Don't try to stop me!!!!!

What an assh@le. Look that up. Miserable much. Try helping somebody. You may feel better about yourself. Just saying.

PackerfaninSanDiego said:

racked my Nut Brown Ale into secondary, first time I have done this,,,,,will bottle next weekend.......explain cold crash

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Cold crashing means to reduce the brews temperature so the yeast go into metabolic shutdown. It's a bit like a bear going into hibernation during the winter. They don't die, but they drop to extremely low levels of activity. Then they "crash" by falling out of solution in the brew. Think fridge temps, not freezer.

I prefer to use bentonite as a clearing agent. In larger dosages that will make a brew taste slightly metalic. I rack to secondary so the bentonite doesn't have as many solids to act on. That means I don't need to use as much of it and don't have to risk a metalic after taste. Apparently no one else can taste this, but I can and it's my brew. Then again, I make wine and cider.

frankly I'm completely sick of the hate given to a secondary fermentation on this forum... I think it just comes down to the laziness of people to rack more than once

I've done it both ways and tell no difference other than more hoppy flavors. I'm not a fan of hoppy beers. I am more of a stout guy so it's not for me. I will do it if I'm adding flavorings and that's it.

It's called progress. Your beer will be just as clear 4 weeks in primary, with a hops bag on the end of your siphon. Let it condition long enough in the bottle and it is the same damn thing with less contact with air.

So again, unless you've tried it both ways you really can't claim to be a connoisseur or hold a valid opinion on what is better. Be adventurous, try it both ways. See for yourself.

Funny, at my local shop all the guys do secondaries, and around them I'm the odd one out skipping that step because I'm too lazy. Then I found this site and realized lots of people don't do it. Kind of like at a bar when everyone gets loud about their opinions, they sampled too much before they started typing. Just ignore it and make your beer however the heck you want to do it!!!

Ha Ha there is probably a secondary debate almost everyday on this forum. I personally do it unless my secondary is taken up. The main reason I transfer to secondary is I feel that I get clearer beer because there is a lot less trub on the bottom when I go to keg it. I believe it really made a difference with my cream ale, but now that I have started to use a cartridge filter for me beer I guess the step is a waste of time for me.

FWIW I always used secondaries (except for some styles, like Belgian wits). I, too, find that my beer gets clearer.

Using a secondary allows me to harvest my yeast cake to reuse it. Also, I add gelatine when transferring and the glass carboys take less space in my fridge than the plastic fermenters.

Just do what you want, try both. Most people who don't use secondaries here seem to get very clear beer anyways.

Cheers!

CityOChampBrew said:

frankly I'm completely sick of the hate given to a secondary fermentation on this forum... I think it just comes down to the laziness of people to rack more than once

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Even though I dont generally secondary I kinda get your point. I personally view it as an unnecessary step and dont recommend it but thats not to say that it is wrong or deserving of some of the hate it gets here. I think of it more as a stylistic choice for the home brewmaster. I just like to point out to some folks who are new to the game that they dont have to do it to make great beer. We all know some of the directions on kits can be misleading to someone with little to no experience. I would never fault someone who chooses to though.

After much thought I've decided to rack my first batch to a secondary after about 4 1/2 days in the primary. My ultimate deciding factor was that my primary is an opaque bucket. By transferring to a clear secondary container I can get a better view on what is going on with my beer and take a better guess on when to bottle.

Black said:

FWIW I always used secondaries (except for some styles, like Belgian wits). I, too, find that my beer gets clearer.

Using a secondary allows me to harvest my yeast cake to reuse it. Also, I add gelatine when transferring and the glass carboys take less space in my fridge than the plastic fermenters.

Just do what you want, try both. Most people who don't use secondaries here seem to get very clear beer anyways.

Cheers!

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They make hop bags the size of a 5 gallon fermenter. Makes harvesting a yeast cake EZ. Again it's whatever you see fit. I primary ferment in a large bottling bucket, and use a hops bag that covers the entire surface area of the bucket. I've just found that it felt like an unnecessary step. Do what you want, but I encourage people to try it both ways and decide for yourself. Experimentation is how good beers are made.

