Transferred to secondary too soon?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by mijclarke, Mar 31, 2022.

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  1. mijclarke

    mijclarke Initiate (0) May 4, 2014 Illinois

    My New England DIPA had a 1.080 OG. On day 5 I transferred it to secondary when it had an OG of 1.034. Did I transfer too soon? Hoping it gets to 1.021 - 1.023 based on cosmic punch yeasts attenuation.

    Today is day 10 and it’s at 1.028. I hoping for 1.023 but I’m worried I took it off the yeast cake a little too early. I was paranoid about oxidation so that made me rush the transfer. It does taste good but it’s on the sweet side
     
  2. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    I doubt that you impacted the FG by transferring when you did. But why transfer to secondary at all, especially when concerned about oxidation?

    Regarding your FG expactation of 1.021-1,023, that might be reasonable for a 1.080 DIPA, but what were your grain bill, mash temp, and mash length?

    Also, how much yeast did you pitch and what's your fermentation temperature?

    Last. are you using a known good hydrometer?
     
  3. mijclarke

    mijclarke Initiate (0) May 4, 2014 Illinois

    Similar to Brewers Friend NE DIPA Vic secret mosaic recipe but used Cosmic Punch (British V) instead of Conan. Also used white wheat instead of flaked. Used a bit less cane sugar bc I ran out. Also using hop pellets instead of whole leaf. OG 1.076 FG 1.015

    8.8 lb golden promise
    2.2 lb flaked oats
    2.2 lb white wheat
    1.5 cups of turbinado sugar cane crystals
    Did my first starter with a fresh pack (manufactured feb) of Cosmic punch and proper yeast starter. Poured in 16oz can and added at least 12oz of water. Stirred for about 30 hours.
    Mashed mostly around 152 but it may have drifter a little higher after 30 min. Probably mashed for 75 min
    I tried measuring strike and sparge water. 6.2 gallons strike and 2.6 gallons sparge. I’m realizing now 6.2 gallons may have been too much or my mash had channeling issues bc I had 7.5 gallons pre-boil. Transferred wort from my robobrew electric to kettle and propane burner and got it down close to 5 gallons. Left trub in kettle and got maybe 4.5 gallons in fermenter. When going to secondary (corny keg), the racking arm inside fermenter sample port was in highest position so I think I only got 3.5 gallons into keg. That makes me think that I left alot of yeast behind. I told friends this thing will be ready April 10th and now I’m wondering if I jumped the gun. Sort of hoping I can soft crash on day 15 dry hop 16/17 and cold condition/carbonate days 18-20. One last thing is that I’ve built up pressure to about 7 psi on corny keg with spunding valve. Not sure if yeast like that or not. Figured it might seal in some hop aroma
     
    #3 mijclarke, Mar 31, 2022
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2022
  4. billandsuz

    billandsuz Pooh-Bah (2,097) Sep 1, 2004 New York
    Pooh-Bah

    If the yeast still have work to do, and the yeast are still up to the task, moving to a secondary won't matter one bit, all things being equal. DWHAHB.

    The yeast you left behind in the primary, many bazillion, are yeast that have dropped out and not doing much fermentation anyway. The yeast that are left behind, a few bazillion, they will continue to do the heavy lifting.

    Let it ride. Check your FG.

    Cheers
     
  5. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    I ran your recipe through BrewCipher. 1.021 is probably reasonable.

    Why are you fermenting this at 7 PSI? Yes, pressure slows down fermentation. And no, fermenting under pressure doesn't really seal in hop aroma, beyond a little bit in the headspace at the end that didn't have a chance to leave. If you think about the huge amount of gases produced and expelled during fermentation, it wouldn't amount to anything significant.
     
  6. mijclarke

    mijclarke Initiate (0) May 4, 2014 Illinois

    I opened the spunding valve and dropped pressure to 0. Should I worry about not having a blowoff tube or airlock for sanitation purposes?
     
    VikeMan likes this.
  7. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    When fermenting with a spunding valve in place, set it so that it holds a PSI or 2. That will keep O2 and bugs out.
     
    CBlack85 likes this.
  8. mijclarke

    mijclarke Initiate (0) May 4, 2014 Illinois

    Definitely need to dial in my spunding valve tightening/loosening skills as I either let all the air out or make it rise to 5 psi. Tomorrow (day 14) I’ll be sampling for gravity reading and if it’s 1.023 or below I’ll be soft crashing in preparation of dry hop. Any concern about drop in pressure from temp change? Should I hit the keg with a little CO2 after sampling and then place in fridge all sealed up and disconnected from gas? Plan on putting in fridge for a day, then put in my basement closet, dry hop for 2 days and then back in fridge hooked up to CO2
     
  9. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    I'd recommend maintaing a positive gauge pressure. The best/easiest way to do this is to hook up a CO2 tank/regulator at about 2 PSIG and leave it attached and on. If you just "hit the keg with a little CO2," most of that CO2 will be absorbed by the beer and as the beer volume shrinks and the headspace pressure drops, you could get O2 sucked in through whatever route it can find (most likely the lid seal).
     
    riptorn and mijclarke like this.
  10. mijclarke

    mijclarke Initiate (0) May 4, 2014 Illinois

    On day 14 yesterday I got a gravity reading of 1.026. Not what I was hoping for but it tastes pretty good (tastes more boozy and less sweet than when I got my 1.028 reading on day 10). I finally did check the hydrometer with water at 60 degrees F and it was very close to 1.000. I didn’t think to check temp of my beer when testing gravity so I suppose my gravity could be off slightly and not in the direction I was hoping (My beer was closer to seventy degrees which would give a false low reading - hydrometer would sink slightly more). I decided to cram the keg in my fridge with the CO2 at 2 psi and will be moving it to basement closet after 24 hours and then dry hopping. Plan on releasing magnet and catching internal sous vide magnet on side of keg and slowly moving it side to side a couple times per day. I’ll make sure to avoid the side with the dip tube.
     
  11. mijclarke

    mijclarke Initiate (0) May 4, 2014 Illinois

    I’m thinking my FG may have stalled for two other reasons besides transferring to secondary early and leaving a least a half gallon “non-yeasty” beer in fermenter (just above yeast cake). At one point during the first few days of fermentation my temp varied from 70 to 63. I don’t remember the order but if it went to 70 and then down to 63 that’s less than ideal. Also when I pitched yeast starter it may have been around 72 degrees and my wort was close to 66 degrees so the yeast may have been slightly shocked like jumping into a cool shower.
     
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