Questions, and more questions

[Hman1962]

Hello everyone. I got into home brewing this past February. So far, I have brewed 8 batches of beer. I know more now, than when I first started but there is a lot I need to learn. I have some questions that I am looking for answers and opinions. Right now, I am brewing extract kits, but plan on migrating to All Grain sometime next year. Here is my set up.

Gigawort electric kettle. Fermintors, are Delta 8-gallon stainless steel conical vessel, a Big Mouth Bubbler® EVO 2 - 5 Gallon Glass Fermenter, and I have 3 6.5-gallon plastic fermenting buckets.

I filter my water through a carbon filter, and also treat the water with half a Campden tablet. I will get a RO system in the future. This has been discussed in the post: https://www.brewersfriend.com/forum/threads/hello-from-minnesota.18120/

I just purchased a Milwaukee pH meter, and will start using that in my next brew session.

I have been following the instructions that come with the extract kits here is one I brewed on 9/24/25 please see attached file. After I steep the grains, i let it drain through a screen. Should I squeeze the bag?



I have questions about these instructions. Like I said I have been following these to a T. 2 weeks primary, then transfer to a secondary for another 2 weeks, then bottle condition for another 2 weeks. Do I need to let it ferment for 2 weeks? Or when the bubbles stop in the airlock, transfer to secondary at that time? (the batch that is in the Delta conical vessel I plan on leaving in there until I bottle) If I don't transfer to secondary, just start the timer for secondary? Do I even need to do a secondary if I'm cold crashing?

I just heard about cold crashing in this post: https://www.brewersfriend.com/forum/threads/irish-moss.18137/



I cold crashed the Cream Ale I had fermenting in the Big Mouth bubbler. My question is should I cold crash every batch of beer I brew? If so, when



Thanks in advance for your answers or opinions, and I will probably have more when I hear from all of you.

 

[Zambi]

I have no experience with extract. I've done all grain biab from day 1
No need to transfer to a secondary fermenter.
Wait those 2 weeks. The yeast is still active when the bubbles stop. It's just not reproducing anymore. It's cleaning/clearing up side products
4 weeks seems overkill to me but won't do any harm
Bottle condition for at least a week. 2 weeks is fine. Then keep in the fridge for a couple of days before drinking.
One tip for bottle conditioning: use 1 or 2. Pet bottles (like sprite or coke) and you can more or less follow carbonation by squeezing the bottle.

 

[dmtaylor]

Belgian yeasts are fussy. Leave for an entire month before racking or chilling. For saisons, I like to start fermentation in upper 60s for about 3 days, then bring to about 74 F for the rest of the month. No need to rack off the yeast, much better to just leave it in primary the whole time.

I'm not a fan of cold crashing. I can cold crash all I want after the beer is done fermenting and packaged. During fermentation, leave the beer warm-ish.

Ferment in glass or stainless. Plastic breathes oxygen which hurts the beer. Plastic is suitable really only for super quick beers that are done in 3 or 4 days, which would include any fermentations with Windsor, S-33, or kveik yeast.

pH control is more important for all-grain brewing, less important when extract is the primary source. Calibrate your pH meter well and often. When you get around to mashing, aim for 5.5-5.6 as measured at room temperature, NOT 5.3-5.4. Although, regardless, anywhere in this Goldilocks zone is technically acceptable.

Also, INVEST IN YOUR OWN GRAIN MILL. Homebrew shops are notorious for doing a super shitty milling job. Even if you run it through twice, it's not as good as milling your own. Crush until you are scared. There should be a lot of flour, but the husks should remain mostly intact. It's a delicate balance.

Squeezing the bag is optional. It can lead to haze and off-flavors, but nothing super off-putting. I like to rinse mine with hot water instead of squeezing.

When bottling (I bottle most of mine since 1999), it usually takes about 8 or 9 days for decent carbonation with the bottles left at room temperature. You can try one after about 8 days to see where it's at. If fully carbonated, you can cool them down, otherwise leave a few more days. I recommend priming with 5/8 cup sugar per 5 gallons, which is 4.1 oz per 5 gal. Never use more than this, never, unless you love gushers and bombs.

I could go on, but this is a good start. If you want dozens of more talking points, check this out:

https://live.staticflickr.com/4232/35033210393_37d5c0f7a8_b.jpg

 

[Mastoras007]

You just started but you have super better equipment than a average homebrewer
Lol good work

 

[Hman1962]

You just started but you have super better equipment than a average homebrewer
Lol good work

Yes, lots of Facebook market place deals!

 

[Hman1962]

Belgian yeasts are fussy. Leave for an entire month before racking or chilling. For saisons, I like to start fermentation in upper 60s for about 3 days, then bring to about 74 F for the rest of the month. No need to rack off the yeast, much better to just leave it in primary the whole time.

I'm not a fan of cold crashing. I can cold crash all I want after the beer is done fermenting and packaged. During fermentation, leave the beer warm-ish.

