, so the effect would probably be the same if I just move the fermenter.

If you're leaving your beers to age for a few weeks/months, the time it takes them to clarify or carb up isn't that important. Of course, I am always too eager to try my latest creation and open one as soon as I think it's carbed up (or close enough).

I am always concerned about infection vectors and clean fairly rigorously, so try to reduce the amount of equipment involved.

Aussie Claret - How do you clean your filter? That would probably annoy me more than cleaning a second fermenter and racking tube. I'm also assuming you keg and force carbonate? No good for us bottle-jockeys!

I might flip-flop yet again soon and not rack for a while! But not until my Kolsch and Belgian Golden Ale are out of the way. Or, perhaps...

Hi AC,

When you say you no longer rack, does that include lagers as well?

I currently have a lager brewing in the fridge and was wondering whether to go out and buy a second fermenter on the weekend so that I can rack it after fermentation ceases.

I'm now a bit confused with what to do!

If I don't rack should I just leave the brew in the Primary for a couple of weeks at 10C, then bottle and leave at room temperature for a couple of weeks before putting back in the fridge at about 2C in the bottles.

I know there are a lot of posts on this subject, and everybody has different views, but as long as I end up with a decent beer am happy to do the simplest option.

Cheers

If i could be arsed i would do a poll to find out how many people have found that racking causes an infection. Once the wort has fermented its much less susceptible to infection due to the 5% alcohol content. Its not sterile by any means but gives you a bigger defence. I rack, mainly to get rid of the hops and yeast that are sititng on the bottom of the fermenter. I dont belive it conditons better and until i hear a credible SCIENTIFIC theory i will stand by that. But lets not open up that can again.

As with a lot of things in brewing, it comes down to each person. I rack. I like it. It works for me. I also rack again to bulk prime. I have mates who rack 2-3 times per beer. As long as you are sanitising efficiently it isnt an issue.

My 2c
DrSmurto

drsmurto wrote:As long as you are sanitising efficiently it isnt an issue.

I feel like being a nit-picking prick today. I think you mean sanitising effectively. It's alright, I hate myself too.

hadders wrote:Hi AC,

When you say you no longer rack, does that include lagers as well?

I currently have a lager brewing in the fridge and was wondering whether to go out and buy a second fermenter on the weekend so that I can rack it after fermentation ceases.

I'm now a bit confused with what to do!

If I don't rack should I just leave the brew in the Primary for a couple of weeks at 10C, then bottle and leave at room temperature for a couple of weeks before putting back in the fridge at about 2C in the bottles.

I know there are a lot of posts on this subject, and everybody has different views, but as long as I end up with a decent beer am happy to do the simplest option.

Cheers

Hi Mate,
I don't rack any beer, apart from transferring to the keg ready for filtering, even lagers.
I personally would put your primary into the fridge and crash chill after fermentation has finished and you've done your Diacetyl rest, leave for a couple of weeks then bottle as normal. After carbonation (say 2weeks) I'd then CC in the bottle for a few more weeks.

Spillsmostofit, I clean the filter cartridge by rinsing the cartridge in hot water then leave to soak in Napisan or Sterophos, rinse and a quick stray with non-rinse sanitizer; before the next use I flush the filter with hot water.


AC

I never bother racking because I'm lazy and it always settles out in the keg regardless.

Just to clarify the racking process though, I always thought that you were supposed to rack to secondary a few days early to allow the last bit of fermentation to fill the headspace with CO2 to avoid oxidisation. Is this right rackers?

rwh wrote:

drsmurto wrote:As long as you are sanitising efficiently it isnt an issue.

I feel like being a nit-picking prick today. I think you mean sanitising effectively. It's alright, I hate myself too.

rwh - the grammar nazi!

Effectively. Yep, thats the word. Altho my sanitation procedure is efficient too!

FazerPete wrote:Just to clarify the racking process though, I always thought that you were supposed to rack to secondary a few days early to allow the last bit of fermentation to fill the headspace with CO2 to avoid oxidisation. Is this right rackers?

I usually practise this as it makes perfect sense. I've als racked and added some LDME to generate the co2 layer. The end result has tasted good.

With lagers I rack into a cube. My pilsener was in the primary @ 10C for 4 weeks, then I racked to cube where it has been for 2 weeks @ 4C. I will probably leave it another 4 weeks. In this case, had I not racked, autolysis would be a potential risk.

With lagers I rack into a cube. My pilsener was in the primary @ 10C for 4 weeks, then I racked to cube where it has been for 2 weeks @ 4C. I will probably leave it another 4 weeks. In this case, had I not racked, autolysis would be a potential risk.

Geezaz id be fangin for a beer after that wait!

Yeah I normally add a tablespoon of sugar these days to ensure the CO2 layer is there, at least for my ales. Probably won't bother for the lagers because they're going to be lagering at 4°C anyway.

Where'd you get your cubes, Pale, and how many litres are they?

rwh wrote:
Where'd you get your cubes, Pale, and how many litres are they?

20L supposedly although it fits about 22L with no headspace.

Bought it from Amart, which is a sports store for anyone who doesn't have them in their state etc. I also know Aussie Disposals and other camping stores have similar cubes for sale. Got mine for $12 odd. Well worth it.

fermenter is at 20*C with a nice inch of kraeusen on top
bubbling so no stuck ferment, looks good

id love to rack it once more at bottling, but will settle for what i got-
with this rack so early, i feel i may not have gotten all the goodness out of my hops

in terms of atttenuation- Aussie Claret poses that I will end at 1016, how do you know this? i have only read that attenuation can be measured from OG - FG

i know you could guess the end ABV%, but Im just wondering if you had a formula or conversion I hadnt heard about yet. Thanks everyone!

smells great through the fermenter and out the bubbler, again it has a real hoppy waft to it, and thhe taste yesterday was IPA all the way, hoping its a rather hard hitter, to start out with and then move to a lighter tone for the rest of the night, or arvo..

b

Hi buscador,

I'm pretty new to all this brewing stuff so sorry if informing you of stuff you know already!! But I've used this calc and found it to be pretty accurate with the few brews I've done so far - perhaps a more experienced brewer could shed more light on its accuracy!

http://www.liquorcraft.com.au/wa.asp?id ... etails=107

For your ingredients it comes up with OG 1056 - FG 1015 - Alcohol 6.2%

Cheers

thats an interesting SG estimator

could you tell me what amounts you put into that to come up with those readings because I couldnt get that same reading, played with that thing for half an hour, too...

thanks,
b