Home Brewing, Part IV: Primary and Secondary Fermentation

For those of you following our home brewing series: We've covered a basic list of the things you need to get started . . . how to build your very own wort chiller, saving you a ton of cash . . . and -- the biggie -- how to actually BREW YOUR OWN BEER.

Now, for the final steps of last week’s post (How to Brew Beer) you poured five gallons of wort into the 6.5 gallon bucket, sprinkled in and stirred the yeast, closed the lid, secured the air lock, and placed the bucket on your cool basement floor. So, what do you do next? Absolutely nothing . . . for at least 7-10 days. Time to begin the most difficult step, the waiting game.

At this point, you might have some questions:

Q: How does the wort actually become beer?

A: Over the next 7-10 days, primary fermentation, the yeast will react with the wort by fermenting the malt sugar into alcohol. Yum!


Q: How do I know if it’s working?

A: The byproduct of sugar turning into alcohol is carbon dioxide, CO2, so for the first 5 (or so) days of primary fermentation, you’ll notice CO2 bubbles escaping from the airlock - about 1 bubble every 4-6 seconds. As you approach 7-10 days, the bubbling should taper to about 1 bubble per 30-45 seconds, or no bubbles at all.

Once you’ve been patient for 7-10 days, you can finally open the lid and take a hydrometer reading. Keep in mind, what you will see is not pretty. Frothy foam, or krausen, will be clinging to the sides of the bucket. Don’t worry! This foamy head naturally forms in these initial stages of fermentation and has no harmful effects.



Q: How do I take a hydrometer reading and what is the purpose?

A: A hydrometer measures the relative density, or specific gravity, of a substance in relation to water. As the yeast consumes the wort sugar, ethanol is produced. Since alcohol is less dense than water, the gravity will lower. My oatmeal stout, for example, had a starting gravity of 1.04 and finishing gravity of 1.01. And since it’s difficult to create and recreate same conditions on such a small scale, 5 gallons, the gravity and finished product may vary by batch. In other words, you’re always in for a surprise!


Carefully place the hydrometer in the wort and record where on the scale the wort reads. If the reading is within a few measurements of what’s printed on the kit instructions, you can move on. If you are reading too high, you should close the lid, wait a few days, and take another reading; the yeast may still be active.

Now it’s time to transfer the wort into your secondary fermenter, the 5-gallon glass carboy. The objective here is to clarify and purify the beer by separating it from the sediment and “dead” byproducts. Fermenting in the glass carboy also gives the flavors a chance to develop and mature.

1. Carefully position the two containers so that the 6.5 gallon bucket is higher than the 5-gallon carboy.
2. Prepare the auto siphon by snaking the exit tube into the glass carboy and submerging the siphon head into the wort.
3. Gently pump the siphon and let gravity do its work.
4. As you approach the bottom of the bucket, be careful not to disturb the cloudy sediment. It’s okay if you leave an inch or two of liquid behind.
5. Secure the rubber stopper into the glass carboy, fill a plastic airlock halfway with water, and firmly and snugly fit it into the stopper hole.
6. Carefully place the container on the floor and let rest for another 7-10 days.
7. You should observe air bubbles releasing anywhere from 1 per minute to 1 per 30 seconds. for a few days.

How long you keep your beer in secondary fermentation is really up to you. Because of my anticipation and excitement, I followed the minimum requirements for my first two batches. When I brew my next batch in a few weeks, I will definitely be patient and let the flavors fully develop.


Be sure to check back next week for Part V: How to Build a Kegerator! And if you're just joining us, here's a list of what you need to get started . . . instructions on how to build a wort chiller . . . and how to brew beer.


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Home Brewing, Part III: How to Brew Beer

If you've been following our home brew series, you've already learned some interesting stuff. We've covered a basic list of the things you need to get started . . . as well as how to build your very own wort chiller, saving you a ton of cash. Now, without further hesitation, we're giving you the step-by-step instructions on how to use all that stuff.

If you follow these steps, you should be just fine. But if you have any questions, we'd be happy to help. Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.



Step 1: Prepare the Supplies

1. Purchase 5 gallons of spring water from your local grocery store. Avoid tap water because of its high mineral content.
2. Assemble your Turkey Fryer and connect the gas line to your propane tank.
3. Unpack your beer kit and lay out your grains, hops, and malt.
4. Fill your kitchen sink halfway with warm water and soak Malt Extract (in a plastic or aluminum can); this will make for easy pouring later.
5. Pour your grains into the nylon steeping bag and pull closed.

Step 2: Steep the Grains

1. Pour 3 of your 5 gallons of spring water into the pot and bring to a boil of 155.0°F
2. Clip the nylon grain bag to the pot handle with a carabineer and steep for 20 minutes.
3. To maintain the 155.0°F, bring the temperature to 160.0°F, turn off the burner, and cover with the lid (75% - 100%) based on outside air temperature.
4. Remove the grain bag, drip drain, but do not squeeze it thoroughly.

Step 3: Boil

1. Add the lukewarm malt extract to the brew pot; use a cup to pour some warm brew water into malt extract container to get it all out. Stir vigorously with a plastic paddle.
2. Turn the burner back on and bring the water to a boil. At sight of the first bubble, add the first hops. Boil 30 to 60 minutes (45 minutes typically). Keep a nice rolling boil, but be careful not to boil over. (Especially in warm outside air temperature). These can get messy!
3. At the end of the 45 minutes, add in the second hops, and continue to boil for another 2 minutes.
4. Drop wort chiller in the brew pot with about 15 minutes left in the boil.

