To go Secondary or not

Hey all,

I'm trying to complete this extract Pumpkin Ale by Thanksgiving. It's been in the primary for 7 days. Now I've got 2 weeks left before kegging and force carbonating to be in time for Turkey Day. Do I:

a) leave in primary, rack into keg and enjoy

b) move into secondary now so it can clear a little

Also, I have never done this, but should I cold crash the beer before racking?

Thanks,


Henrik

I've not really got an opinion on it. Secondary is useful for clarifying but most people I know don't bother if they've got several weeks in a Primary unless it is for a contest. That's just my understanding of it.

I really never understand this secondary business. Secondary in the keg. Your beer will clear in the keg. Run a quarter glass out every day or so while it's carbonating to suck up settling material, but after that, your beer will clear in the keg.

I've never once used a secondary the way people talk about using secondaries here. Never. The only time I'd even consider it would be if I needed the space or was doing a beer over 1.1. I consistently produce crystal clear beer without filtering or using a secondary. Secondary in the keg. Save yourself the time.

Unless you are racking onto some real pumpkin, you can just leave it in the primary.

Crash cooling will clear your beer much faster than a secondary, so I'd definitely do that prior to kegging.

Viva secondary!

barmyarmy said:

viva secondary!

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lol

I know it gets a bad rap but I like the secondary still for some beers.

I put my pumpkin in secondary - for some reason it always seems gunkier than other beers and getting it off of the primary junk seems to help.

I also cold crash the secondary. Takes longer when bottle conditioning, but it does still work. You're kegging (and I'm assuming force carbonating) so you should be gtg.

For my first beer recipe, Honey Cream Ale, I racked it to secondary after 6 days because I added 1lb of clover field honey. So like above I wouldn't have moved it to a secondary unless I was adding something to it.

For me it will eventually be primary then move to keg. I just don't have all that hardware yet.

WhiskeySam said:

I really never understand this secondary business. Secondary in the keg.

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As someone who uses secondaries, I'd actually love to pick your brain on this a little bit.

The reason I secondary is to clear the beer. I find that even after the beer sits in primary for 3 weeks, if I rack to secondary, then cold crash and hit it with gelatin, more stuff falls out of solution. If I hadn't used a secondary, that stuff would've ended up in my keg. Couldn't it potentially clog my pickup tube?

Also, by the time I rack beer to the keg, I'm ready to carbonate it. So if you're doing "secondary in the keg," do you rack to the keg, then wait another couple of weeks to begin carbonating? Or can it still clarify and condition under carbonation pressure?

I'd love to eliminate the secondary step, but can I do so while still having clear beer and not clogging my keg's pickup tube?

kombat said:

As someone who uses secondaries, I'd actually love to pick your brain on this a little bit.

The reason I secondary is to clear the beer. I find that even after the beer sits in primary for 3 weeks, if I rack to secondary, then cold crash and hit it with gelatin, more stuff falls out of solution. If I hadn't used a secondary, that stuff would've ended up in my keg. Couldn't it potentially clog my pickup tube?

Also, by the time I rack beer to the keg, I'm ready to carbonate it. So if you're doing "secondary in the keg," do you rack to the keg, then wait another couple of weeks to begin carbonating? Or can it still clarify and condition under carbonation pressure?

I'd love to eliminate the secondary step, but can I do so while still having clear beer and not clogging my keg's pickup tube?

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Your yeast will settle in the primary just as quickly as it will in the secondary. You'll have to be a bit careful not to suck up yeast and trub when you transfer to your keg but you will have subtracted one step.

yeah, clarity just takes time regardless of where it happens. Like the other guys here, I go right to the keg. My schedule is basically 3 weeks in primary (dry-hop if necessary during the 3rd week), then carb for a few days. I try not to pull a lot of yeast when siphoning and usually leave about an inch of beer behind. I adjust the batch size so I don't miss it.

Speaking of batch sizes, brewing 10 gallons is also nice because that second 5 sits around for a while longer.

Skip the secondary, and brew another beer to put that extra fermentation vessel to use.