Question from a newbie

Greetings sports fans. only on my 2nd brew–a chinook IPA. Fermentation will probably be finished by sunday. what confuses me is that the directions mention transferring after “1 to 2 weeks.” should i simply wait for 2 weeks to transfer to 2nd carboy and add add’l hops, or just say hell with it and transfer after 1 week? and does the same hold true for the “1 to 2 weeks” wait in the directions for bottling from secondary fermentation.

I guess the question is: does a longer wait = a better beer no matter what the hydrometer says?

hope this makes sense and thanks to all who respond. cheers.

man, they really need to update these directions.

Short answer: Moving the beer to another vessel really doesn’t have a lot of benefit. From the time you pitch your yeast, leave the beer on the yeast for 14-21 days. Typically, once the airlock stops bubbling, there are still reactions happening between the beer and the yeast, so yes, more time on the yeast in almost all cases equals better beer.

Longer answer:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=115356#p1013175

Good luck and welcome to the hobby! Its full of great people, great beer, and greater guts.

agreed. If you have to pick one week or two, go for two.

Thanks for the responses. So is it agreed that we should simply let it sit in the primary and then just add the additional hops—and then let it sit for 2 more weeks before bottling?

Cheers.

I like to add my dry hops right to the primary as active fermentation is finishing up. However, this requires a significant amount of dry hops, probably more than you got with the kit.

Assuming the kit hops are pellet, in your case, I would add them to the primary 3 days or so after fermentation has finished (check with a hydrometer, not with the airlock bubbling), then leave them for another two weeks and bottle. I wouldn’t bother with a muslin bag unless they are leaf hops.

[quote=“brw”]Thanks for the responses. So is it agreed that we should simply let it sit in the primary and then just add the additional hops—and then let it sit for 2 more weeks before bottling?

Cheers.[/quote]

Sorry, you will not find any agreement on many things. It will be how you feel and what works for you.

Why I don’t use a secondary ( and the opposite reason some do):

I don’t perceive a taste difference.

Anything that will fall out of suspension from 2 weeks in primary/2 weeks in secondary will fall out of suspension with 4 weeks in primary.

I’m a bit lazy. I don’t want to clean/sanitize another vessel and the equipment to transfer with.

Why I would transfer:

I need the yeast for a new beer.
Dry hopping and I want to save the yeast and limit the hop matter in the yeast cake.