fishersfirst

Recipes 

Hi,

I've just finished my first AG batch. I've normally not done a secondary fermentation when doing partial grain/extract brews.
I'd typically primary for two weeks then rack off, prime and bottle.

Given this has been my first AG and I've dry hopped for a week after the first week of fermentation, is it ok to bottle as I usually do, or should I invest in a glass carboy secondary for future batches.
What are the benefits/ disadvantages?

Cheers!

pabloj13

Recipes 

All-grain or extract makes little difference in secondary versus no secondary. Many people don't secondary unless adding things like dry hops or fruit or aging for very long times (i.e. months). Either way will be fine. It's really a personal preference.

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BrewinHooligan

Recipes 

I own a 5 gallon glass carboy that I have never once used. If I do a fruit beer I will use it as a secondary, but even for dry hopping I use primary only and my beer tastes just fine and clears up very well with whirlfloc.

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Primary: Skeeter Pee
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BrewWhat

Recipes 

I've done both ways. They both work fine. The advantage I see with a secondary is that the beer clears better and faster. You just need to make sure that the yeast are done doing cleanup to avoid diacetyl.

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fishersfirst

Recipes 

Thanks folks,
I've used Whirlfloc in the boil.
The wort was cooled with both copper wort chiller and an ice bath.
The siphoned beer still looked a bit cloudy when bottling, but I take it that this will clear a bit more while conditioning?

Would the secondary be better in clearing the beer as you land up with less yeast in the bottles?

RM-MN

Recipes 

More time would be better in clearing the beer and you get very little yeast in the bottles with sufficient time.
The beer I left in the fermenter for 9 weeks has so little yeast in the bottle it is hard to even see it.

msa8967

Recipes 

I rarely secondary my beers unless I plan on very long conditioning times (a couple of months for an Imperial Stout). All of my ales I leave in the primary for 3-4 weeks. Often I will cold crash these for 24-48 hours prior to bottling or kegging. This has given me very clear beer.

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Mick Arnett
North Liberty, Iowa
"Beer will change the world. I don't know how, but it will."