Step 4: Cool, Measure, and Store

1. After the boil has finished, run cool water through wort chiller to bring the temperature down below 100°F (80-100°F). This will take about 15 minutes.
2. Add 2 more gallons of spring water for a total volume of 5 gallons.
3. Carefully, and preferably with help, transfer to wort to the primary fermenter (6.5 gallon plastic bucket).
4. Carefully drop in the hydrometer and take a reading. If the gravity (printed on the specific beer instructions) reads higher than the suggested range, add more water until it’s within the desired range.
5. With the temperature at 80°F or less, sprinkle yeast (if using dry) on top of wort or pour in liquid yeast. After yeast starts dissolving, stir in thoroughly with plastic paddle.
6. Cover securely with lid, and add airlock filled with water into grommet hole.
7. Move to basement for primary fermentation.

Next week we'll cover Part IV: Primary and Secondary Fermentation! And if you missed last week’s tips on how to build a wort chiller or our first post on what you'll need to start, check those out now!

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Home Brewing, Part I: What You'll Need

We didn't lie. We know it's been a while, but we wanted to wait until we knew our own creations were worthy before sharing this whole process with all of you. If you're curious -- yes, they taste GOOD! We have learned that it's incredibly possible to brew your own tasty beverages at home!

But before you can begin this wonderfully rewarding and creative process, you'll need to gather the essentials. We were able to purchase/amass these items for only a couple hundred dollars (less if memory serves us right). And though this may seem like a lot at first, once you have all your tools together, you'll be on your way to making gallons upon gallons of your own IPAs, pale ales, stouts, porters, etc.

(We'll even teach you how to make one of these, below, so you won't need to suffer with the $80 price tag!)


In Part I of our Home Brewing Series, we'll focus on the essential beer-making components and provide a brief description of their purpose. Though not listed below, one of the most valuable things you can find is a person who has either done this whole process before or a friend who also shares your passion and enthusiasm. It's not only easier to figure everything out together, it's also more entertaining.

For us, this person was our neighbor Shelby. You may remember him from our first post about home brewing. Shelby and his lovely wife Leslie moved to TX this week . . . and we already miss them dearly. However, our beer adventures will live on forever. And we hope to continue brewing together virtually.




So, here's what you'll need to get started:

• 6.5 Gallon plastic fermenter with lid (for primary fermentation)
• 5 Gallon Glass Carboy (for secondary fermentation)
• Thermohydrometer (to measure the gravity)
• Dual Scale Liquid Thermometer (to read temperature during primary fermentation)
• 10" Funnel with Strainer (to collect debris/sediment between batches)
• Airlock 3 piece type (for fermentation -- allows excess CO2 to escape)
• Airlock brush (to clean the airlock between batches)
• Small Universal Carboy Bung - Drilled (to combine with airlock in glass carboy)
• 1/2" Auto Siphon (to transfer from primary to secondary fermentation)
• 28" Stirring Paddle - plastic (to stir ingredients when boiling)
• Nylon Boiling bag 8 x 9 in. (to hold grains for seeping)
• 30 Quart Stainless Steel Turkey Fryer (to boil the wort, beer before it ferments)
• Small Propane Tank

And of course, a beer kit! We started with the Hop Scare IPA w/Munton's Gold Dry Yeast, waited two weeks, and staggered in the Oatmeal Stout w/ Munton's 6 gm dry yeast. Inside each kit you will find grains, yeast, malt extract, hops, priming sugar (for bottling), and of course, step by step instructions.

We love to support our local homebrew store, but decided to buy our brewing supplies and ingredients online from Midwest Home Brewing and Winemaking Supplies because of their vast inventory and lower prices. Keep in mind, though, that for last minute supplies like extra yeast, hops for dry hopping, extracts for flavoring, hitting up your local store is your best bet.

Some definitions:

• Primary fermentation is when the wort finally becomes beer through the conversion of sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide. This conversion is done by the yeast which "eat" the sugars; you just need to provide the right conditions for the yeast to do its job. (source)
• Secondary fermentation is the process of transferring, or "racking," your beer from one carboy to another, leaving the dead yeast and other sediment behind, to allow it to continue aging and fermenting. (source)

Be sure to check back next Thursday for Home Brewing, Part II: How Do I Brew Beer?

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THRISTY THURSDAY: Scenes from Home Brewing

What the HECK is THAT? This weekend, my next-door neighbor and I began our first home brewing quest. We spent the entire afternoon outdoors -- building a turkey fryer, boiling water, adding ingredients, etc., etc., etc. So, instead of reviewing a new beer this week, I thought I'd give you some eye candy. Ashley took most of these photos of us as we tooled around with all our materials. I also took some video, which I'll be posting sometime in the near future.

We're not experts, so before I give instructions or write a witty how-to posts, I want to see how our first batch turns out. We're both using kits for this first round, mine is "Hop Scare I.P.A." and his is "Bavarian Wheat" . . . both should be tasty.





We spent much of the first hour just building everything. I'll explain all the parts and pieces another day. Good news: It wasn't too terribly difficult. Then we moved onto the more exciting stuff, like our ingredients. Boiling. Stirring. Waiting. Well, that part wasn't so fun.

You could even smell the hoppy goodness from across the street. That's when we gained yet another neighbor.






Like I said above, it was a gorgeous day and a good time . . . but took longer than we thought. Now everything is fermenting in our basements. We can't wait to move onto the next step -- and even move on to our second batches.




Anyone else out there enjoy home brewing? We'd love your tips, tricks, and any other suggestions! Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker@gmail.com.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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