figless Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 I have currently a coopers lager brewing in my fermenter. Fermentation should be pretty much there, bubbles have reduced to around 1 a minute over the course of 5 days (24 degrees). Although, the FG is currently 1015 - so it probably needs a bit more time (it started at 1040)? I can borrow another fermenter from a friend, so should I rack the beer and allow that to settle for another week or so? Is racking worth it for micro beer kits and increase the clarity of the finished product? If I do borrow my friends fermenter, it is the same size as my coopers. Would I be exposing my beer to oxidation with the same size fermenter - should a smaller one be used for this purpose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossm Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 G'day figless, don't take my word as gospel but...I have never racked, nor do I see the need, I have brewed many of the Coopers range, using everything from plain white sugar to liquid and dry malt including BE1 & 2, the sediment always drops out and I finish up with a clear tasty beer. The last couple of bottles may get a bit extra sediment, but it will settle out. I use Coopers Longnecks and waste nothing, the last few drops will have a little yeast in them and that is no problem anyway! I wouldn't worry about racking personally, more work, more cleaning, more chance of infection for what I believe to be no better result! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 I agree with Ross. My beers always look just like they would if bought from the bottlo. I've never had a problem with sediment and I only rack to bulk prime. But then again, I grew up on Sparkling Ale so I guess I've never had a problem with sediment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 You could trawl through previous pages to find all the racking topics - if only we had a search function - one topic here. When I first read John Palmer's How To Brew, he advocated racking - he has since changed his approach. When I first started with Coopers I was a non-racker. Coming up for 8 years with Coopers, I've learnt more about beer and brewing than I would ever have dreamed about. I'm still a non-racker. Having said that, this non-racker, will drop a big brew like a Russian Imperial Stout (RIS) to a secondary vessel after the foam (Krausen) has collapsed just to help get it away for such a massively gunged up primary (ease of cleaning) and the possibiility of a bit of aeration during this stage may help the yeast to ferment the brew completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figless Posted March 1, 2010 Author Share Posted March 1, 2010 thanks guys, seems as though the consensus is not to rack. i've been reading a few US homebrew forums and its seems to be more common over there. i guess they do it because they are not used to 'cooper style' beers, and just drink light (colour and taste) muck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 One might argue that the USA is the home of extreme beers. Sure, they have high volume bland fizzy yellow beer but this style tends not to be seen amongst the craftbrewing industry and homebrewing community. Most would rack because somebody influential (such as Charlie Papazian) said they should do it. So they do it no questions asked!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 I chuck a few rubber door wedges under the front of the fermenter to lean it back a bit. The sediment gathers at the back of the fermenter leaving the tap clear and less sediment goes into your bottles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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