Does everyone rack to secondary??

Stankonia said:

I have an IPA in primary right now that I'm going to dry hop with 1oz of hops. Tomorrow will be 7 days since it was brewed. I am still deciding on whether to dry hop in secondary or just do it in primary.

Any tips or tricks to dry hopping in primary as opposed to secondary? I was thinking about this Thursday or Friday (10-11 days of fermentation) for throwing the hops in the primary for 5-7 days before bottling.

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I always dry hop in the primary. Then to the brite tank (secondary) with gelatin and crash to 34 F for 3 weeks.

Crystal clear

Dry hopping in the brite tank is just putting more funk in something you want to have as clear as possible.

My $ .02

A lot of people think a secondary will give you maximum clarity but I have heard from Jamil and Palmer that is actually disturbs the yeast falling and takes longer to clear when you disturb it by racking to a secondary vs staying in the primary and letting it settle out.

I tend to believe them anyways but the proof is actually doing it yourself...see the photo here of my last batch, a Belgian Golden Strong.

Wyeast 3787, flocculation is listed as medium. I did not use any other finings than a standard whirlflock in the boil. It was in the primary for about 2-3 weeks. Bottle conditioned for 2 weeks. Cold conditioned another 3 weeks.

I only secondary if I'm racking on top of a flavoring agent like cocoa nibs. Otherwise it's 3 weeks in the primary and then strait into the bottling bucket.

i do a secondary for 2 reasons one it makes me feel like i doing more to make my beer clean. but, the main reason i do it is it gives me a reason to play with my beer i get ancy between brews and this helps a bit. may not be necessary but i like doing it. Chopps

when you guys say you leave the beer in the primary bucket for 3-4 weeks, are you referring to an airtight bucket with a bung?
I ferment in a bucket with a looser fitting lid, and no bung. would skipping the secondary still be an option?

Just me I would be too nervous to sleep with no airlock and just a loose lid

sipNswirl said:

when you guys say you leave the beer in the primary bucket for 3-4 weeks, are you referring to an airtight bucket with a bung?
I ferment in a bucket with a looser fitting lid, and no bung. would skipping the secondary still be an option?

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If you talking about RJ Spagnolis 10 gal white plastic fermenting bucket with loose lid, NO I personally would not leave my beer there for any more than 10 days. Actually I did once, and it got infected. Fruit flies got inside and spoiled the batch.

roger that.

OP: No

sipNswirl said:

when you guys say you leave the beer in the primary bucket for 3-4 weeks, are you referring to an airtight bucket with a bung?
I ferment in a bucket with a looser fitting lid, and no bung. would skipping the secondary still be an option?

Click to expand...

I don't ferment in buckets anymore. I did for my first batch and then one (maybe two) more after that. Quickly grew to hate the buchets. I was using PET carboys until I startwd using kegs (SS, sanke now). Far less worries, for me, fermenting in a keg since I don't need to even think about light, oxidation, or infection from a scratch in the plastic. I simply fit the opening with a large universal bung and install either a blowoff tube or airlock and let it ride 4+ weeks. Getting excellent results this way with very clear brews and no odd flavors. I still have the original bucket, but it now catches the grain from my BC. I also have the PET carboys, but they are just used to transport brew water to my buddy's place (or whereever I'll be brewing that day). I have a few glass carboys but those are for mead.

I don't expect to ever go back to fermenting in plastic again.