Someone will correct me if Im wrong, but I believe Ive read somewhere that sulfur is a common early smell or taste during fermentation and that its one of those things produced by yeast that the yeast will clean up again if you give the beer plenty of time in contact with the yeast.
yep…some yeast will put out some horrible sulfur aromas you wont even want to step in the room it is fermenting in
Yeah, I think I’ve read that, too, but just thought I’d see what others had to say. Honestly, it was so subtle it wasn’t necessarily even bad, just unexpected. Still, I’d still be happy if it’s gone after another week on the cake.
Yeah. I’d just let it sit a little while more. Then bottle or secondary. You know the drill.
wouldnt bother with secondary
I’m gonna have to rack to secondary as I plan to brew this weekend and both primaries currently are in use.
Just trying to build up a stash of homebrews so I can go back to every two weeks without running out in between!
:cheers:
[quote=“ickyfoot”]I’m gonna have to rack to secondary as I plan to brew this weekend and both primaries currently are in use.
Just trying to build up a stash of homebrews so I can go back to every two weeks without running out in between!
:cheers: [/quote]
if you got the bottles just go right to bottles
Hrm…I’d like to give it a little more than 2 weeks prior to bottling…but, I suppose if gravity hasn’t changed in a week, why not?
If gravity hasnt changed, then theres nothing wrong with going right to bottles, but I like to secondary. In my experience I get less yeasty beers at the end, but many people say they see no difference. It depends on what you like process wise.
2 weeks should be ok for something like that, some other brews you might want to wait a little while longer. If its done fermenting I usually give it a week to clean up anything, if I am pressed for the carboy I give it just a couple days.
If you are carefull with racking and do not stir it up or if you have to move it do it ahead of time so it settles and not try to get every last drop of beer out. Your not going to have much more yeast settling in bottles than you will in secondary.
I’ve been resisting the temptation to rush things since day one, and what you’re telling me goes against that grain. Heh. I definitely wouldn’t mind getting to this beer sooner than later though!
I guess the reason I’m particularly inclined to rack to secondary is that 1450 is low-flocculating, so I kinda wanna err on the side of more time to settle not less. Also, since it’s my first AG and first custom recipe, I really want to eliminate as many procedural variables as possible so I can safely (more or less) ignore them if anything taste off.
We’ll see…I’ll decide on Sunday!
[quote=“ickyfoot”]I guess the reason I’m particularly inclined to rack to secondary is that 1450 is low-flocculating, so I kinda wanna err on the side of more time to settle not less. Also, since it’s my first AG and first custom recipe, I really want to eliminate as many procedural variables as possible so I can safely (more or less) ignore them if anything taste off.[/quote]Racking to secondary will not cause more (or faster) sedimentation and racking is a variable, so if you want a consistent, solid process, you might want to just leave the beer in the primary for three weeks total, then bottle. One way to encourage the yeast to drop out is to cold-crash for at least a couple of days right before bottling.
+1 yep racking to secondary just brings more oxidation and a chance for infection.
I am not sure just racking to secondary for a little bit is not going to do much on a low flocculant yeast as far as sediment in the bottle
I’m not worried about bottle sediment, I’m worried about clarity. Well, not worried, but it’s nice when it happens, as I just discovered when bottling Phat Tyre last night. It’s really a nice feeling to look through a glass of beer you created and discover that it’s almost crystal clear 
[quote]Shadetree:
and racking is a variable, so if you want a consistent, solid process, you might want to just leave the beer in the primary for three weeks total
grainbelt:
+1 yep racking to secondary just brings more oxidation and a chance for infection.[/quote]Good points. Assuming gravity has been stable for a week, is 3 weeks in primary + 2 weeks in bottles appreciably better than 2 weeks in primary + 2 weeks in bottles? I’d really like to free up the space so I can brew this weekend, but not at the expense of good beer 
.
Re cold crashing, is cold crashing in the carboy any more or less effective than cold crashing in bottles (i.e., tossing 'em in the fridge for a couple days before opening), in terms of clarifying the beer? I suppose at the very least, cold crashing in the carboy means there’s less sediment to stir up when pouring a cold one.
[quote=“ickyfoot”]I’m not worried about bottle sediment, I’m worried about clarity. Well, not worried, but it’s nice when it happens, as I just discovered when bottling Phat Tyre last night. It’s really a nice feeling to look through a glass of beer you created and discover that it’s almost crystal clear
[quote]Shadetree:
and racking is a variable, so if you want a consistent, solid process, you might want to just leave the beer in the primary for three weeks total
grainbelt:
+1 yep racking to secondary just brings more oxidation and a chance for infection.[/quote]Good points. Assuming gravity has been stable for a week, is 3 weeks in primary + 2 weeks in bottles appreciably better than 2 weeks in primary + 2 weeks in bottles? I’d really like to free up the space so I can brew this weekend, but not at the expense of good beer .
Re cold crashing, is cold crashing in the carboy any more or less effective than cold crashing in bottles (i.e., tossing 'em in the fridge for a couple days before opening), in terms of clarifying the beer? I suppose at the very least, cold crashing in the carboy means there’s less sediment to stir up when pouring a cold one.[/quote]
you can only see much with the eye, clarity wise. Leave one of those beers in the fridge undisturbed and you will still see sediment and very small particulate matter fall out for a while. I highly doubt you are going to see much difference in that week, the beer may be a little green either way.
[quote=“ickyfoot”]… is 3 weeks in primary + 2 weeks in bottles appreciably better than 2 weeks in primary + 2 weeks in bottles?..Re cold crashing, is cold crashing in the carboy any more or less effective than cold crashing in bottles (i.e., tossing 'em in the fridge for a couple days before opening), in terms of clarifying the beer? I suppose at the very least, cold crashing in the carboy means there’s less sediment to stir up when pouring a cold one.[/quote]I prefer a consistent three weeks in the primary because I almost always dry-hop and I use only a couple of yeast strains, so I have a solid system in place. I think the third week in primary makes better beer versus two. I cold-crash to remove as much sediment as possible before bottling/kegging and I always add fresh, flocculant yeast to the bottles - this combination makes it possible to pour sediment-free beer every time.
Hrm…I’m not dry hopping, but I think I’ll still opt for patience, as it’s always paid off during my short time as a brewer.
if you really need the carboy and have to brew, a week of it sitting in the bottles vs a week in the carboy negligible
Yeah, I suppose I could just bottle condition for 3 weeks instead of 2. Of course, I will sample a bottle at weeks 1 and 2 anyway, but that’s just how I roll .
This is all assuming gravity is stable. If it’s come down more than a point or two since last Sunday, there’s no question that I’ll leave it be.
So, I ended up racking this to secondary so I could brew last weekend. I bottled it up last night and the gravity sample tasted good. A little too much bitterness in the aftertaste, probably due to not adjusting hops for the low efficiency. Hopefully that will mellow a bit with time, but it by no means renders the brew undrinkable. Might even make for a nice twist on a brown.
Also, I’m pleasantly surprised by how clear it turned out. I expected more haze due to 1450’s low flocculation. Color is a nice, deep red, maybe around 28 SRM as shown on this chart
.
Many thanks to all who provided insight and advice. I’m already quite pleased with this as my first all grain, and I’m moderately confident that it will turn out to be a great beer (at least, for my tastes). It’s gonna be a long two weeks of waiting!
