Secondary Questions

So my first few batches that I have brewed, I have racked into a secondary that is a not a carboy, but instead is just a fementing bucket that is the exact same as my first. Wondering what the adverse effects are of this as opposed to racking to a glass carboy? Am I alright just using the bucket approach or should I really be racking into a carboy?

I just feel like the light that is allowed into a carboy would be a natural enemy to my almost beer. Am I wrong here?

I am just a newbie, so I appreciate any thoughts, suggestions or tips!

you won't be able to see your beer ....that's the only drawback

The downside of secondary in a bucket is the size of the headspace and the risk of oxidation. If you have co2 available you could purge the headspace with it.

Light is a concern with a carboy. Keep the carboy covered and the light out.

Or, skip the secondary, leave the beer in primary for 3 or 4 weeks then package.

The first question I would ask is why are you using a "secondary"? But to answer your question, unless you are going to be aging for an extended period of time (more than 2 months) then a bucket is just fine.

If you move your beer to a secondary fermentation container you want one that will have as little headroom as possible. THe head room is needed for fermentation but only alows more oxygen to get to your beer in secondary. Also as many brewers on this site will tell you racking beer to a new container for secondary fermetation is not needed just leave it in the first containe for the full time.

I was just wondering, since my current batch in my Primary is a Wheat that I will be racking on top of Raspberries in under a week. So I was just curious if this will have any adverse effects in the bucket as opposed to a carboy.

JacPau said:

I was just wondering, since my current batch in my Primary is a Wheat that I will be racking on top of Raspberries in under a week. So I was just curious if this will have any adverse effects in the bucket as opposed to a carboy.

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There ya go. Racking onto fruit would be one of those times you would want to use a "secondary". There is nothing at all wrong with a bucket. Just transfer after fermentation is complete and rack as gently as you can. Flushing the fermentor with CO2 would be nice but as young as you would drink a wheat I don't think you will have anything to worry about.