FrankB

Recipes 

I have my first batch, a Brewers Best Russian Imperial, in my secondary right now. It was in the primary for 10 days. My starting gravity reading was 1.069 and the last reading before going into the secondary was 1.020 which matches the the final gravity reading form the kits instructions. My starting was just under the listed starting which was at 1.070. Now it has been in the secondary for three days now and I have not sceen any sign of additional fermentation. The airlock does not appear to have had any CO2 escape as the top part of the air lock is sitting on the bottom part with no air pushing it up like while in the primary. Since the CO2 layer may not be there should I go ahead and bottle the beer?

peepfoot

Recipes 

FrankB, I know you will get alot of this:

Search for stuff before posting. There is a ton of knowledge here, and by reading through the threads, I promise you will stumble upon any and all answers.

To answer your question: Relax, Don't Worry, Have A Home Brew.

It'll be fine. Dont do anything too soon. Patience is key.

McKBrew

Recipes 

You will not see additional fermentation in secondary. The main purpose of secondary is a clearing/aging stage to develop the flavor and allow more yeast to settle out. Relax, there is still plenty of CO2 in the beer and it's keeping the brew protected.

It's up to you how long you want to keep it in secondary and there is no rush to move it to bottles right now.

Beerthoven

Recipes 

If it were my beer, I would leave it in the secondary for 3 weeks, then bottle. That is long enough for it to clear up some so there will be less sediment in your bottles and it will give it just a bit of age as well. A fairly big, dark beer like that will age well, however, so you could give it a month or two or even more in the secondary and it would do it no harm. (I prefer to age such beers in the bottle rather than the secondary, but that is just me.)

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Primary/Secondary: #90 American IPA, #91 Brown Ale

Kegged: #89 California Common

Planned: Dusseldorf Altbier, American Wheat

I use secondaries!

homebrewer_99

Recipes 

69 / 4 = 17.25

Most yeasts ferment out around 75%, hence the 4. You should have racked when your brew hit 17. At 20 it was a bit high, but close enough.

I never rack until it reaches 75%.

The purpose for a secondary is for aging and mellowing, but most importantly it's for clearing.

You can keep your brew in there for as long as it takes.

Many people will crash cool it. Just place your carboy in a fridge (if possible) overnight and more fo the yeast will fall out and clear the brew.

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HB Bill