First ever AG: Too many questions still!

[davidmpye]

Hi guys,

Just getting ready to do my first ever AG brew (tomorrow if the boiler arrives!)

I'm brewing a Brewpaks all mash london pride kit which will be going into a corny (which is also new to me)

Previously, I've brewed a couple of simple kits (wherry etc) as follows:

one week in primary (depending on gravity)
rack to king keg with spraymalt to secondary carbonate
wait three weeks ish, then drink.

So, now I have a couple of questions as to how to adapt this for AG and cornies.

I'm thinking probably something like this:

one week in primary (depending on gravity)
transfer to another fermentation bucket with airlock for a week or so to clear
add finings (gelatine)
give another day or so to clear
syphon to corny
pressurise corny to carbonate
Wait a few weeks to mature
Enjoy.

Does this sound sensible? I did wonder whether it would be better leaving the beer sitting in a king keg to mature before racking to corny but it seems a waste of a keg for that if a fermentation bucket with airlock would be good enough! Am I right in thinking that I don't need to add any more sugar when putting it to secondary fermentation (or does it even need a secondary fermentation if I don't need it to carbonate itself, as I can force-carbonate it in the corny?) I don't 100% understand whether secondary fermentation does anything much for the flavour or whether it is just to produce the co2 to carbonate it!

Also, while the wherry kits etc didn't need finings, is it the case that all AG brews do? The instructions from the Brewpaks AG kit don't mention needing any.

Thanks for all the help so far, and for taking the time to answer these questions!

Regards,

David

[OldSpeckledBadger]

Fermentable wort is fermentable wort. Whether or not you use finings depends on the yeast strain not on how the wort was obtained [1]. Personally I wouldn't want the hassle of a poorly-flocculating yeast. Go and spend some, no a lot, of time in the Yeast sub-forum and read up on the subject. Forget about all that "secondary fermentation" twaddle you've been exposed to on the Kits forum. Once you've hit FG you can keg the beer (although it won't hurt if you have to leave it for a few more days). OTOH if you're bottling I find it helps to leave the beer for another 3 days so that most of the yeast drops out and the resulting yeast film in the bottle is then thinner and much more stable (if I'm bottling in PETs I've found that I really need an extra 6 days as the round bottom bits tend to accumulate all the yeast into a narrow, and therefore thick, and it's not very stable unless there's just a trace of it).

The other thing I'd strongly advise is to get an alkalinity test kit and check your water.

[1] if you're using a cornie you can fine to drop the beer bright and then force carbonate thus turning your real ale into inferior keg beer which you can drink almost immediately

[kratbox]

Agree about the secondary fermentation, or rather the lack of needing it. No-one seems to have been able to decide for certain whether autolysis really is a problem if you don't move the beer to a second fermenter...personally I've left beers in primary for a week or two after reaching FG before kegging or bottling, never had a problem with it. And not using secondary frees up a fermenter to have two on the go for those particularly thirsty periods of the year

[davidmpye]

Well, got the brew done

See viewtopic.php?f=24&t=30511&p=328818#p328818 for pics

The kit's instructions say to rack to another FV after 3 days then wait, then into keg or bottle.

I'm still a bit unsure of whether I need to fine it, or add sugar to secondary ferment it, or whether I am OK just putting it in the corny.

Mindful about OldSpeckledBadger's comment about turning real ale into common keg beer, am I OK just to keg it without sugar, or does it need sugar like a kit would? (Before this, I've only brewed syrup kits!)

Cheers!

[Cheshire-cheese]

Everyone has their own opinion. I have found that racking into a secondary vessel with gelatine finings for a few weeks before kegging and force carbonating, gives me a crystal clear (and still unpasteurised) beer that retains all its fine flavours and is quaffable sooner and copes fine if you need to move the keg for a party. I'm not at all against priming a keg and allowing the beer to condition naturally, I do this also, but don't consider that one approach produces an inferior product.

If you are using a cornie without a shortened dip tube, I'd try to fine the beer first. I have a lager that I fined to remove chill haze when in the keg and found that the first couple of pints were gunky and needed slinging. After that the pints were crystal clear, but if I knocked the keg in the fridge or gassed too much, the gunk would shift and cause a cloudy pint. Mind you the subsequent pint some seconds later was clear again.

[Mitchamitri]

i dont mind a cloudy pint.