Secondary Ferm Question

I am brand new, I am going to secondary ferment my 4th batch, I was curious of the following questions:


1. Can you use the same carboy/fermenter?
2. Do you add the same yeast to the second ferment, or do you add yeast at all
3. How long do I take to ferment the second time. Also, how long should I age my beer?



P.S, I am make a blueberry wheat beer, if that helps

YIKES! i'll get right to it.

1. nope, not really, you'll need to rack (carefully transfer) your beer into another vessel.

2. NO! don't add any yeast.

3. the term secondary fermentation is a bit of a misnomer. it's more about clearing and aging than it is fermenting, but often a bit of fermentation takes place there.

the goal of secondary is to move your green beer off the trub and yeast and allow it to finish fermentation (usually only a couple gravity points) and clear out so all the yeast settles out.

oh yeah, welcome to the board!

1. Nope, you'll need another carboy; most of us use a 5 gallon carboy for a 5 gallon batch.

2. Do not add any more yeast, as noted above, secondary fermenter is a misnomer, the second stage is really for clearing the beer.

3. A general rule of thumb is to leave the beer in secondary for 2 weeks then bottle.

I applaud your enthusiasm for brewing! Both these guys above me are steering you proper.

If you haven't read this little online book yet, I HIGHLY recommend it. www.howtobrew.com

and we have a wiki here somewhere too.