Secondary too big...?

Hi all,
I was going to rack my latest 5 gallon batch of brew into a secondary, but I planned poorly: All I have is a 6.5 gallon carboy right now. Would squirting some CO2 into it before racking protect it from oxidation? Or should I go get a more appropriately sized carboy?

What type of beer?

I would just leave in primary until you are ready to package. You don't want that extra head space in the secondary, even if you use co2 to purge. I wouldn't risk it. Unless you plan on bulk aging for months, I wouldn't recommend moving the beer until you package it.

Ryan

If you have a way to purge it with CO2 then you are all set. I always purge whenever I move beer to a new container, whether it be another carboy, or a keg

Many people find that using a secondary isn't necessary for them. Nowadays I just do an extended primary and achieve the same effect, with less oxidation risk.

However, back whenever I used to do secondaries on all my beers, I routinely put 5 gallons of beer into 6.5 gallon secondaries. Is there a risk of oxidation? Sure. But if you are careful (be very gentle with the transfer), it can be done just fine. I never ruined a batch this way. Adding CO2 before and after the transfer can certainly help.

RmikeVT said:

What type of beer?

I would just leave in primary until you are ready to package. You don't want that extra head space in the secondary, even if you use co2 to purge. I wouldn't risk it. Unless you plan on bulk aging for months, I wouldn't recommend moving the beer until you package it.

Ryan

Click to expand...

This^^^^^.

If you have the means to do so, you can clarify the beer nicely (without a secondary) by cold crashing it in the primary 5 days at 35-40*F prior to bottling/kegging.

RmikeVT said:

What type of beer?

I would just leave in primary until you are ready to package. You don't want that extra head space in the secondary, even if you use co2 to purge. I wouldn't risk it. Unless you plan on bulk aging for months, I wouldn't recommend moving the beer until you package it.

Ryan

Click to expand...

It's a Pumpkin Ale. I don't normally secondary, but I have been concerned about clarity in my brews and I wanted to see if it could have an effect.

BigFloyd said:

This^^^^^.

If you have the means to do so, you can clarify the beer nicely (without a secondary) by cold crashing it in the primary 5 days at 35-40*F prior to bottling/kegging.

Click to expand...

Clarity IS what I'm hoping to achieve... But I don't have any method of cold crashing, unfortunately.

give it more time and it will clear, moving it will kind of reset the clock on clearing since all the stuff that is settling out will get stirred up in the secondary.

Also, you can just move your carboy (or bucket) into a tub of ice water for at least a day before you rack it to the bottling bucket or keg. It's what I do and it works decently well.

Trying to revive an old thread instead of creating a new one. Is there a recommended way to purge with Co2? I have a keezer, but all my air lines have ball-locks on them. Can I simply just open up the valve and remove the airlock from the carboy? Is it really that simple? Thanks in advance.

millsbrew said:

Trying to revive an old thread instead of creating a new one. Is there a recommended way to purge with Co2? I have a keezer, but all my air lines have ball-locks on them. Can I simply just open up the valve and remove the airlock from the carboy? Is it really that simple? Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

that would work, anyway you can get it in there.