Re: any homebrewers?
[ QUOTE ]
Is there anything I need to know about syphoning it to the second container, some one told me to add a little water if necessary to have less of an air pocket at the top of the second container. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
[/ QUOTE ]
Congratulations on your first batch!
Siphon quietly. Avoid splashing at all cost. Oxygenation at this point can be and usually is a disaster.
The purpose of secondary fermentation is to remove the beer from the sediment at the bottom of the fermenter. A good portion of this stuff is yeast that has done it's fermentation work and has settled out. If the beer stays in contact with the sediment for an extended period (a few weeks, maybe) the yeast will start adding flavors to your beer that many folks find undesirable.
Don't worry too much about the head space in your secondary contributing unwanted oxygen to your beer. The residual yeast in the beer is still actively giving off CO2. And since CO2 id heavier than air it will quickly replace any air in the headspace as long as you have a working fermentation lock.
If you do end up adding water to your beer, be sure to boil all the nasties and chlorine out. Or use bottled water.
Let us know how things turn out.
|