iambeer

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On recent brews I've skipped the primary fermenter and have gone directly to the secondary. So far this has turned out just fine. I know people say the secondary is not necessary but I'm skeptical, especially when the primaries are getting washed and I just need to move pre-aging forward into the fermentation/signs of fermentation phase. I use 3 gallon carboys for secondaries. For primaries, I only have a 11 liter glass container which is being cleaned. I am thinking about upgrading my vessels to greater ones so that I can stop using blow off tubes in my secondaries.

Hang Glider

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This is a joke, right?

if not...your yeast do not care what vessel they're in - they're going to get to work in the first vessel you leave them alone in. You can call that vessel "Lake Placid" - -they don't care. It's performing PRIMARY fermentation, regardless of the name. Secondary is not a fermentation, but a 'resting' phase where the yeast can settle out (floculate) and the beer can clear. This occurs no matter what vessel they're in. It's all about TIME.

HeadyKilowatt

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I'm confused by your terminology. There's no such thing as "going directly to secondary." It's only a "secondary" if there has been a primary. What you are describing is a long primary with NO secondary, not "all secondary."

I think you are referring to a carboy as "secondary," but the term refers to what's happening in the vessel, not what type of vessel it is.

If your question is "Can I use a blowoff tube in a carboy?" then the answer is yes, that's perfectly fine.

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bknifefight

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Lol You have 914 posts and you don't realize what a secondary is?

nukebrewer

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Since when did post count equate to brewing experience and/or knowledge of terminology?

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PagodaBrewingCo

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Regardless, it's still amusing.

nukebrewer

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Not really. I admit, I was confused by the question at first, but I didn't laugh to myself or feel the need to publicly bash the OP. We're supposed to be fostering a culture where new brewers don't need to be afraid to ask a "stupid question" for fear of being made fun of by elitist a$$hats.

Anyway, we're getting off topic. To the OP, I agree with all the legitimate responses you've been given so far. I don't have any additional information to add, just putting in my affirmation that I feel the advice you've been given is sound. Cheers!

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iambeer

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First of all I want to thank everyone for their input. And for the record, I don't feel bashed. This has been an enlightening thread for me. Again.. thank you. I have decided that I will stop using primaries permanently and only use secondary vessels. I truly believe primaries are not necessary and are a thing of the past before the internet was invented. We should all be using secondaries and sometimes tertiaries for aging and mad adjuncts like fruit and vanilla beans.

Well, I don't know what your yeast is like but I'm pretty sure mine do care what I call the vessel they're in. Because they can feel my mood and intention, I try to stop them from reading my mind by playing soft music near them. I encourage you should try it. The problem now is I don't know what kind of music they like; however I have reviewed evidence they prefer non-lossy audio compression.


I must use blowoffs (blow-off tubes) or the bung will pop and make a huge mess from the frothing krausen. I was only suggesting that I will have to upgrade to larger vessels for my secondaries so that I can stop using these tubes which aren't just hard to clean but add the chance of infection.

Chipman

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My yeast get excited when I watch them have sex. I bet soft music would be better..for both of us.

Did you know that Al Gore invented secondaries?

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Cooking with beer? Been doing it for years.
Add it to the food? I'll have to try it sometime.

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nukebrewer

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1) Without a primary you don't have beer. Going "straight to secondary" is like putting your wort in a fermenter and then not adding yeast. You have to ferment your wort and that is accomplished by a primary.

2) This is starting to sound suspiciously like a troll thread.

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