Should Fermment Finish Before Secondary?

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Apoxbrew

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Does one want fermentation to be completed in the primary prior to racking to a secondary for dry-hoping?

Just wondering if I need to bother with a SG reading before racking to my secondary on Saturday which is the 2-Week mark.

Plan would be to leave in secondary for at least two weeks and until FG is reached.

Thanks for the info!
 
For dry hoping? Yes.

Bother with a reading? No.

I would leave it where it is for a third week, rack to 'secondary' and dry hop for a week.
 
There is some method, I cant remember the name, where you rack the beer during active fermenation to a second vessel. Supposedly, it doesnt have any ill effects, but in the case of the OP, I wouldn't move it either. Let it reach terminal gravity in the primary vessel then bottle it about a week later
 
For dry hoping? Yes.

Bother with a reading? No.

I would leave it where it is for a third week, rack to 'secondary' and dry hop for a week.

Could you explain why? My beers have alway been done fermenting by 2 weeks anyway, but why would a third week be needed prior to dry hopping in a secondary?
 
Could you explain why? My beers have alway been done fermenting by 2 weeks anyway, but why would a third week be needed prior to dry hopping in a secondary?

That extra week allows the yeast to clean up the byproducts and off flavors they left behind during fermentation. Will clear up nicely too
 
I could try to explain it or could direct you to a number of Revvy's posts or I could just suggest that you try it and notice the difference yourself.

For dry hopping purposes you want the fermentation to be complete as active fermentation drives off some of that wonderful aroma that you are trying to achieve with the dry hops. Whatever you smell coming out of your air lock during active fermentation is leaving your beer.

As you yeast are cleaning up after fermentation has completed, they aren't producing the large amount of Co2 that drives the aroma out. 1 week for the dry hops is plenty.

Yes, the yeast are done fermenting but they aren't done doing what they do after 2 weeks.
 
just cuz its done actively fermenting, doesnt mean the yeast are done working. the extra week will help clean up the beer more than it would in the secondary. if you're not harvesting the yeast, you can just toss the hops into the primary now and be done in a week
 
just cuz its done actively fermenting, doesnt mean the yeast are done working. the extra week will help clean up the beer more than it would in the secondary. if you're not harvesting the yeast, you can just toss the hops into the primary now and be done in a week

Thanks for the great replies. I haven't planned on using a secondary at all because as a busy working father and husband I am trying to keep simplicity maxed while keeping quality up as much as possible.


So this was going to be my next question. What is the point of the secondary at all? It sounds like 1st week for active fermentation, second week to complete, near complete fermentation, 3rd week for clean up then bottle if not dry hopping or toss in the hops in if dry hopping. I always thought the concept was sitting too long on trub lead to off flavors so that is why folks used a secondary as soon as the airlock was down to like one bubble per minute or less or something like that.
 
I always thought the concept was sitting too long on trub lead to off flavors so that is why folks used a secondary as soon as the airlock was down to like one bubble per minute or less or something like that.

That is the irrational fear among home brewers but in all actuality, a month isn't going to do anything. Heck some will say 5 months won't.

If simplicity is something you're interested in, by all means, don't rack your beer to secondary. I would still let it sit a total of 3 weeks before dry hopping it for a week. Just toss the hops into the Primary when you are ready and bottle a week later.

I do rack to a 'secondary' as I think it gives me a clearer beer when I do but that could all be in my head. A great number of home brewers do not bother with a secondary at all.
 
OP here...

I don't mind leaving in the primary for a 3rd week as it can obviously only help (certainly won't hurt anything), but I'm hesitant to cut the dryhoping by a week from what the recipe calls for. This is a Pliney Elder recipe and my understanding is that it's a very hopy beer. Are you certain of the 1 week thing or should I stick to the recipe but just add an additional week to the primary fermentation (for a total of 3 in the primary, 2 in secondary, 3 in the bottle)?
 
2 weeks would be the maximum I would leave dry hops on a beer in a fermenter. You could end up with an earthy or grassy taste from leaving them on for too long. And wait until you see what they look like after 12 days. You'll probably want to get your beer away from them. For now stick with the recipe. It's just a batch of beer.
 
I started fermenting my first batch this friday. Within 48 hrs all activity ceased with blowoff. Now I didn't bother to filter the hops in the wort before pitching.

Along this same line of thinking, would it be best to rack to a secondary, attempting to eliminate most of the hops and trub from the rest of the fermentation?
 
I started fermenting my first batch this friday. Within 48 hrs all activity ceased with blowoff. Now I didn't bother to filter the hops in the wort before pitching.

Along this same line of thinking, would it be best to rack to a secondary, attempting to eliminate most of the hops and trub from the rest of the fermentation?

No, like mentioned above, even if they yeast are "fermenting" they are cleaning up after themselves and removing some off flavors from the beer. Leave it in primary for 2-3 weeks.
 
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