The first batch spent a week in the primary fermenter. After the kreusan fell back into the beer and there were no more bubbles coming through our air lock, we knew it was ready to rack over. The second carboy is smaller than the primary, because at this point, we want to minimize the amount of oxygen that comes in contact with the beer.
We sanitized all of the equipment used in this process. The beer is at its most vulnerable point, and if bacteria gets in the fermenter it can spoil the batch. Before transferring the liquid, we added more hops to the carboy for the dryhopping process. This brings a "fresh hop" flavor to the beer, common for many pale ales and IPAs.
The final step is to "rack" the beer from the primary fermenter to the secondary. This is done using a racking cane (which helps keep out the sediment) and a piece of plastic tubing for siphoning.
Even at this point in the fermentation, the beer tastes fantastic. Provided we didn't introduce any new bacterial ingredients, our beer will only continue to get better. It will spend another 7-10 days int the secondary fermenter until we bottle. Stay tuned!
2 comments:
I can't wait to come check out the final product!
I am going to be racking my first brew into the secondary soon. Nice write-up and pics. The beer looks fantastic.
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