CityOChampBrew said:

frankly I'm completely sick of the hate given to a secondary fermentation on this forum... I think it just comes down to the laziness of people to rack more than once

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You might be wrong. I don't normally rack to secondary because there is zero reason to disturb the beer at that point in fermentation. It has nothing to do with laziness or not wanting to rack. I actually rack my beer from my keggle to my fermentor - despite the availability of an installed ball valve - because it allows me to leave most of the break material and other crap in the kettle. It would be a lot easier to just open the valve and drain, but this helps when it comes time to keg or bottle.

After 3 weeks or so in primary I end up with almost zero trub - just a compact yeast cake. I am able to keg and leave less than a cup or so of beer in the fermentor. So you see, it has nothing to do with laziness and everything to do with what works for me.

And for those relying on the fact that trub settles out in the secondary as "proof" that using a secondary works, do you really think that it wouldn't have settled out in the primary if you had left it there? It is more a function of time than anything else. Also, in my experience the longer you wait before racking, the more compact the trub and yeast cake and the easier it is to rack without picking up all of the gunk in the bottom of the fermentor.

Personally, I don't care if you rack it sixteen times before bottling or kegging because that is what works for you, but don't be so judgmental about people who do it differently - they just might be doing it because it works, not because they are lazy.

jeepjunkie007 said:

After much thought I've decided to rack my first batch to a secondary after about 4 1/2 days in the primary. My ultimate deciding factor was that my primary is an opaque bucket. By transferring to a clear secondary container I can get a better view on what is going on with my beer and take a better guess on when to bottle.

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And there's a really good chance your beer did not fully ferment at 4 days. Wtf made u wanna transfer so fast??

RIC0 said:

And there's a really good chance your beer did not fully ferment at 4 days. Wtf made u wanna transfer so fast??

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I used an extract kit and fermentation had wrapped up after about 72 hours. I checked the gravity and I was right on the spot for my FG. There is still plenty of yeast in suspension to finish up any of the few remaining sugars that they haven't gotten to yet. Now I can keep an eye on it in secondary, and my primary is free for my next batch!

I can see both sides of this argument. It's going to depend on your equipment and available space which route you want to take. Either way, results can be just as good one way or the other.

In my own experience, and have mentioned this before, probably a different debate topic about this, that I have done a secondary only one time. The way I did my transfer and the equipment I used, I ended up with clearer beer but I noticed absolutely no other differences. Depends on your process, time you have, space.... then you decide what to do.

I was racking in a secondary but after reading the forums here I decided to try and see what keeping it in the primary produced. This is of course is for my own knowledge. If it turns out fine then I now have 3 primaries (i bought another bucket).

What works for the brewer or makes him/her feel better is their choice.
If you primary in glass you can watch the beer clear from the top down after primary fermentation is done. If you rack at 1-2 weeks you will be moving what is still in suspension in the bottom half or so of your carboy and possibly (depending on your experience) sucking up some trub since it is not fully compacted yet. As this goes into your secondary it is mixed back into the whole 5 gallons and has to start clearing over again. Yes I know most is already gone from racking. BUT...
If you just let it sit in primary you are not disturbing the settling process or trub and it gets nice and compacted. 4 weeks primary, move primary to racking location a day or so before, then rack and bottle and my beer is very clear. This works for me. YMMV :rockin:

If you cold crash your beer your wasting your time racking to secondary.

If you don't cold crash then i can see racking to a secondary to help clarify.

RIC0 said:

If you cold crash your beer your wasting your time racking to secondary.

If you don't cold crash then i can see racking to a secondary to help clarify.

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I don't cold crash... Mainly because I don't have the ability to do it in a controlled fashion. I'm looking to find an old fridge that I can dedicate for brewing endeavors but currently all I have at my disposal is Mother Nature! Lol