some conflicting info on secondary

ive read on these pages that you should wait until fermentation is done until racking into the secondary, others say when it's not quite finished fermenting. the directions on my brewers best kit says to do it before fermentation ends (5-days).

i went ahead and re racked today (8th day) so well see how it goes.

i was able to buy two glass 5 gal carboys for 20$ from a friend so thats the only reason why im using a secondary. so i figured id try using it. and i know thats another discussion in itself.

Gtrfrk182 said:

i was able to buy two glass 5 gal carboys for 20$ from a friend so thats the only reason why im using a secondary. so i figured id try using it. and i know thats another discussion in itself.

Click to expand...

Seems to me it's the same discussion: when do I rack to secondary. Some say never, unless you're doing neato flavor additions that req

Gtrfrk182 said:

i was able to buy two glass 5 gal carboys for 20$ from a friend so thats the only reason why im using a secondary. so i figured id try using it. and i know thats another discussion in itself.

Click to expand...

Indeed, secondary fermentors are considered an old school of thought. The only reason I would go to secondary is if beer clearity was a very important requirement or if I were producing something like a barleywine and didnt have a keg availible to keg the thing in after 3 weeks in the primary.

For most beers that require 2 to 3 weeks in the fermentor before either bottling or kegging, transfering to a secondary produces little results while giving bacteria and mold another chance to get at your delicous beer to be.

[weird]

uire it.

Odds are you didn't hurt anything by racking to a secondary, especially after 8 days. The only real discussion about secondary vs. no secondary is whether or not it's necessary to use a secondary. The current school of thought is that it's not necessary except for a couple of very specific situations. However, if you want to use a secondary, their is no harm.

I've always thought that if you are wanting to use a secondary, you wait a day or three til after Krausen falls.

I secondary. It's not a "necessary step". But I like my beer better that way.

Yeah Old School!

My opinion, if you rack before fermentation is finished, you risk either not transferring all the fermentables or shocking your yeast into dormancy. On the other hand, if you have a fermentation that is stuck in the primary, sometimes you can kick start it by racking and sucking up a lot of the yeast on the bottom (more often than not, you have to try something else)

You should NOT rack to a secondary until after your projected FG is met.

If you rack too early you run the risk of racking off the yeast that is in the process of cleaning up after itself. If this is not done your beer will acquire the dreaded DIACETYL (butter) flavor.

A secondary is really a clearing tank where you give the brew more time for the yeast to drop out and for bulk aging.

Some brewers cold crash in the primary when the FG is stable for a couple of days then keg.

Too many ways to skin the same cat...use whichever practice works for your situation...

It's simply Older information based on an outmoded fear of yeast and autolysis, being replaced by new ideas.

Places like this are at the forefront of the new info, this and podcasts.

Here's some reading for you.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/second-ferm-racking-128440/#post1438252

And the discussion here, https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/multiple-questions-about-secondary-fermentation-140978/#post1601829

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/secondary-not-john-palmer-jamil-zainasheff-weigh-176837/