Should i use my glass carboy for secondary fermentation??

I have a 5 gallon glass carboy and talked with a friend and he said that they are not necessary. Also i read that it doesnt really make a difference if you use it. My friend tells me to just keep it in the primary for two weeks then siphon it into a bottling bucket with priming sugar. Just wanting to know opinions on this. By the way im brewing an IPA.:rockin:

The secondary is usually used to clear the beer and or dry hop. When we made our IPA we did use a 5 gal carboy to secondary and dry hop. The beer was quite clear and tasted great (love the hops!!). Completely your call, as it is not a mandatory step.

It's personal preference. I do one long primary, others do a primary and secondary. I don't think the secondary provides anything. As for your friend suggesting 2 weeks and then bottling...I would highly suggest you let it ferment at LEAST 3 weeks. 4 weeks being better. Most beers taste much better if you let it sit 3-4 weeks vs. 2. I think most people on here would agree with me.

Also, you can use the carboy for primary fermentation, they are not exclusively for secondary.

As stated above, completely your call, but I use a secondary on many of my beers for the improved clarity it gives me. You can also secondary in a cornie keg and transfer to another keg once done (if kegging). A filter can be also be used between cornies and you can push the beer using 2-3psi of co2 pressure.

Again, it is your beer, your call.

Salute!

A 5 gal carboy will not be large enough for a 5 gal primary fermentation but I definitely agree with the 3-4 week rule. Just because the yeast have finished the actual fermentation doesn't mean they are done. They will eat off a lot of their own byproducts and make the beer much tastier.

It's worth mentioning that no one has really come to an agreement on one being better than the other. So no one is right or wrong really. bmckee56 uses the secondary to clear his beer...I cold crash mine to clear it. I dry hop in the primary, others use the secondary for dry hopping. It's all to acheive the same results, just done differently.

I would suggest you try out both methods eventually and see for yourself. Maybe you will disagree with your friend and like doing a secondary and feel like it gives you better beer.

This is the best part of this hobby, you can do it however you like.

A 5 gal carboy will not be large enough for a 5 gal primary fermentation but I definitely agree with the 3-4 week rule.

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I ferment in 5 gallon cornies and 5 gallon carboys, I get 48 bottles out of just about every batch. Fermcaps are a wonderful thing!

Do fermcaps really work that well? That is pretty sweet. I have never used them. I would think that cold crashing will give you clearer beer than using a secondary too. Have you tried doing a secondary and then cold crashing, or is that just overkill?

mirage - Oh yeah, they will keep the krausen low so that you can get your full two cases out of a batch. They supposedly increase head retention, I cannot confirm this though.

I think a secondary and cold crash would be overkill, but have never tried it so I can't say for sure. cold crash vs. secondary I have not seen one being better than the other, my brother does secondary and his beers are the same clarity as mine.

Ah, gotcha. I guess the benefit of cold crashing though is that it probably takes less time. If you secondary I usually let ours sit for a week or so. Unless I am wrong, you can cold crash for a day or two? That is neat about fermcaps. I should pick some up as it will give us another fermenter!

Don't worry about the secondary. You can cold crash your primary and if you're careful with racking, so as not to disturb the trub on the bottom, you can get just as clean beer as using a secondary without the oxidation/sanitation risk.

It seems a matter of personal preference. I like to use a secondary just so my beer isn't spending an extended amount of time on spent yeast. It also has the added benefit of freeing up a fermenter for more beer. hehe

It's debatable (look at the similar threads down there vvv) but if you're making an IPA you probably want to dry hop, and I'd secondary for that.

I've just been primarying longer (one less step + I'm generally too lazy/busy to get to my beer in 2 weeks anyway), but Sunday I'm making an IPA and that sucker's getting DHed in a carboy.