Ferment in glass or stainless. Plastic breathes oxygen which hurts the beer. Plastic is suitable really only for super quick beers that are done in 3 or 4 days, which would include any fermentations with Windsor, S-33, or kveik yeast.

pH control is more important for all-grain brewing, less important when extract is the primary source. Calibrate your pH meter well and often. When you get around to mashing, aim for 5.5-5.6 as measured at room temperature, NOT 5.3-5.4. Although, regardless, anywhere in this Goldilocks zone is technically acceptable.

Also, INVEST IN YOUR OWN GRAIN MILL. Homebrew shops are notorious for doing a super shitty milling job. Even if you run it through twice, it's not as good as milling your own. Crush until you are scared. There should be a lot of flour, but the husks should remain mostly intact. It's a delicate balance.

Squeezing the bag is optional. It can lead to haze and off-flavors, but nothing super off-putting. I like to rinse mine with hot water instead of squeezing.

When bottling (I bottle most of mine since 1999), it usually takes about 8 or 9 days for decent carbonation with the bottles left at room temperature. You can try one after about 8 days to see where it's at. If fully carbonated, you can cool them down, otherwise leave a few more days. I recommend priming with 5/8 cup sugar per 5 gallons, which is 4.1 oz per 5 gal. Never use more than this, never, unless you love gushers and bombs.

I could go on, but this is a good start. If you want dozens of more talking points, check this out:

https://live.staticflickr.com/4232/35033210393_37d5c0f7a8_b.jpg

Thank you for your reply!

 

[Sandy Feet]

I don't have any issues with my plastic Fermonster. Belgian beers do normally need some extra time to develop, but they can develop after packaging and during a cold crash. I made a lower alcohol Dubbel that came out fantastic just from a two week fermentation. After a couple of weeks in the keg, it was very good. Your Belgian temperature schedule depends on the yeast. I also do like to start around 68, and I will get up to 74ish for the French Saison. 80s for a Belgian Saison. I squeeze the living shit out if the bag. You want the extra sugars. If you can get corn sugar instead of table sugar, it is an even 3/4 cup or 5 oz to prime 5 gallons. Corn sugar is easier to measure. I didn't touch any bottles until about 11 days when I bottled. I let one cold crash at least overnight and tried it. If it was good, I cold crashed the rest.

 

[Sunfire96]

I think 95% of homebrewers skip the secondary fermentation and just let it ride out in the primary fermenter. The more you transfer, the more you risk oxidizing or infecting the batch.

I don't believe squeezing the bag has any negative effects.

Leave your beer in primary until the gravity doesn't change between readings taken at least 2 days apart. Bubbles through the airlock can deceive you as a measure of fermentation progress. If you don't want to risk contamination/oxygen in order take a sample, just leave it the full 2 weeks (except for saisons or Belgians and some sours).

Welcome to the forum and to homebrewing!

 

[Dave Y]

I have been following the instructions that come with the extract kits here is one I brewed on 9/24/25 please see attached file. After I steep the grains, i let it drain through a screen. Should I squeeze the bag?

Squeeze, don't squeeze... if you have the pre-boil volume you need, don't bother. If you need more volume to make or come close to your numbers, go for it. I've done both, but I generally brew 6.25 gallon batches, which is plenty of 'overhead' to cover my transfer to fermenter, yeast harvesting, and trub removal and still have more than 5 gallons at kegging time.

There's been urban legend around bag squeezing and tannins for some time and there's probably an element of truth in it but also probably blown way out of proportion.

2 weeks primary, then transfer to a secondary for another 2 weeks, then bottle condition for another 2 weeks. Do I need to let it ferment for 2 weeks?

2 weeks won't hurt it, but in most non lager situations, it's not really going to help either if the fermentation is actually done. You can track fermentation by the gravity readings the old fashioned way or with fancy new hydrometers like Tilt - which I use.

Secondary fermentation is probably not strictly necessary unless there will be a long 'rest' time for the wort, in which case getting the wort off the trub at the bottom of your fermenter would help. I haven't had a fermentation go more than 2 weeks since my failed dunkelweizen about 18 months ago. I tried to rescue it; stuck fermentation but wasn't able to. Even my slow fermenting lagers are usually finished in 8 days or less.

Or when the bubbles stop in the airlock, transfer to secondary at that time? (the batch that is in the Delta conical vessel I plan on leaving in there until I bottle) If I don't transfer to secondary, just start the timer for secondary? Do I even need to do a secondary if I'm cold crashing?

The guidance I got was 'when airlock activity drops to one bubble or less every 2 minutes, fermentation is effectively done. This is vintage advice, I've been brewing since the 20th century. I don't do a secondary fermentation for the sole reason that it introduces another chance for contaminants to become involved in the brew. That, and I don't let the wort/beer sit on yeast for long periods of time.

should I cold crash every batch of beer I brew? If so, when

I do. I cold crash the day after I reach target gravity and it's stable. In vigorous fermentation - wheat beer, Belgian or other Saison strains, Kveik - the Tilt will bounce in the wort and you can get wildly different readings every 15 seconds while it's ongoing. Once it calms down it's usually spot on but, it can get caked with yeast so for these brews I always backstop the tilt with a manual reading.

The cold crash will help remove particulates in suspension and 'drop' them out of the liquid to the bottom, so your pickup tube should get nothing but clear wort.

