Aging in the secondary

Does anyone know of some all extract kits that require the brew to spend a significant amount of time in the secondary? I recently acquired a 2nd glass carboy and was thinking it would be a good opportunity to start up a nice aged brew while still being able to stay active with other brews.

Thanks for your input!

I would look for an imperial stout or a barley wine. Big beers benefit from aging. Big beers also require a higher pitching rate and proper oxygen.

Just thought I would mention that some people are pretty firmly against the use of a secondary, unless there is going to be active fermentation taking place, like with the addition of fruit or something. For these people, the added risk of contamination is not worth the rewards. There are conflicting opinions about the yeast cake and how long it should sit and whether or not it imparts undesirable flavors or whether it has enough time to appropriately "clean up". You might want to look into that. Or you might not. I believe that if you are generous with the Star San, I wouldn't worry too much.

One idea regarding an extract kit would be to add something to the secondary, why any old extract kit, to spice it up. Do something that you think would taste good. I like oak chips, coffee, chocolate, in my darker beers, but you can add just about anything.

I thought about adding something to my secondary this week. Was thinking orange peel. Would I still be ok to add this for flavoring now. I transferred to my secondary yesterday.

As long as it fits with the style of beer you are trying for go for it. I would have suggested an Imperial Stout or Barleywine like ScottG58 but if you have a beer that will benefit from orange peel go for it.

Not to stir the hornets nest but I have always been a fan of using a secondary, if putting your beer in a secondary, especially a carboy, is that high of a risk of contamination then you need to work on your process.

There are some big beers from NB which require a month in the secondary. Most of these beers are high in alcohol, such as imperial IPAs and Belgian Tripels and Dubbels.

archthered said:

Not to stir the hornets nest but I have always been a fan of using a secondary, if putting your beer in a secondary, especially a carboy, is that high of a risk of contamination then you need to work on your process.

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The more significant risk that's increased by the unnecessary use of a secondary is oxidation, not to mention a lot of wasted effort. If a brewer needs to use a secondary in order to get clear beer, they need to work on their process.

The whole concept of rushing to get a beer "off the yeast cake" certainly has validity in commercial brewing. The problem of autolysis if beer continues to press down on the yeast concentrated in the bottom of a large conical fermenter is real. Even though this bears no resemblance to the scale we are dealing with, the mindset of "if the pros do it, so must we" likely caused the indiscriminate use of the secondary to become a standard practice in home brewing and to be included in many kit instructions. Even though brew knowledge has improved on this subject, old habits do die hard, don't they?

TapeHead said:

Does anyone know of some all extract kits that require the brew to spend a significant amount of time in the secondary? I recently acquired a 2nd glass carboy and was thinking it would be a good opportunity to start up a nice aged brew while still being able to stay active with other brews.

Thanks for your input!

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Go for it.
Learning by trying is always fun and educational.

Jaspers has some killer High Gravity, Spiced and Dry Hopped extract kits to try.

I'm a rookie brewer. Latest is trying a short 3-day Dry Hop after initial fermentation in primary and then transferring to secondary to finish out.

Have fun,
'da Kid

I ended up going with a Belgian Honey kit from Midwest Supplies. It's recommended that this brew spend 9-12 months in the secondary. I just brewed it 2 days ago and man oh man is it fermenting hard. The non-stop bubbling from the blow off is music to my ears.

TapeHead said:

I ended up going with a Belgian Honey kit from Midwest Supplies. It's recommended that this brew spend 9-12 months in the secondary. I just brewed it 2 days ago and man oh man is it fermenting hard. The non-stop bubbling from the blow off is music to my ears.

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Every time I read that a fermentation is going hard, I'm wondering if the wort temperature is way to high.

flars said:

Every time I read that a fermentation is going hard, I'm wondering if the wort temperature is way to high.

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It's at 76* right now. The recipe had 7lbs of DME, 1lb candy, and 1lb honey. 9lbs of is giving those little yeasties a ton to eat.

TapeHead said:

It's at 76* right now. The recipe had 7lbs of DME, 1lb candy, and 1lb honey. 9lbs of is giving those little yeasties a ton to eat.

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If your yeast WY3724 or something comparable the temp is okay. If this is a ale yeast the temp is to high. ?

flars said:

If your yeast WY3724 or something comparable the temp is okay. If this is a ale yeast the temp is to high. ?

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It's Wyeast 1214. Temp range is listed as 68-78* so I should be alright.

flars said:

Every time I read that a fermentation is going hard, I'm wondering if the wort temperature is way to high.

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Me too. It's almost a daily thing to see posts where folks kind of brag about their ferment starting super-fast and going like gangbusters like that's the goal or something.

Then they later wonder why their beer has a funky taste.

flars said:

Every time I read that a fermentation is going hard, I'm wondering if the wort temperature is way to high.

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Interesting. Not to get too far off the topic I recently did two batches with S-04. My fermometer was reading 64 degrees, but I thought they both fermented "hard". Clearly temp was not an issue here.

TapeHead said:

It's at 76* right now. The recipe had 7lbs of DME, 1lb candy, and 1lb honey. 9lbs of is giving those little yeasties a ton to eat.

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A really big beer will ferment hard even at low temps. I have to ask if that 76F is actual wort temp, or ambient air temp. A big beer will generate 5-10 Degrees of it's own heat, so if your 76F is ambient air temp, the temperature in the fermenter is possibly 81-85 degrees.

If so it might not be the end of the world, but keeping most ale yeasts in the mid 60s (wort temp)is generally a good idea until primary fermentation starts to subside.

Homercidal said:

A really big beer will ferment hard even at low temps. I have to ask if that 76F is actual wort temp, or ambient air temp. A big beer will generate 5-10 Degrees of it's own heat, so if your 76F is ambient air temp, the temperature in the fermenter is possibly 81-85 degrees.

If so it might not be the end of the world, but keeping most ale yeasts in the mid 60s (wort temp)is generally a good idea until primary fermentation starts to subside.

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Yep, 76* was the temp of the wort. It's slowed down and is now down to 70*