Illustrated Beer Brewing Primer
Paul's Brewing Home Page
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Kegging and ConditioningRacking to the Secondary FermenterWhen your fermentation has gone through one or two weeks, it is time to move it to the secondary fermenter. Fermentation is really starting to slow down by this time, and the real purpose of the secondary fermenter is to allow trub (the gunky stuff floating around in the beer) to fall and leave a clear beer. I use a corny keg as a secondary fermenter.The first step in transferring the beer from the carboy to a keg is to raise the carboy. This is in preparation for siphoning the beer from the carboy to the keg, which will be on the floor. I raise up the carboy and put it on a pail. Try not to stir up too much gunk while doing this, and it helps to raise it up the day before you plan to rack (siphon or move) the beer. Always be careful when moving full carboys, they can be slippery if you have wet hands.
You will notice that the foam is still on top of the beer. This is actually a good sign, because it means that the finished beer will likely have a foamy head. But it is a challenge because you have to be very gentle while siponing, so you don't stir up the crud which is hanging in the foam. Here is a close up of the trub:
So when you are siphoning, you have to try to get just the clear stuff, and avoid stirring up the gunky stuff. This takes calm hands. There are some strategies you can use to make this easier. First of all, get a self priming racking siphon, like the Fermtech Auto Siphon. It makes getting the siphon started much easier. Just before siphoning, tip the carboy up using a block of wood (or whatever) about one half inch high. Put the block in front underneath the carboy to tip the carboy back just a little. This allows you to put the end of the siphon at the back of the carboy, and the tilt angle will allow you to capture more of the beer. Prepare a clean corny keg to siphon the beer into. It should be cleaned and sanitized. Sanitize the siphon and tubing. If you want to save the yeast, clean and sanitize four beer bottles and caps (jars or plastic bottles will work too).
Use a butter knife or other dull flat object to ease the stopper out of the carboy. Work it up a bit at a time, front and back, until it is loose. Make sure that the siphon is ready to go, and that the corny keg is on the floor just in front of the carboy.
Put the siphon tube into the corny keg. Lift the stopper out of the carboy, and put the stopper into your bucket of sanitizing solution. Ease the siphon into the beer, trying not to disturb it too much. When it is about halfway down, pump it a few times by grabbing the small tube and lifting it up, then pushing it down. Watch the liquid in the tube, can you see bubbles moving downward? It is not always easy to see if the beer is being siphoned. If it does not seem to be moving, pump it a few more times.
Slowly lower the siphon to the bottom, pointing it at the back of the carboy (away from you). Notice that if you angle it too much, it binds in the carboy opening. You can use this as a brake to regulate how slow you move the siphon down. Make sure the siphon tube is hanging in front of the carboy. When you get to the bottom, make sure the siphon is back as far as it can go, and slowly ease up the pressure your hands are putting on the siphon. If you are lucky, you can let go of the siphon and it will stay in one place. The siphon tube hanging down into the corny keg should put enough pressure on it to hold it in place. I usually get a little shot of white stuff running through the siphon hose, which is sediment that I am trying to avoid passing on to the next keg. But it doesn't last too long, so I don't think it transfers too much sludge. If you can find a way to let go of the siphon and let it do its work without touching or bumping it, you will have a much cleaner transfer than if you held on to it the whole time.
When your beer has almost all been siphoned, be ready to pull the siphon tube up. You can tell if your siphon is still working by watching the level of the beer in the carboy. It goes down slowly but surely. It slows down quite a bit as you get toward the bottom of the carboy. When you hear a sucking sound, or when you see the last of the beer disappear from the carboy, immediately pull the siphon up to end the siphoning and avoid taking in too much sediment. At the same time that you are watching the carboy, also watch the corny keg. If it is going to overflow, you need to pull the siphon and stop the transfer.
Remove the siphon tubing from the corny keg, and cap it. Leave the siphon in the carboy, but put the tubing into the sanitizing solution.
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Illustrated Beer Brewing PrimerIngredients :: Equipment :: Preparation :: Steeping :: Sanitation :: Mash Out :: Add Extract :: Boil :: Bittering Hops :: Wort Chiller :: Flavor Hops :: Aroma Hops :: Chill Wort :: Remove Chiller :: Aerate :: Carboy :: Pitch Yeast :: Cap :: Cool the Carboy :: Fermenting :: Corny Keg Rebuild :: Racking :: Reusing Yeast :: Transferring Beer :: Carbonation :: Prost! |
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