INVEST IN YOUR OWN GRAIN MILL.

Solid advice and especially if doing brew in a bag.

 

[BarbarianBrewer]

You have a nice setup @Hman1962! I stopped racking to secondary early on in my brewing career so, the whole fermentation occurs in the primary fermenter. Back when I bottled, I always fermented for 3 weeks. I didn't want to to take gravity readings to know exactly when fermentation finished. Now that I keg I start cold crashing around day 12 and keg on day 14.

I used to use, and actually prefer, glass fermenters but, I've heard too many horror stories about injuries after dropping glass fermenters. And the older I got the more likely a dropped fermenter was in my future. So I now use either a Speidel 30L or a Fermzilla All Rounder 30L fermenter. The only time I use a glass fermenter now when I bulk age a Wee Heavy or W00t Stout beer.

Airlock activity will tell you when there is active fermentation but, not when fermentation is complete. If you need to know exactly when fermentation is complete you need to take gravity readings. If you're not in a hurry, then just let it sit for 3 weeks. You don't need to worry about getting the beer off the yeast as soon as possible. It would take at least 2 months in the fermenter before you begin to risk off flavors from yeast autolysis or other problems.

I would definitely recommend using a priming sugar calculator, and not use the same amount of priming sugar for all beers, (unless you only brew one beer style) because different beer styles require different levels of carbonation.

 

[Craigerrr]

#1 get rid of the glass immediately
Google glass carboy injuries. Mine was pretty minor compared to what you will see, but it took months for my finger to heal up...

Secondary? What is that?
Kidding, but it is not necessary, at all.
After 80+ batches I have yet to do a Secondary.

Go ahead and get a pH meter, but you won't really need it until you start doing all grain. What is important is the mash pH. As you are doing extract someone else has done the mashing for you. Personally I trust the pH prediction in the software I use, and I am getting great results. I tried a few pH meters a few years ago, and found them to be fussy to calibrate. If you are going to get one, get a REALLY good one, expect to spend upwards of $200

As has been mentioned length of fermentation will be yeast dependant. For a typical yeast strain like US-05 for instance, you should definitely give it a solid two weeks.

What is probably most important is fermentation temperature, which is also yeast dependant.

 

[Sandy Feet]

For every question, there will be multiple answers as you can see. My idea of cold crashing is packaging it and turning the temp down while the keg carbonates.

 

[Megary]

For every question, there will be multiple answers as you can see. My idea of cold crashing is packaging it and turning the temp down while the keg carbonates.

This.

 

[Hman1962]

For every question, there will be multiple answers as you can see. My idea of cold crashing is packaging it and turning the temp down while the keg carbonates.

Yes, and I was expecting/hoping for multiple answers and opinions! The more of each gives me more to think about and more to research. I have John Palmer's book "How to Brew" but have yet to open it up. : (

 

[Megary]

Yes, and I was expecting/hoping for multiple answers and opinions! The more of each gives me more to think about and more to research. I have John Palmer's book "How to Brew" but have yet to open it up. : (

100 brewers, 100 different ways to brew.

The fun is finding what works for you, it’s a great hobby. Cheers.

 

[Dave Y]

100 brewers, 100 different ways to brew.

100 brewers, 101 opinions. That's how I've always understood it.

 

[Craigerrr]

There is also no wrong way to brew.
Brew, ask questions, learn, repeat

 

[Sandy Feet]

Yes, and I was expecting/hoping for multiple answers and opinions! The more of each gives me more to think about and more to research. I have John Palmer's book "How to Brew" but have yet to open it up. : (

That is a very helpful book. You might want to read a few chapters if you get a chance. It starts with the basics before getting into the more scientific stuff.

 

[BarbarianBrewer]

For every question, there will be multiple answers as you can see. My idea of cold crashing is packaging it and turning the temp down while the keg carbonates.

My thought on cold-crashing is that it is a specific step before kegging/bottling, with the goal being to get yeast and trub to drop out of solution so you can transfer clear(er) beer to the keg or bottles. Racking the beer to the serving vessel(s) first and then putting it in the fridge is what I would call cold-conditioning. Not saying your wrong (at least not out loud ), it's just that cold-crashing being a separate deliberate step makes sense to my brain.

 

[Megary]

My thought on cold-crashing is that it is a specific step before kegging/bottling, with the goal being to get yeast and trub to drop out of solution so you can transfer clear(er) beer to the keg or bottles. Racking the beer to the serving vessel(s) first and then putting it in the fridge is what I would call cold-conditioning. Not saying your wrong (at least not out loud ), it's just that cold-crashing being a separate deliberate step makes sense to my brain.

I never cold crashed, rather I do what Sandy describes. But my beer sits in the fermenter 2 full weeks, at which point most everything that is going to drop out has. Cold conditioning for another week or two, plus a top draw in the keg usually gets me the clarity I'm after. Sure, there is usually more gunk in the keg when it's kicked, but it's pretty minimal. Not to say that cold crashing isn't helpful, but for me it seems like a time saver only and not something that will get me a clearer beer in the end. I certainly could be wrong about that though.