How Long ?

ralw

Hi, I'm new to home brewing & have just started my first batch of lager.
It's finished fermenting & I added finings a couple of days ago, it hasn't cleared completely & still has bits floating near the surface.
How long can I leave it in the fermenting bin to settle further or do I need to get it out fairly quickly ?
I don't have a second bin to transfer it to, I do have enough demijohns to hold it, would be Ok to syphon it in to those & leave a while longer before bottling it ?
Thanks

HBO_Staff

Welcome, and we're pleased to hear you have starter brewing, if adding finings t wont always clear it completely, although it can be affected by temperature etc, and any froth left on the surface will be left behind when you bottle it. It's best not to transfer more than needed, but leaving it to settle for a couple more days before bottling wont usually do any harm. Once it has got as clear as it will it can then be carefully syphoned over it to bottles, leaving as much sediment behind as possible.

What you can sometimes find is if you have using a fining or managed to bottle and left nearly all the sediment behind, this means there is less yeast suspended in the brew to produce secondary fermentation. This can mean that it takes longer to carbonate in the bottles, so once bottled try and leave it in a warm place around 20 degrees C for a week to help the priming sugar dissolve, then it can be moved somewhere a few degrees cooler to help it fully clear and condition, and this is when the full flavours will develop