Just Short of 5 gal...will 2nd Ferm be OK

Help.

My brew is successfully bubblin along right now but it is about 4.25 Gallons. It was late and I didn't top the primary fermenter up to 5 gal. I would like to rack into a secondary fermenter to condition and get rid of some tannin taste ( I think I steeped my grains too long).

Anyhow, my question is will racking into my 5 gallon secondary with 4.25 gallons leave too much air and risk introducing oxygen?

Thanks,
Joe

It should be fine, when siphoning in you will find the beer starts to de-gas (the CO2 in the beer comes out of suspension) and will leave a CO2 blanket above your brew. Just airlock it and it will be fine. If it really worries you, boil some water for 20 mins, cool to same temp as your beer and add when siphoning, but this is very unnecesary. Your beer should be fine.

I normally rack to secondary when the primary ferm is still barely going (about one bubble every thirty seconds). That way the secondary will have a bit of a CO2 blanket. But I don't think that it's really necessary with beer. I haven't heard of people worrying too much about head space in secondary, probably because it's usually only there for two weeks or so. If I were you, I'd rack it to secondary when primary is done and quit worrying.

BTW, welcome to the forum!