secondary fermentation???

I have my first batch of brew currently in my six gallon carboy in its primary fermentation stage. I have been reading up on transfering it to the second fermentor. Some books really emphasized the importance of this and say it can produce off-flavors if you dont transfer to secondary and get rid of some of the non-active yeast cells. Others say that the fermentation process with your average beer is not long enough for it to matter. What is the general concensus on this matter? Is it a serious benefit to do this transfer? I have a auto siphon and 2nd carboy so it would not be much trouble.

Also, it says that when the yeast activity subsides and the krausen settles back in, it is time for the secondary fermentation. Are these the main indicators or are there other ways to tell? does the airlock indicate anything?

I always use a secondary- not because it has to come out soon (it can be in there a really long time before you have to worry about off-flavors from dying yeast), but because I rack it and then allow it to clear up a bit.

The term "secondary fermentation" is a misnomer when it comes to beer. Your fermentation should be completed before moving it to this new tank (normally called a bright tank or clearing tank in the breweries). You are taking it off the yeast cake and shouldn't expect more fermentation to occur. I make wine, too, and you DO have secondary fermentations with wine. So that's why the terms are used interchangeably, I think.

You can't really tell when fermentation is done by airlock activity. The only way to know for sure is to use your hydrometer. Of course, once the krausen falls, the major fermentation is about done. But the yeast are still busy "cleaning up" after themselves so I'd leave it in primary at least a week to 10 days regardless of lack of activity. If you rack too soon, you'll disrupt this process.

Around here, many people recommend the 1-2-3 method. As a minimum, 1 week in primary, 2 in the clearing tank, 3 in bottles. Of course, some people don't use the clearing tank, so they may use the primary vessel for 3 weeks. Some beers need more time, and some need much less. Extra conditioning time is always good, though! Patience is usually rewarded by better beer.

There is no real need to use a secondary but many do to help with getting your beer clearer. Many do dry hopping in a secondary carboy.

Ferementation should be finished by the time of this transfer so it is best to make sure that the yeast have done their work, so Please be patient and let it ferment at least 7 days if not more. I have been going with 10-14 days in the primary and secondary for 7 days or so before bottling. There are no real adverse effects to leaving it in the primary fermentor for 3 weeks and then bottle or keg.

I would try it both ways to see which you prefer.

That clarifies things much more. Thank you. So the hydrometer reading should match with the with what the recipe says the FG should be?

Also, Yooper Chick, I noticed in your gallery that you have an amber ale called Fat and Tired. Is this recipe a fat tire clone? If so would you be willing to post it?

It's already posted! Go to "recipes" under my avatar and it's one of them. There is an extract version and an AG, too.

Your fg should be around 25% of your og, roughly, depending on any unfermentables you have and your yeast. So, yes, if the recipe has a target fg for you, you should be in that neighborhood. If it's not listed we can help you figure it out. One trick to know when it's done is to check the fg three days in a row. If it hasn't moved, it's done!

I started a thread with almost the same theme (its my first brew). I don't have time to look it up and link but under "Members" find my name and then look at my threads.

There is a link in there with 5 pages of posts on the subject.

Hope that helps

Yeah, thats a good thread. very helpful. thx. Yooper, thx for that recipe as Fat Tire is my favorite beer to drink. I can't wait to be making my own simialar brew. How close in taste would you say it is? What kinds of differences? Thanks also for the info on the FG.

The thing is that you can wait to go to the secondary till the FG is stable and all fermentation stops, but don't be surprised at all if the fermentation kicks in again a day or two after it gets in the secondary.

A trick I use and recomend. After you've cooled your wort, pitched your yeast and stirred it up a bit, take your original gravity reading. But leave that beer in the tube you took your hydrometer reading in and place a paper towl damp with StarSan over it and place it next to your fermenter bucket/carboy. That way once airlock activity has stopped, you can easily take gravity readings without opening up (and possibly contaminating) your primary fermenter. And if that tube of beer gets infected, no big deal, but at least your should have a fairly good idea of when fermentation is complete. Then just give it a couple of extra days for good measure before you rack to your clearing tank. I'll actually drop the temp in my "son of a fermantation box" a couple of degrees before I move it to the clearing tank to help the yeast settle out. Then give it a couple of weeks to clear in your secondary and you're good to keg.