Should I skip 2nd fermenter?

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sacula

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Can I really skip the 2nd fermenter? I just brewed my 3rd batch. Its a Wheat beer blue moon clone. I know it should be cloudy like a blue moon. But if i skip the secondary Wont it make it "dirty". Also, What if i ran it through a wine filter before bottling?
 
Nope wont be dirty at all. If you are worried about too much suspended yeast, then you could cold crash it for a day or two. Also be careful when you are transfering to bottling bucket so as not to agitate all the trub at the bottom.
 
There are no issues with only using a primary. I never use a secondary, and neither do lots of folks here
 
For the last 7 or 8 years (been brewing for over 10), I always racked to secondary. Within the last couple of years, I started skipping the secondary and letting it sit a bit longer in primary. I used to go about 2 weeks in primary, 2 weeks in secondary, bottle/rack. I let it sit about 5-6 weeks in primary, then bottle. All is well.
 
If you want it to turn out more like Blue Moon than not, then don't filter. If you did filter, you would end up with a clear wheat beer, which is uncommon though not unheard of.

For all the wheats I've ever made, I've gone 7 to 14 days in primary (as soon as I confirm fermentation is done with hydrometer readings), then straight to bottle or keg without cold crashing. Wheats ferment relatively quickly and do not require anywhere near as much conditioning as most other beers; in fact, I find they seem to be better young and lose flavor as they age. It's not uncommon for a wheat beer to go from brew day to pint glass within 10-14 days.

As KPR said, don't agitate the trub to get the cloudiness; the suspended wheat protein will provide that. You can cold crash if you'd like, but it really isn't necessary.
 
I only use secondaries as good storage space for big beers that need extra time to mellow/balance, thus opening up primaries for fresh brews.

Currently in secondary are a Barleywine and a Belgian Trippel.
 
As far as getting 'dirty' beer ...are you trying to bottle right out of the primary fermentor? If so, you really should use a bottling bucket. Sanitize it, put your boiled sugar at the bottom, rack on top of it to mix it evenly, then bottle out of that and you'll avoid sucking up yeast and trub.
 
Actually. This is the MOST discussed topics on here, already. There are literally THOUSANDS of threads discussing, debating, arguing, and explaining. There's nothing we can discuss that will be any different than has already been discussed on here.

My suggestion, rather than re-invent the wheel is to read what's on here already.

May I suggest that you read this thread which pretty much is the most up to date discussion of the topic on here.

To Secondary or Not? John Palmer and Jamil Zainasheff Weigh In.

Read it in it's entirity and you'll know everything you need to and more.

My real suggestion is to stop thinking about it or reading about it, just try each way on your next two batches of beer, Secondary one, primary another for a month. And come to your own conclusions.

:mug:
 
Wow Revvy, that post was cool as a summers eve

I can't find your animated ROFL, so just imagine it's here
 
bosdave said:
I only use secondaries as good storage space for big beers that need extra time to mellow/balance, thus opening up primaries for fresh brews.

Currently in secondary are a Barleywine and a Belgian Trippel.
Click to expand...

no secondaries here . that includes dry hopping and I dry hop 90% of by beers and also win comps so I would say your fine.
 
Someone just posted this in another thread, it is really the most clearest answer I have seen.

John Palmer said:
Tom from Michigan asks:
I have a few questions about secondary fermentations. I've read both pros and cons for 2nd fermentations and it is driving me crazy what to do. One, are they necessary for lower Gravity beers?
Two, what is the dividing line between low gravity and high gravity beers? Is it 1.060 and higher?
Three, I have an American Brown Ale in the primary right now, a SG of 1.058, Should I secondary ferment this or not?
Your advice is appreciated, thanks for all you do!

Allen from New York asks:
John, please talk about why or why not you would NOT use a secondary fermenter (bright tank?) and why or why not a primary only fermentation is a good idea. In other words, give some clarification or reason why primary only is fine, versus the old theory of primary then secondary normal gravity ale fermentations.

Palmer answers:
These are good questions – When and why would you need to use a secondary fermenter? First some background – I used to recommend racking a beer to a secondary fermenter. My recommendation was based on the premise that (20 years ago) larger (higher gravity) beers took longer to ferment completely, and that getting the beer off the yeast reduced the risk of yeast autolysis (ie., meaty or rubbery off-flavors) and it allowed more time for flocculation and clarification, reducing the amount of yeast and trub carryover to the bottle. Twenty years ago, a homebrewed beer typically had better flavor, or perhaps less risk of off-flavors, if it was racked off the trub and clarified before bottling. Today that is not the case.

The risk inherent to any beer transfer, whether it is fermenter-to-fermenter or fermenter-to-bottles, is oxidation and staling. Any oxygen exposure after fermentation will lead to staling, and the more exposure, and the warmer the storage temperature, the faster the beer will go stale.

Racking to a secondary fermenter used to be recommended because staling was simply a fact of life – like death and taxes. But the risk of autolysis was real and worth avoiding – like cholera. In other words, you know you are going to die eventually, but death by cholera is worth avoiding.

But then modern medicine appeared, or in our case, better yeast and better yeast-handling information. Suddenly, death by autolysis is rare for a beer because of two factors: the freshness and health of the yeast being pitched has drastically improved, and proper pitching rates are better understood. The yeast no longer drop dead and burst like Mr. Creosote from Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life when fermentation is complete – they are able to hibernate and wait for the next fermentation to come around. The beer has time to clarify in the primary fermenter without generating off-flavors. With autolysis no longer a concern, staling becomes the main problem. The shelf life of a beer can be greatly enhanced by avoiding oxygen exposure and storing the beer cold (after it has had time to carbonate).

Therefore I, and Jamil and White Labs and Wyeast Labs, do not recommend racking to a secondary fermenter for ANY ale, except when conducting an actual second fermentation, such as adding fruit or souring. Racking to prevent autolysis is not necessary, and therefore the risk of oxidation is completely avoidable. Even lagers do not require racking to a second fermenter before lagering. With the right pitching rate, using fresh healthy yeast, and proper aeration of the wort prior to pitching, the fermentation of the beer will be complete within 3-8 days (bigger = longer). This time period includes the secondary or conditioning phase of fermentation when the yeast clean up acetaldehyde and diacetyl. The real purpose of lagering a beer is to use the colder temperatures to encourage the yeast to flocculate and promote the precipitation and sedimentation of microparticles and haze.

So, the new rule of thumb: don’t rack a beer to a secondary, ever, unless you are going to conduct a secondary fermentation.
Click to expand...
 

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