Hold or Cap

[TrubDude]

I will be away for two weeks. My batch is sitting in secondary for 1 week now. Should I let it sit for 2 more or cap and hope it's carbonated by the time I leave? Beginner question. Just started brewing a few months ago. Thanks!

 

[myndflyte]

I'm not sure I understand you correctly. You should never carbonate in a container not meant for it. What is your secondary container? Also just capping it isn't going to carb it if there is no sugar for it to eat.

How long was it in the primary? Based on the info here, just leave it until you can bottle.

 

[TrubDude]

Sorry, after reading it sounds confusing. I know it won't carbonate, I just don't usually let beer sit in secondary for more than a week. It was in primary for 5 days. I just don't know if some contaminates will grow in two weeks, in case I didn't sanitize well. I use a no rinse sanitizer but rinse because I'm not sure about foam. I know that defeats the purpose of sanitizing. I'm still pretty new.

 

[myndflyte]

Don't fear the foam. 5 days in the primary isn't very long. I usually let mine sit for 3 weeks and don't use a secondary. So just leave it until you get back, and it's a no rinse sanitizer for a reason.

 

[thehaze]

5 days on the yeast is not enough for most fermentations. Secondary is kind of useless in 2017 in my own opinion. Could possibly prove handy in beers with a lot of adjuncts, such as oak chips, cocoa beans, vanilla beans, etc.

But all beers will clear in the fermenter, with good brewing practice and cold crash.

No beer will be harmed from staying in primary or secondary for some weeks.

Also, by skipping the secondary, you actually skip a step, which could increase/influence the level of oxidation in the beer.