Does it hurt to leave in primary longer?

[nickhead]

Hey guys - my local brewing supplies place is totally out of carboys and have been pretty crappy w/ getting new ones. I have 3 batches brewing in primary, but only 2 carboys.

My question is, does it hurt to leave the brew in the primary for longer than normal (the recipe calls for a week)?

-and-

If I am unable to find a carboy in a reasonable amount of time, can I just use a standard primary bucket as the secondary fermenter? Do people do that?

Thanks

-Nick

 

[BierMuncher]

Hey guys - my local brewing supplies place is totally out of carboys and have been pretty crappy w/ getting new ones. I have 3 batches brewing in primary, but only 2 carboys.

My question is, does it hurt to leave the brew in the primary for longer than normal (the recipe calls for a week)?

-and-

If I am unable to find a carboy in a reasonable amount of time, can I just use a standard primary bucket as the secondary fermenter? Do people do that?

Thanks

-Nick

Yes you can use a bucket for a secondary.

More experienced brewers will suggest that the longer you leave the beer in the primary...the better the beer will be.

I usually leave mine in for a minimum 2 weeks and generally go 3 weeks...maybe longer if it's a bigger beer.

 

[pahiker6]

I've left beers in primary for a month with no ill effects.

 

[Revvy]

I leave mine 3 weeks to a month, and they are better than when I used to secondary. I only secondary now if I am adding fruit or dry hopping...

 

[ajf]

I usually leave my beers (English bitters) in primary for 3 - 4 weeks, and don't bother with the secondary. This was recommended by Jamil Z, and the beers have improved noticeably as a result of this practice, and it saves me time.

-a.

 

[p4ck37p1mp]

+1, I don't bother with secondary either.

 

[Danek]

Yeah, +1 to what everyone else said. A month in primary is preferable to a week in primary.

 

[bob1852]

quick question for you non-secondary types. Do you rack to the bottling bucket and immediately bottle? Or do you let it settle for a couple hrs/days? I've always used a secondary and I guess am wondering if you leave it in the primary for a month it's already settled out enough that you don't get much trub in the bottling bucket.

 

[p4ck37p1mp]

I keg, so I rack it out of primary. On the rare occasions I bottle, I still rack it out of primary. You just have to be careful to fill bottles first with the cane towards the top of the fermenter. I usually pull half a pint from a new keg and chuck it as there is usually some crud that settles out.

 

[Revvy]

quick question for you non-secondary types. Do you rack to the bottling bucket and immediately bottle? Or do you let it settle for a couple hrs/days? I've always used a secondary and I guess am wondering if you leave it in the primary for a month it's already settled out enough that you don't get much trub in the bottling bucket.

I go straight to bottling bucket and then bottle...If you are leaving it in primary for a month then you have a really settled beer...In fact I purposefully make sure to pick up a little yeast when I rack over. I run the autosiphon quickly along the bottom of the bucket or carboy to get some yeast up (maybe a couple cups or so.) Just to make sure there is enough yeasties to do their job...but that might be overkill....But who knows.

 

[bob1852]

Thanks Revvy - the batch I'm brewing this weekend will sit in the primary for a month, and then to the bottling bucket and bottles. And this might be my last extract batch -- it's time for AG!

 

[ajf]

I go straight from primary to keg, except when bottling. When bottling, I rack to the bottling bucket, and bottle immediately. I don't intentionally introduce yeast into the bottling bucket, and don't get carbonation problems.

-a.

 

[nickhead]

So it seems like the consensus here is 'no secondary'.

If this is the case, why do some people use secondary? Are there any benefits?

Now that I know secondary isn't necessary (and more so, that some of you have had better experiences w/ out secondary), can I use a standard better bottle or glass carboy for primary (provided I keep the light out)?

Thanks for the valuable info. This is the 2nd time you guys have saved me $$$ (and it's only been 2 weeks).

Any secondary advocates want to chime in?

 

[Revvy]

Threads on here, it bcomes a bit of a debate...This one explains pretty much when people do.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=71698


I think I also mentioned when I use one in my first post on this thread. For me only if adding fruit or dry hopping...

 

[nickhead]

Awesome - I'll check out that thread - thanks again. Revvy - this is off topic, but, what beers w/ fruit added have you had the most success with? Any favorites?

