Is bottle conditioning as good as a "secondary"?

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BrewOnBoard

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I read in a recent thread a great explanation of what the proper use of a secondary fermenter is, and how people misuse the concept. Sorry I can't remember the poster to give him credit, but it was awesome. Armed with that knowledge I now know that that many brewers do not really secondary, but rather age their beer after it's completed fermentation, in a "secondary" fermenter.

For my purposes I never really intended to secondary in the real sense of the word, because beer clarity is low on my list of importance. I do however, want to be able to make the occasional really big beer and for that I may need a "secondary" container.... or not?

My thought is this: To make a really big winter beer it needs lots of time to improve, mellow, and do flavor tango. I know there are some that are in favor of leaving beer on the yeast cake, but I doubt that there are too many that would suggest leaving it there for 2 or 3 months like you might need for an awesome big winter beer. I also don't want to tie up my only fermenter for that long, so I was considering getting a "secondary" contaner for fermenting big beers in.

Now my question. Since space is a big issue for me, do I really need a "secondary" to mellow my big beers in or can I get just as good of results with bottle conditioning the beers for many months?

Bottles may indeed take up more space than a secondary, so either way it's going to take up space, but bottles are more versatile. On the other hand if the magic process of beer improvement works better in a large container where the yeast can "party together" then perhaps that is the way to go.

What say you? :tank:

BrewOnBoard
 
I usually mainly use my secondary to clarify. And its not really that its cloudy, But there is a LOT of trup that falls out of the beer and doing a glass secondary i am able to siphon that off before going to bottles. i think of my secondary as clearing the last of the trup. and aging as a different process.
 
Typically bulk aging is "better" because you may get have fewer esters breaking down in the bottle.

But bottle aging isn't bad. All the beers I'm drinking have been bottled more than a year. The only one that went stale was the hefe, and that's what hefes do.

You'll most likely find results are similar, but bottle aging takes longer. And Belgian Strong Ales and Trappists are typically bottle conditioned.
 
Typically bulk aging is "better" because you may get have fewer esters breaking down in the bottle.

But bottle aging isn't bad. All the beers I'm drinking have been bottled more than a year. The only one that went stale was the hefe, and that's what hefes do.

You'll most likely find results are similar, but bottle aging takes longer. And Belgian Strong Ales and Trappists are typically bottle conditioned.

So to recap, bottle conditioning achieves the same result but takes longer than bulk ageing?

Everyone agree on this theory?

BoB
 
BoB-

Kind of. Bulk aging may allow for some flavor maturing that possibly may not occur in a bottle. BUT, unless you're planning on distributing some sort of vintage reserve for thousands of dollars per bottle, I wouldn't be TOO concerned about the differences.

But you mentioned space... Frankly bulk aging will take up LESS space. It's a matter of 14 inches diameter by 36 inches tall verses 52 bottles. I know what's easier to put in my closet. So if you've got to leave something alone for a few months, the bulk aging method may suit your purposes better.
 
No.

No dobt the person responsible for your citation is Revvy, or maybe Shecky. No doubt someone that ends in Y at least.

The purpose of "bulk" aging is to minimalize the differences between servings thus ensuring a level of consistency from serving to serving.

In the context of bottle conditioning (post secondary) the only thing left to "chance" would be carbonation levels.
 
For a big beer, a long secondary seems like it's really helpful to help the yeast drop out. I did a big barleywine, and after a month or two in the secondary, there was another big yeast cake and trub. When I bottled, I left most of that behind rather than letting it cloud up an already cloudy beer.

For a smaller beer, it may not matter as much.
 
Everyone agree on this theory?

Everyone agree on something? HERE?!?!? LOL

I do have to say that I've found that bulk aging seems to work faster than bottle conditioning. 2 weeks in a secondary puts my beer a month ahead of something I bottle right out of primary.
 
But you mentioned space... Frankly bulk aging will take up LESS space. It's a matter of 14 inches diameter by 36 inches tall verses 52 bottles. I know what's easier to put in my closet. So if you've got to leave something alone for a few months, the bulk aging method may suit your purposes better.

That's most of why I am thinking of getting a secondary. The idea of tying up so many bottles (or my primary) for months while a big beer mellows doesn't sound good. Mellowing and beer storage if you will....

Of course if it speeds the process, or makes it better in some way, then that's great too.

BoB
 
No.

No dobt the person responsible for your citation is Revvy, or maybe Shecky. No doubt someone that ends in Y at least.

Dude, I just sprayed Dr. Pepper all over my desk... You owe me a new keyboard :)

(why am i drinking dr. p? cuz I'm still at work)
 
BoB-
But you mentioned space... Frankly bulk aging will take up LESS space. It's a matter of 14 inches diameter by 36 inches tall verses 52 bottles. I know what's easier to put in my closet. So if you've got to leave something alone for a few months, the bulk aging method may suit your purposes better.

I don't know about other folks, but while bulk aging in a carboy takes up less area, the shelves built into my pantry allow me to store several cases of bottles vertically, each occupying essentially the same area. But, the shelves aren't big enough to fit a carboy or ale pail.

Generally speaking while what you say is true, I can stack up cases but it's not so easy to stack fermenters.
 
I don't know about other folks, but while bulk aging in a carboy takes up less area, the shelves built into my pantry allow me to store several cases of bottles vertically, each occupying essentially the same area. But, the shelves aren't big enough to fit a carboy or ale pail.

Generally speaking while what you say is true, I can stack up cases but it's not so easy to stack fermenters.

I on the other hand, haven't built shelves into my main storage space.... yet. Will be building special shelves for beer brewing and beer storing...

Extra ballast ya'know for those stormy conditions....:mug:
BoB
 
I have the same kind of layout as weirdboy in my cold room: built in sheving that is conveniently case-of-beer sized. Whereas the square footage of the floor is at a premium.
 
Has anyone had luck aging in a keg? one of the posters feels that 2 weeks in secondary improves beer and speeds up maturation by a month. Maybe keg, vent and stick in fridge for two weeks before carbing?
 
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