Yeast And Secondary Fermenter Question

i just finished my first batch of beer,It was irish red ale and it turned out great. It was a recipe kit from midwest. I used dry yeast and didnt secondary ferment.I am going to do a honey amber ale next. I now have a glass carboy for the secondary, how much will this help the taste and clarity? As far as the yeast, is there a big advantage for using wyeast? will it change the taste? I see that people have trouble fermenting, but I could see bubbles in about 2 hours.

A secondary helps with clarity and allows the beer time to 'bulk age' which lets the flavors blend a bit more without the beer being on the yeast cake. This is important for long aging beers (think huge and dark ales), but a lot of people around here seem skip the secondary without a second thought. I like the secondary since I always seem to kick up a lot of trub when I try to siphon from the primary.

Using liquid yeasts lets you get different flavors from your beer; yes, the yeast can contribute greatly to the flavor profile. There just aren't many different choices of dry yeast, and they are mostly designed to impart very little flavor. With just a very little bit of extra care and PATIENCE it is very easy to use liquid yeasts. I think a lot of the worried threads around here are a result of people not having much patience for their first try at using liquid yeasts.

Good luck with your next brew!

A big +1 to KungPaoDog,

I typically ferment in the primary for 3 weeks and bottle. depending on the beer (if its bigger) or if i need room to ferment another beer, will i use a secondary. Also, if you want a crystal clear beer a secondary helps but for that i would also recommend whirfloc/irish moss, gelatin and crash cooling.

For yeast, i use both dry and liquid, white labs and wyeast. Your going to have more variety with liquid yeast and i typically make starters and harvest liquid yeast.

Thanks i think ill try the dry yeast one more time.But now that i have the carboy i will use the secondary.And i will try to let it age for an extra week.