secondary ferment

After a week of moving my primary over to a secondary carboy, there is no more visible fermenting. The final gravity is where it should be, but I know that the blowoff tube is to control the fermenting. I realize I lost a lot of yeast at the bottom of the primary bucket, and what is now in the carboy will settle to the bottom. Should I expect ferment at this point? I will still do it to have cleaner beer, i was just curious about the fermenting part of it.

on a side note: I did see some small pieces (i'm guessing was hop pellet pieces) in the carboy that were falling slowly, and some rising slowly. But, again, no krausen or bubbling, or other signs of fermenting. (I eventually replaced the blowoff tube with the stopper and airlock. Was this hop movement a sign of fermenting?

I think the term "secondary fermenting" is a bit misleading. Fermentation is not the primary function of the secondary. Fermentation can be broken down into 3 phases.

1. Adaptation is when the yeast adjust to the conditions in the wort and undergo a period of rapid growth.

2. Attenuation (primary) occurs when the yeast go to work vigorously converting the fermentable sugars into alcohol and CO2.

3. Conditioning (secondary) is basically the yeast cleaning up after themselves and slowly converting any remaining fermentables, while at the same time the beer clears and the majority of the remaining yeast flocculate out.

Most breweries do not refer to the conditioning phase as secondary fermentation.

Here is a direct quote from John Palmer's book, How To Brew, on the subject of the secondary, or conditioning phase. You can read the whole thing Here

The conditioning process is a function of the yeast. The vigorous, primary stage is over, the majority of the wort sugars have been converted to alcohol, and a lot of the yeast are going dormant; but there is still yeast activity. During the earlier phases, many different compounds were produced by the yeast in addition to ethanol and CO2, e.g., acetaldehyde, esters, amino acids, ketones- diacetyl, pentanedione, dimethyl sulfide, etc. Once the easy food is gone, the yeast start re-processing these by-products. Diacetyl and pentanedione are two ketones that have buttery and honey-like flavors. These compounds are considered flaws when present in large amounts and can cause flavor stability problems during storage. Acetaldehyde is an aldehyde that has a pronounced green apple smell and taste. It is an intermediate compound in the production of ethanol. The yeast reduce these compounds during the later stages of fermentation.

The yeast also produce an array of fusel alcohols during primary fermentation in addition to ethanol. Fusels are higher molecular weight alcohols that often give harsh solvent-like tastes to beer. During secondary fermentation, the yeast convert these alcohols to more pleasant tasting fruity esters. Warmer temperatures encourage ester production.

Towards the end of secondary fermentation, the suspended yeast flocculates (settles out) and the beer clears. High molecular weight proteins also settle out during this stage. Tannin/phenol compounds will bind with the proteins and also settle out, greatly smoothing the taste of the beer. This process can be helped by chilling the beer, very similar to the lagering process. In the case of ales, this process is referred to as Cold Conditioning, and is a popular practice at most brewpubs and microbreweries. Cold conditioning for a week clears the beer with or without the use of finings. Fining agents, such as isinglass (fish bladders), Polyclar (plastic dust), and gelatin, are added to the fermentor to help speed the flocculation process and promote the settling of haze forming proteins and tannins. While much of the emphasis on using finings is to combat aesthetic chill haze, the real benefit of dropping those compounds is to improve the taste and stability of the beer.
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Home brewers really need to stop calling the clearing tank the "secondary" fermenter!

It's a valid concept for wine and mead, but 99% of ales are done fermenting within a week and after racking they are just clearing & conditioning. The only ale I make that needs a secondary fermenter is the semi-annual barleywine.

(I don't do fruit wheats. If you add the fruit after racking, you would have a secodn ferment).

Got it. I guess it certainly is a misnomer. I will still use the blowoff tube for the first day, just in case :cross:
I guess one can pick up bad habits from reading as well as listening--I need to stop pronouncing the wort as "wort" also

Usually I don't add another post to questions that have already been answered. My comments have no value added to your Q&A.

My only comment would be this is the sort of question that should be listed in the beginner FAQ's section. I don't know if it's already there, but if it's not it's a prime candidate.

Although the term "secondary fermenter" can be misleading, I don't think it is entirely wrong as long as you understand the process. I usually rack to the "secondary" while fermentation is still taking place (albeit at a slower rate). Therefore, it is a "secondary fermenter" or at least a "secondary container in which fermentation continues to occur." I just haven't pitched a new strain of yeast to cause what most agree to be a true "secondary fermentation." david_42's suggestion that a better name is "clearing tank" may be true, but it's just not the common name for what we do.

Yuri_Rage said:

david_42's suggestion that a better name is "clearing tank" may be true, but it's just not the common name for what we do.

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Professional brewer's call it a bright tank, conditioning tank, or clearing tank.

If we all get together, maybe we can change the vocabulary of homebrewers everywhere... or other homebrewers will just think we don't know what we're talking about.