prevent unwanted particles from being bottled

[gonzoz]

Newb question:

I have my American Light Ale in the 6.5g carboy. It's ready to bottle
as there is no action in the airlock and it's 9 days fermenting. The
kraeusen has retreated but has left behind clumps floating on top. I'm
pretty sure I should bottle now and don't want to get anything in the
bottle that shouldn't be there. I am going to transfer the carboy
contents to a "bottling bucket" for ease. What do you suggest to keep
unwanted particles from being bottled while protecting the ales
integrity?

-Michael G.

[Mylo]

Don't shake it up before you rack....

You can get a little dohicky for the bottom of your racking cane that draws from the top. Keep it hovering over the trub on the bottom. Practice makes perfect. The other thing you can do, if you have the means, is to crash cool it before you rack. The trub tends to "tighten up" after a few days on the cold. It is then much easier to not suck it up during the racking. However, if you are bottle conditioning that method might drop too many yeast out. You will need some in suspension to carb your beer.

Good luck.


Mylo

[BDawg]

IMO, 9 days is actually still kinda young, regardless of the bubble action. Patience is the key. It is very rare that I ever go less than 14 days in the primary. The yeast might not be visibly active, but they are in there post-processing a whole bunch of fermentation by products. Give them the time they need. If you need beer, brew another batch, and keep the pipeline full so you don't ever have to drink your beer before it's ready.

HTH-

[madmonkeybrewing]

+1 on both -

Also you might just leave an inch or two above the doohickey... wish I could remember what they call that. That way you won't be sucking anything down.

I'd be careful with crash cooling. I think the best advice is to get kegs! I almost quit brewing because of those damn bottles.

The only time I've gone less then two weeks was because I needed the beer for something, and even then it was 10 or 11. I don't trust airlocks to tell me how it's going. They're only really good in the beginning so you know that the fermentation started. Most of the time (especially when I was secondary...ing) I would let it go for close to a month and a half. Partly 'cause I'm lazy but partly because I like it to age with it bretheren and to make sure the yeast cleaned up after itself.

Also if you aren't using a starter you should be really careful to make sure everything is actually finished.

Good luck, I'm sure this came too late

[gonzoz]

Thanks for the comments.

I waited 15 days and used a metal mesh coffee filter when moving the beer from the carboy to the bottling bucket. I was careful not to splash or mix air into the product. Seems to have gone well...got my beer out and left the trub and MOB behind.