 

[Revvy]

Awesome - I'll check out that thread - thanks again. Revvy - this is off topic, but, what beers w/ fruit added have you had the most success with? Any favorites?

I've only done two things with actual fruit so I'm no expert...one was a pumpkin porter awhile ago and the other was a peach mead (that's the one where I racked the mead to a secondary on top of the peaches) And I won't know how that is for several months.

The other fruit things I have used are orange and lime zest in various beers.

A lot of people seem to like Rasberries in things...Look at the recipe index under fruit beers, you'll see what people have done.

 

[Saccharomyces]

So it seems like the consensus here is 'no secondary'.

Yup.

I secondary to dry hop now. I'm planning to even change that up by dry hopping late in the primary and dry hopping again in the serving keg when I do an IPA soon. Me likes hops aroma. ...

If this is the case, why do some people use secondary? Are there any benefits?

As I see it, if you want to bulk age your beer for a loooooong long time, e.g. lagering for 6-8 weeks for a Doppelbock, or a long bulk aging for a RIS/Barleywine/etc, a secondary is probably necessary to get off the primary cake after 4-6 weeks, since the yeast are stressed from the higher alcohol content and may autolyze before the beer is fully conditioned. Even then, if you keg, you can condition in the keg, and remove most the sediment by pulling a pint off with a cobra tap and discarding it every month or so (assuming your dip tube reaches to the bottom), so there is never a need to secondary in that case. I'm planning to do just that for my lagers... they'll sit in the kegerator right next to the serving kegs.

The footnote to this is what Revvy keeps pushing: give your beers time to condition in the bottle/keg. If you drink green beer, guess what, it will be clearer if you secondary, since more yeast will drop out. I'm patient, condition for at least six weeks before drinking, and haven't noticed a difference since I stopped using a secondary. The first couple of pints have sediment out of the keg, and after that, it's clear.

Now that I know secondary isn't necessary (and more so, that some of you have had better experiences w/ out secondary), can I use a standard better bottle or glass carboy for primary (provided I keep the light out)?

I love 6 gallon better bottles as primaries. I switched 4 batches ago and haven't looked back.

 

[WBC]

I use a Sankey keg or a conical as a fermenter. I always use refrigeration and the beer is awesome. I never secondary unless making a lager.

 

[Tankard]

Add me to the "no secondary" group. Unless I'm aging a big beer (haven't done one yet), adding fruit (also haven't done this yet), or dryhopping.

Oh, and to answer the OP's original question... both yes and no. If you leave it TOO long, which is usually over two months, you run the risk of autolysis. This is where the yeast start dying and releasing nasty off flavors that will almost certainly destroy your beer. There have been brewers who have left their beer in the primaries for over two months with no problems, but I wouldn't feel safe doing so myself. Generally anything up to, and including, a month is perfectly fine if you are using healthy yeast to begin with.

Keeping your beer in the primary for 3-4 weeks, as opposed to the standard 1 week in the "1-2-3 method", will definitely improve your beer because the yeast have a longer time to clean up after themselves once fermentation is complete.

 

[postman]

Primary only, unless a bucket is used for over 3 weeks. My 5 gal carboy now gets used if I do half batches when I experiment with different yeasts.

 

[nickhead]

primary it is. Thanks everyone. I expect to encounter more sediment without the use of a secondary (is that accurate?)... Any techniques I should be mindful of when bottling to limit sediment?

great advice

 

[Revvy]

primary it is. Thanks everyone. I expect to encounter more sediment without the use of a secondary (is that accurate?)... Any techniques I should be mindful of when bottling to limit sediment?

great advice

Sediment is not evil....you always will have to have some sediment in living beer, the sediment in the bottles is the living organisms that carbonated your living beer (as opposed to the dead commercial fizzy stuff sold as BMC).

In Belgium, for instance they are proud of their "sediment"...

Homebrewers who bottle learn to perfect the perfect pour.

[youtube]xyXn4UBjQkE[/youtube]

 

[landis]

+1 on only using a primary.

I even dry hop in the primary. My brews ferment in my 100 year old basement with a cement floor. I have no desire to carry glass carboys up and down those old creaking stairs.

 

[nickhead]

wow - thanks guys. I had no idea. Beer as vitamins. What can't it do?