Why did i bother with the secondary?!

Discussion on brewing beer from malt extract, hops, and yeast.
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therichieboy

Why did i bother with the secondary?!

Post by therichieboy » Fri Jun 13, 2008 1:55 pm

Hello All,
This is my first post and I'm sorry to say it's cock-up related.
I recently did an IPA. The hydrometer reading reached my expected FG and stabilized after just 3 days in the primary so I followed someones advice and got it straight into a secondary (Young's plastic bucket with an airlock attached to the lid).
I don't usually worry about airlock activity so wasn't too bothered to see there was no bubbling or pressure at all.
I casked it 2 days ago with 100g glucose syrup to prime. When I went to purge today I noticed absolutely no co2 build-up.
As I've never used a secondary before -except sometimes when I bottle- I was concerned I killed the fermentation when I racked from the primary.
I'm not sure how/ whether I can rectify this. Can I prime the cask with yeast? As a last resort I am going to pressurise the cask with co2, the thought of which makes me feel like I'm selling my soul!
Thanks!

stevezx7r

Post by stevezx7r » Fri Jun 13, 2008 5:14 pm

What was the gravity reading? If it was "done" then it will be fine. If you want to carbonise it, go ahead, it won't hurt.

It sound like your cap is leaking which seems to be the case for most standard barrels. Try smearing a small amount of vasseline on the "O" ring to make sure it seals and fill with C02 or wait untill it makes it itself via live yeast in suspension - that should take a few days or leave it for a few weeks so you have enough to empty the keg.

BTW, keep the vasseline away from the beer as it will kill any head formation. Ehem. :wink:

therichieboy

Post by therichieboy » Fri Jun 13, 2008 6:17 pm

OG= 1044
FG= 1011
Cask Cap= broken!
Just replaced the seal. I'm now going to bury my head in a sandpit somewhere.

stevezx7r

Post by stevezx7r » Fri Jun 13, 2008 7:42 pm

Was it just the "O" ring or the cap? If it's the cap the chances are it will leak again.

therichieboy

Post by therichieboy » Fri Jun 13, 2008 8:50 pm

It was the o ring. It's turned half to jelly. Cheap rubbish I'd say.

CyberPaddy66

Post by CyberPaddy66 » Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:37 pm

Put some Vaseline round the new one and you should be fine, a little more of a drop on the hydrometer to below 1.010 would have been better but it's not the end of the world :wink:

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