robd

Recipes 

when is it the best time to rack into secondary

ChshreCat

Recipes 

I wait three weeks before going to secondary, assuming the ferment finishes out in a week or less.

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"Science + beer = good!"
-Adam Savage

malkore

Recipes 

you can go to secondary when fermentation has completely finished. before that and you could end up stalling fermentation...and if you don't deal with a stuck fermentation properly and bottle anyways, you get bottle bombs.

or just give it 3 weeks in the primary and bottle/keg (at least for most beers)

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Malkore
Primary: English Mild
On tap: Pale Ale, Lancelot's Wheat, English Brown Ale, Steam Beer, HoovNuts IPA
Bottled: MOAM, Braggot, Raspberry Melomel, Merlot, Apfelwein, Pyment, Sweet mead, Cabernet
Gal in 2009: 27, Gal in 2010: 34, Gal in 2011: 13, Gal in 2012: 10

pericles

Recipes 

Plenty of people believe you don't need a secondary. If I'm not brewing something that calls for an addition at secondarying, I don't use one. The reason is that your bottles/keg basically ARE a secondary. Skipping the secondarying also has the advantage of decreasing the probability of infections.

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Primary 1: Hasty IPA
Primary 2:
Secondary: Soured Golden
Kegged: American Wheat
Bottled: Belgian Golden Ale.
Planning: American Amber

ifishsum

Recipes 

The best time is when it's reached it's FG and has been stable for a few days. I like to wait 2 weeks myself, but I still check to be sure that FG has been reached before I move the beer.

True, a secondary isn't necessary for most styles but I prefer to use one because it frees up my primary vessels, and I also dry hop more than half of my beers. I also get a really clear end product.

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"If you're gonna be an ape, be a hairy one" - Spyder

Primary 2: Edwort's Robust Porter
Secondary 1: LW Pale Ale
Secondary 1: Blackened Soul RIS
Kegged: Dead Guy Ale
Kegged: Rye Pale Ale
Kegged: Haus Pale Ale
Kegged: Nut Brown Ale
Kegged: Afrikan Amber
Kegged: Jock Scott Ale
Kegged: Afrikan Amber

WorryWort

Recipes 

Never is the best time!!!

(that probably wasn't helpful, was it?)

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In Process - Russian Imperial Stout, Nelson Sauvin Rye IPA, Mild No.3

In Kegs - Barley Wine, Apfelwein, Wild BlackBerry Wheat, Coffee Oatmeal Porter

Gone - so many :(

passedpawn

Recipes 

Old Rule: 1-2-3 for primary-secondary-bottle.

My Rule 3-0-2. I don't do secondaries anymore unless lagering for extended periods, during which I would like to remove that big trub. BTW, I don't always wait the 2 weeks for bottle. I am very impatient with my creations.