Now that I have a ton more equipment, I am going to try going to a secondary for the first time and have some questions. The understanding I have is that you do it after the beer stops bubbling and transfer to another container and just leave it there for two weeks. If I'm off please correct me. Other than that should my secondary have an airlock? Is there anything I would add to it? Finally, are there some beers that really wouldn't benefit from a secondary?
Sooo...how do you start a secondary?
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El Pistolero
Well-Known Member
Yes, definately put an airlock on your secondary.
Some don't put wheat beers to secondary, figuring they're not gonna clear up much anyway.
Some don't put wheat beers to secondary, figuring they're not gonna clear up much anyway.
BlightyBrewer
Well-Known Member
I usually wait till I've got one bubble every 60 seconds in the primary before racking to secondary, and yes, you will need an airlock in the secondary. As far as adding to the secondary goes, if you are talking ingredients then you can dry hop (add extra hops) or other ingredients (cinnamon etc) to the secondary. The latter should be soaked in a little vodka first though.
DeRoux's Broux
Well-Known Member
to be 100% certain it's done fermenting, take a specific gravity reading w/ your hydrometer. or, if your lazy like me, then wait until you see no sign of activity for several minutes. that's just me. then rack to a clean and sanitized secondary and allow it to mature and clear up a tad. for an average ale, i'd say 5-7 days. :~)
autoferret
Well-Known Member
So you rack to a secondary to help age and clear the beer.
Cheesefood
Well-Known Member
autoferret said:
Yes. I don't believe you'll get much - if any - fermentation from a secondary, but you're allowing more junk to settle to the bottom. You'll notice that the trub in the bottom of the secondary is more like a fine silt, where the trub in the primary is more like slimy mud.
2 weeks in the secondary should allow most of the garbage to settle out, leaving you with a much more pure and better tasting beverage.
drengel
Well-Known Member
i've had alot of beers that arent done completely before i rack to the 2ndary, they'll be hovering around 1.018-20 and after two weeks they'll be done to 1.012 or so, so a little bit of fermentation goes on, but not much. just one more reason to use a 2ndary.
Shambolic
Well-Known Member
There is usually a decrease in gravity of about 2-3 points in my secondary, so it's there, but it's not significant. However, my beers have been a LOT better since using a secondary (although I also changed other aspects of my brewing technique at the same time).
Two weeks in the secondary is standard. It's amazing how much trub settles out of a brew in the secondary.
Two weeks in the secondary is standard. It's amazing how much trub settles out of a brew in the secondary.
Thor
Well-Known Member
All good points. Just a couple of things to add...
- Even though you might not see bubbles from the secondary's airlock, you'll know that fermentation is still active if the plastic piece inside the airlock is aloft. That suggests some CO2 production, even if it's not enough for bubbles.
- In addition to helping clear the beer, the continued aging in the secondary helps remove other taste impurities and add desireable tastes without adding potentially unpleasant taste from the trub that settled in the primary.
And, of course, it frees up your primary for another batch!
- Even though you might not see bubbles from the secondary's airlock, you'll know that fermentation is still active if the plastic piece inside the airlock is aloft. That suggests some CO2 production, even if it's not enough for bubbles.
- In addition to helping clear the beer, the continued aging in the secondary helps remove other taste impurities and add desireable tastes without adding potentially unpleasant taste from the trub that settled in the primary.
And, of course, it frees up your primary for another batch!
brackbrew
Well-Known Member
Fudd said:
Any beers with complex taste elements added (fruit extracts, essences, multiple specialty grains, etc) would benefit from maturing in a secondary. Also, beers with high OG's (i.e. a braggot, barley wine, strong ale, russian imperial stout, etc) REQUIRE a secondary to completely ferment and mature. Other than that, I completely agree with the other posts, it's also important for letting junk clear out of your beer, getting it off of the junk that ALREADY cleared from your beer, etc. Hope this helps.
bikebryan
Well-Known Member
I disagree on your first post. You can have NO CO2 production due to fermentation, but the plastic piece inside the airlock may still be aloft. This is because, as you rack from fermenter to secondary, CO2 that is dissolved in the solution is released - raising the plastic piece - but it's very possible that zero additional fermentation has happened.Thor said:
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