How early can I rack ?

[Slurtis Staggersalot]

I have lots of carboy`s but only one Primary fermenter. I`ve fermented in carboy`s from the start and it`s a gamble. Sometimes it goes just fine (usually the lager yeast kits, occasionally an ale yeast kit) but most of the time I get excessive foam pumped through the airlock in the first 48 hrs.

 

I just decided to start home brewing again and I need to get a good stock pile conditioning. I`ve got a batch of Thomas Coopers selection IPA in the primary right now and is been there for 5 days. I want to rack it off to a carboy so that I can get another batch on. I don`t have a hydrometer at the moment, I`ll be buying a new one this weekend. The IPA was put together as per the instructions with the proper amount of ingredients, and has been at 20-23 degrees since it`s birth. The yeast was pitched at 26 degrees

 

I guess my question is what is the rule of thumb for racking out of the primary fermentation bucket? How soon can it be done without affecting the outcome of the fermentation process?

[AndrewC5]

Racking is best to be done while the beer is still fermenting, ie a few days into fermentaion. This is because once the beer stops fermenting its more prone to infection, and you risk the infection when swapping containers. From there the beer can finish fermenting safe from infection.

[Slurtis Staggersalot]

In that case I guess I better skip watching a movie right now and go sanitize a carboy. I`m sure the beer is still fermenting, but it should be getting pretty close to FG. I`m going to let it clear another week before bottling though.

[Luke]

Hey SS,

Just buy another bucket and don't bother racking!

Bottle it straight from the bucket after 2 weeks. (depends on how you're priming)

[Slurtis Staggersalot]

I'm going to need the bucket for priming, I plan on bulk priming. I have a bunch of mix matched sizes of swing tops I want to put back into service. Then again I do have a bucket that I don't use for fermenting because I have no lid for it, I could use it to bulk prime [happy] That means I can have a total of four batches on at once! I'll have my pipeline going in no time, unless I get really thirsty and a bit lazy.

[Slurtis Staggersalot]

I was just crawling around in the store room looking for more bottles, and I found something else I totally forgot about!! A keg! now I have to do some reading in the FAQ section and see if buying all the stuff to go with the keg is worth the hassle for just one keg. I'm guessing that if I rack the beer a few times before putting it in the keg and I force carbonate the beer should come out pretty clear. I've read that guys also naturally carbonate in kegs and the beer is only a little cloudy for the first bit and then it starts to flow nice and clear... The second option sounds better because force carbonating sounds like a bit of a hassle and you can`t drink the beer right after you tap it. I`m thinking I want to put my keg on ice and take it camping.

[Luke]

The second option sounds better because force carbonating sounds like a bit of a hassle and you can`t drink the beer right after you tap it.

 

Slurtis you have 2 options when force carbonating - let's call them speed carbonating and lazy carbonating!

Speed carbonating means turning up the pressure and gassing overnight or shaking the keg at high pressure (which takes some practice to get right) or lazy carbonating which means leaving the chilled keg at pouring pressure for about 10 days to let the beer come to equilibrium (no chance of over-carbonating!).

I am personally hopeless at speed carbonating so I just do it the lazy way. (I can wait 10 days!)

 

 

 

[Slurtis Staggersalot]

After doing a bunch more research on Kegging I realized that the keg I have doesn't have a pressure relief valve. It does have ball lock style connections. My instinct tells me that it may be unsafe to use if I can't relieve the pressure before I pop the lid. I was also thinking that pouring pressure and natural carbonation should be pretty safe. I'm a little confused about it though.

[PB2]

I would not consider using a keg if it doesn't have a pressure relief valve. [rightful]

 

Perhaps you could find someone locally who can fit one??

[Slurtis Staggersalot]

If I can buy a pressure relief valve I can fit it myself, I'm sure it's not rocket science. Just drill a hole and mount a valve, the worst thing that can happen is that is leaks. Kegs seem to be the inexpensive part of moving up to kegging anyways, it's the rest of the equipment that is costly.