Two v. One Stage Fermentation

I am currently using a closed plastic bucket as my primary and a 5 gal glass carboy as my secondary. I am debating using just the glass carboy with a blow-off tube as my primary. What should I do? What are the advantages of a two stage fermetation v. one stage?

Thanks


IPA

I've just started using a secondary. I'm not sure what the advantages are exactly, but here are some observations.

I hear using a secondary is primary for clarity. When I pull my beer into the secondary I leave a huge cake of hops, yeast and other solids behind. I can tell that these solids havce no chance of getting mixed up in my beer again... since they were left behind.

Also, 15 minutes after I moved my beer to secondary my airlock started bubbling again... somehow the move made the yeast start acting again... not sure if this is normal or not, but was a cool result.

would using a bottling bucket do the same thing. Racking it from the primary into the bottling bucket would leave behind that scum. Wouldn't the bottles serve as a secondary anyways?

IloveIPA said:

I am currently using a closed plastic bucket as my primary and a 5 gal glass carboy as my secondary. I am debating using just the glass carboy with a blow-off tube as my primary. What should I do? What are the advantages of a two stage fermetation v. one stage?

ThanksIPA

Click to expand...

That really is a question that should require a little reading before asking, there's 100s of threads and aricles on the reasons and benefits of using a secondary fermenter.

ok. so where do i look. give me a link

www.howtobrew.com. Best homebrewing resource on the 'net.

Google.

http://byo.com/mrwizard/14.html

http://www.keystonehomebrew.com/index.cfm?pgid=beerarticles

http://www.brewgadgets.com/howtobrew.htm

http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=54606

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter8-2-3.html