biab.

Make grain beers with the absolute minimum of equipment. Discuss here.
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sam51
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biab.

Post by sam51 » Sun Dec 16, 2018 1:30 pm

hi started a biab on the 4 dec. using marris otter and salafi 04 yeast, OG start was 1055, today checked so i could transfer too secondary it is 1020, maybe not ready or is this going to be final sg.thanks sam.

Fastline
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Re: biab.

Post by Fastline » Sun Dec 16, 2018 1:57 pm

From what I have read transferring to secondary doesn't need to be done at home brew sized batches and you are increasing risks in transferring. I have left my my brews up to 5 weeks in primary fermentation, then it's off to bottling bucket or now new for me corny keg.
I would check the gravity in a few days, seems a little high might be worth rousing the yeast up and increasing the temperature to get the yeast to finish up.

scotsloon
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Re: biab.

Post by scotsloon » Sun Dec 16, 2018 2:44 pm

On the other hand I tend to transfer my brews after about a week into a sanitized airlock FV, my experience is that it helps to start cleaning up the beer. Often at that same time I'm maybe adding other fermentables to the brew so its not a necessary step. My rule of thumb on fermentation coming to an end is to check it over a 3 or 4 day period, if the SG continues to go down then leave it until it is steady for a few days. Its not going to any harm to leave it under an airlock for a longer period.
The important thing I've found with home brewing is to apply patience, it doesn't help to rush the process. If you have to do something then get another brew on, that will keep your hands and mind occupied.

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helmetHeid
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Re: biab.

Post by helmetHeid » Mon Dec 17, 2018 9:26 am

Hi,

That does sound a little high for your final gravity, so maybe it's not quite done yet. That said, if you mashed with a fairly high temperature or had a low attenuating yeast or had a pretty chunky grainbill (if you were aiming for a heavy stout for example), then theres no reason that wouldn't be your final gravity.

The best thing to do would be to take the gravity a few days in a row, and if you keep getting the same number then you can be fairly sure it's finished (stuck fermentations aside).

Like other have said, not everyone racks their beer off to secondary. I do it sometimes, but if it's just a homebrew batch for myself then I might not get around to it. There's lots of good arguments for doing it either way. If you leave it on the yeast you risk some off flavours from autolysis - not necessarily going to happen, but it might. If you rack off to secondary you risk introducing oxygen/infection - again, not definitely going to happen, but it might. It's up to you whichever you think is best.

My advice is that it's not such a big deal, so just do whatever you fancy. If you've got a secondary vessel and you're raring to go, then go for it. If you're not sure it's done fermenting and would rather not tamper with it, there's no harm in leaving it

Kingfisher4
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Re: biab.

Post by Kingfisher4 » Mon Dec 17, 2018 10:22 am

Patience as suggested is usually the key.

Another factor which becomes very important in my limited experience, with regards to reaching final gravity successfully is whether you plan to keg or bottle the finished product.

If you are bottling, it is even more important to ensure that yeast has not stalled and you have reached full attenuation. Otherwise, you are risking bottle bombs.

The datasheet for SO4 suggests 75% attenuation, this depends on many factors, but with your figures above you are currently at 63%, so there is probably more fermentation expected.

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helmetHeid
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Re: biab.

Post by helmetHeid » Mon Dec 17, 2018 11:13 am



[quote="Kingfisher4"] If you are bottling, it is even more important to ensure that yeast has not stalled and you have reached full attenuation. Otherwise, you are risking bottle bombs. [/quote]

+1 for the bottle bomb warning.

I was assuming that either way you'd leave it for a week or so to let it slowly clarify. Yeah, I wouldn't risk boshing it into bottles with some priming sugar just yet. Give it some time to clear and definitely finish out


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