Brewer's Best IPA Kit question

Hey all,

I'm new to this home brew stuff, but I have a questions about a brewer's best IPA extract kit. It has been in the primary for only two days. I plan on leaving it there for another 12 or so. I have seen a lot of info (on this site and others) saying that with an IPA style beer there is no need for a secondary fermentation. My plan all along had been 2 weeks in primary, 2 weeks in secondary, and 2 weeks in bottles. Can anyone explain to me the rationale that an IPA does not need a secondary fermentation...? Whether you believe in that theory or not, I'm just looking for the rationale behind it. Or tell me if I'm nuts and you think it should hit the secondary for 2 weeks...

Also, I want to dry hop the IPA about 4 or 5 days prior to racking it (if I end up doing a secondary)....any suggestions on hops or amount?

I have a brewer's best Amber Ale a day behind the IPA. Same two questions....does this beer need the secondary and for dry hopping what kind of hops and how much?

I don't secondary any of my beers, and get good results. Secondary is best for fruit beers or beers with a secondary flavoring ingredient.

others swear by secondary to get cleaner tasting beers, but mine work out great without the extra step.

I would dry hop your IPA with an oz of pellets directly in the primary 5-10 days before bottling

what hops did you use as part of the kit so far?

Funny, those are the first two beers that I ever brewed. The IPA came out great, and the Amber, not as good, although I'm sure it was my fault, and not the product. I don't secondary, based upon advice from some very experienced brewers on this forum. You could dry hop in the primary, although I really don't think this kit needs it. You should let it bottle condition for at least three weeks at 70F or so. Have fun, be patient.

remman4 - I don't recall which hops were used in the kits off the top of my head, but I know they both had cascade and one other...I wrote them down at home and I don't have them with me. I'll check later.

pigman - I have heard the same mediocre reviews regarding the Amber Ale from others, so I'm really thinking of dry hopping to try and spice it up a bit.

I have read Palmer and he advocates the secondary as did the brewer teaching the class I took at a local brew shop. I did not strain any of the trub prior to putting in my primary, so I think that is why I am leaning towards the secondary, but I'm the first to admit that I have no clue. I'm an experienced baker and cook, but this is all new to me.

Thanks for the quick responses...

I think Palmer's latest edition backs off from secondaries. Bad reviews on the Amber? Maybe it wasn't me after all.:fro:

yeah the more I read the more it seems that people are going away from the secondary....sounds like less work to me. In that case, is 3-4 weeks good in the primary (I know, I will check with a hydrometer a couple of days before bottling to be sure). And will the thick nasty krausen begin to dissipate and settle?

I would dry hop with cascade, it adds a nice note

krausen will subside after a few days, but if you are using a glass carboy primary you may still have the dried krausen above the liquid line... look for the surface of the brew to be primarily clear of bubbles etc.

Don't bother with the secondary.

When in primary, your beer is sitting beneath a nice fat layer of CO2 to protect it. If you put it in secondary, you lose that co2 layer, and there is a risk of oxidiation.

I've left beers in primary for months and they came out great.

Just because Palmer or whatever author says to do it doesn't mean it's necessary. Palmer also talks up hot side aeration, and that is BS for homebrewers also..

Hey, my first kit too! This one turned out great! I didn't secondary or dry hop at all and it came out amazing. I left it in the bucket for two weeks, then bottled. Even trying one after one week it was good, but still pretty clearly green.

If it's your first time brewing, I would suggest keeping it simple and not to worry about the dry hopping or secondary. As long as it ferments, smells good, and carbonates, it will be very tasty after 2-3 weeks in the bottle.

Enjoy!

Thanks all, I appreciate the help.

On a separate note...when can I expect to see the beer begin to clear up? It has only been 4 days, but it is very, very cloudy still. Just curious...

give it two weeks depending on your temperatures, then it should be mostly clear

Yeah I wouldn't worry too much about the cloudiness. Wait until after you have it bottled for a couple of weeks and chill a few bottles for a day or two, then pour. Then you can pass some judgement. Even if it's not as clear as you'd like I'm sure it'll still taste great.

So how did it turn out? I have this kit in my fermenter now.

I don't secondary any of my beers, however I do transfer them to a conditioning vessel if the beer will be dry hopped. I primarily do this to open up my primary fermenter(s) for the next batch.

During the conditioning stage on my double IPA, it will usually sit in the brite tank for 3-6 months and undergo 2-3 dry hopping schedules before I put it on tap.