Large headspace in secondary, my first BIAB.

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Hi all,
So my latest brew was my first experience with BIAB, a hoppy IPAish ale of my own creation. The problem is that I sort of worked myself into a corner. I got a little too excited to try too many new things at once. I decided to try fermenting 1 week in my bottling bucket as a primary and transfering to my primary bucket as a secondary for 2 weeks. I am now faced with the problem that I will have about 3 gallons of headspace in the secondary. I forgot that the BIAB formula yielded 3 gallons rather than the 5 from my previous extracts. I've read alot on the forums and realize that in this situation I should just leave it in the primary. However the primary is currently my bottling bucket and I dont want to bottle directly from the primary. So I am forced to rack to a secondary no matter what and my question is what would some more experienced brewers do in this situation?

A. Rack to the secondary after 2 weeks in the primary, leave it for a week so it can clarify and hope there is enough CO2 in solution to fill 3 gallons of headspace.

B. Same as option A, except add a priming solution of corn sugar to the secondary to produce more CO2 and fill the headspace.

C. Rack to the secondary on, or the day before bottling day, so I can clean the primary, which is my bottling bucket, and use it. This means loosing out on any benifits from the secondary but minimizes oxygen exposure.

Or if you can think of a better option I'd love to hear it, I realize it will probably be fine with 1 week in the secondary with no extra sugar or anything, but I worry because I can.

Thanks,
 
If you are going to use a secondary (and it's fine to do so), you need a carboy of the appropriate size. Even if you used a 3 gallon bucket for a three gallon batch, the very wide headspace of a bucket means that it's not appropriate for aging once fermentation ends. During active fermentation, a bucket is fine, but once fermentation ends and the c02 is no longer being produced, racking to a bucket is inappropriate.

So, if you want to do a secondary, get a carboy and match it to the size batch you are doing. I have 3, 5, and 6 gallon carboys so I have some flexibility there.
 
Yea thats what I found out through alot of reaseach on the web, it would be pointless to use a bucket as a secondary. I just didn't think it through, it was a last minute decision. I could buy a 3 gallon carboy as I still have plenty of time.
 
Is there any merit in the idea of adding extra sugar to the secondary to generate a new blanket of CO2 in the secondary bucket? Or would I be better off just trasfering the beer back and forth on bottling day to free up my bottling bucket?
 
Is there any merit in the idea of adding extra sugar to the secondary to generate a new blanket of CO2 in the secondary bucket? Or would I be better off just trasfering the beer back and forth on bottling day to free up my bottling bucket?

I have done this in the past, for the reason you suggest- to regenerate some CO2. I'm sure it does, but how much and for how long? The CO2 in the bucket and O2 from the atmosphere will interchange and equilibrate, but I would really love to know how quickly this happens. Sounds like a topic for an exbeeriment.
 
Is there any merit in the idea of adding extra sugar to the secondary to generate a new blanket of CO2 in the secondary bucket? Or would I be better off just trasfering the beer back and forth on bottling day to free up my bottling bucket?

I've done it a couple times with big beers that got extended secondary time in my carboy, but that's a tablespoon or so of sugar boiled in half a cup of water. To fill up 3+ gallons of headspace you'd need quite a bit more sugar than that, so you'd really be messing with your recipe at that point.

Why not get three one-gallon jugs of water at the supermarket and use those jugs for a split secondary? A three gallon carboy might not be readily available to you, but three jugs of water would be cheap and easy to source.

The back-and-forth transfer is an option as well. I think I did that once or twice early in my brewing career when I did a couple double batches for my wedding. It's a bit of a pain to do an extra racking, but as long as you're careful about sanitation and avoiding splashing the results should be alright.
 
Option D. Buy another bottling bucket. You can use it as a fermenter or just keep it as a spare for the time you are ready to bottle and discover that your spigot got broke.
 
Thanks for the replies! I like the 1 gallon jug idea, I always love repurposing things. I think since I have the time to i'll order a 3 gallon carboy. Good excuse to buy new equipment :) However I'm kind of glad it happened this way. Last time I ordered my ingredients I though about buying a 5 gal carboy so I could do 3 and 5 gal batches, I figured why get the smaller one? Now I know why! Best way to learn is by mistake.

Thanks!
 
Might as well order yourself up another 5 or 6 or 7 gallon fermenter along with the 3 gallon. That way you can get a couple batches going. Or ditch the bucket as a fermenter and use it just for bottling. So in that case order 2 bigger sizes and a 3 gallon. I just got in a 7 gallon Fermonster today. Now I got 8, 7, 3, and a few 1 gallon for fermentation vessels. Time to get the pipeline filled! :mug:
 
Just an FYI - I bought a 3-gallon glass carboy as I did one of NB's BIAB kits. I used it for that kit. Since then, I've done 5-gallon BIAB and just sparge to make up the extra volume and net 5 gallons, so I use my 5-gallon carboys for secondary just like I did for extract kits. So, if you're confident you will use the 3-gallon carboy a lot, go ahead and get one. However, IME, the 3-gallon carboy is probably the least used piece of brewing equipment I've ever purchased.
 
My 3 gallon carboys (both glass & plastic) get used all the time. :) To each his own! I brew a lot of 2.5 and 3 gallon batches. Granted, they're not much use for 5 gallon batches - unless you split batches to compare different yeasts or other variables.

As you continue to brew, you may like the flexibility of different batch sizes. The more fermenters, the merrier.

(I have them in 1, 2.5, 3, 5, and 6 gal sizes)
 
Went ahead and ordered a 3 gallon glass carboy, along with some other things. Unfortunately my limiting factor is the ancient electric range in my apartment. It takes an hour to boil 4 gallons, I used a propane torch on the side of the kettle to help it along last time. I should get plenty of use out of it for awhile.
 
Went ahead and ordered a 3 gallon glass carboy, along with some other things. Unfortunately my limiting factor is the ancient electric range in my apartment. It takes an hour to boil 4 gallons, I used a propane torch on the side of the kettle to help it along last time. I should get plenty of use out of it for awhile.

You might want to add one or 2 of these heat sticks to speed up gettting to boil. They also might be useful for a bigger batch if you have a kettle big enough for that.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FO8FY68/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
 
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