Beer Making: Part 2

Apr
5

2007

Sanitize The Carboy, Auto-Siphon, Bung and Air Lock

After the beer has fermented for a few days and you no longer see any bubbles appearing in the air lock of the fermenter, it is time to siphon the beer into the 5 gallon glass carboy. The Deluxe Brewing Kit comes with an Auto-Siphon, a length of siphon tubing, a bung and a second air lock. The bung is a sort of "rubber stopper" for the carboy – it has a hole in it for the air lock. The Auto-Siphon is a very handy tool and is extremely easy to use. Sanitize the Auto-Siphon, tubing, carboy, the bung and the air lock. You can fill the carboy about half way with water, then add the sanitizer, then slosh it all around the inside of the carboy so all the surfaces are sanitized. Then insert the Auto-Siphon with tubing attached. Let it soak for the recommended time, then place a saucepan or pot below the carboy and pump the Auto-Siphon once or twice to begin the siphoning process. Run the sanitizer down through the tubing, siphoning the solution into the pot. Take apart the air lock and put it in the pot.

Siphoning

Place the fermenter on a counter top or other raised surface, remove the lid and insert the Auto-Siphon. Avoid siphoning the sediment at the bottom of the fermenter. The Auto-Siphon that came with my brewing kit had an anti-sediment tip which came in handy. Place the carboy on the floor and insert the other end of the tubing and pump it once or twice to start the siphoning. DO NOT SPLASH. Avoid aeration of the beer and introducing oxygen which can cause off-flavors:

You want to take another hydrometer reading at this time, so using the same tube that you did for the first reading (the one that comes with the thermometer or hydrometer), lift the siphon tube just out of the carboy and fill the tube about 3/4ths full, then replace the siphon tube into the carboy to continue siphning the beer. Aye, you can smell the aroma!

Here’s another shot of the carboy filling up with beer:

Here’s a shot of the second hydrometer reading:

The hydrometer reading should have fallen about half way from the first reading. "Half way" would be a reading that drops half way to 1. In my case, the first reading was 1.050 and my second was 1.020 … slightly more than half way, so we’re in good shape, here.

Carboy Handle, Bung and Air Lock

The Deluxe Brewing Kit comes with a carboy handle … it comes in handy when you’re muscling that 50 lbs or so of beer around the house. When you’re done siphoning the beer, slip the handle over the neck of the carboy and tighten the wing nut. Make sure it provides a secure grip. Next, insert the bung and air lock – again filled half full with water: