Secondary Fermentation

Hi,

I just bought a brew kit
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002BTZZ5S/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

And a beer to brew.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/jamils-evil-twin-extract-kit.html

My question: The directions call for secondary fermentation, where you take the beer in the primary bucket, put it in another container so that you separate it from all the sediment on the bottom.

The kit I have does not have a secondary fermenter, but it does have a bottling bucket. So can I just use the bottling bucket as the secondary fermenter, or am I better skipping secondary fermentation.

Also I have read that you need a glass carboy to do secondary fermentation because using a bucket (which is what I have) can let oxygen in. Is this true and does the risk outweigh the benefit of secondary fermentation?

Thanks!

You only really need a secondary if you intend to age you beer more than 3 months. Current theory is that the yeast cake in primary is good for extended periods a nd aids in the cleaning of the beer. I primary for at least 21-28 days. If you are going from primary to bottling bucket to bottle, you do enough siphon steps to remove most anything from the bottle. Doing a secondary(which I have) in the bottling bucket, because the risk of infectio throught the bottling valve parts is increased. It seems that the spout is a nice spot for funk to live.

Secondary in a carboy is way better than a bucket, because of the sanitation factor, even if you only think about the fewer parts such as the lid and rubber seal. A carboy is generally better. As far as the oxygen, in secondary, the beer is still off gassing a bit and will create a co2 layer over the beer, but I do try to use an appropriate sized fermenter and secondary for the amount of beer being stored.

benbradford said:

It seems that the spout is a nice spot for funk to live.

Click to expand...

Then that's where I want to be!!!

+1 on skipping the secondary. Reserve that for extended bulk aging or adding fruit and stuff like that (even then it's not necessary). Your beer will clear just fine in the primary. I've never not used irish moss, but my beers have been pretty clear when using it in the last 15 min of the boil.

Have fun!