Question about primary fermenting

[turboint3gra]

Good day!

I am new to the sport of Homebrewing and for my first few batches I have been brewing primary (4-5 days) then secondary until fermentation is complete.

After reading some threads on the forums here I have been led to believe that secondary may not be necessary and that one can keep the beer in the primary for the duration of the brew.

The way I have been using the primary (plastic bucket) is just mixing everything pitching the yeast and then leaving the lid loosly on the top of the bucket. My question is how are you guys brewing if you dont switch to a secondary? Are you sealing the bucket tight with a hole drilled into the top for an airlock? Or are you leaving the lid on loosely for the first few days and then sealing it afterwards once the initial kick of fermentation has subsided?

Ian

 

[Yooper]

I always close the top and use an airlock. I keep the beer in the fermenter for 2-4 weeks, depending on what it is and how busy I am with other things.

 

[Revvy]

At yeast pitch I snap the lid on the fermenter, slap on an airlock and come back in a month...nothing fancy.

 

[TipsyDragon]

for people who use buckets thats exactly what they do. clamp the lid down tight and add an airlock to allow the pressure to escape. but even with this set up sometimes the CO2 escapes somewhere besides the airlock. so if you do go this rout don't be surprised if nothing happens in the airlock.

for future reference the general consensus around here is that you should leave the beer (ale) on the yeast for 3ish weeks before bottling. and use your hydrometer not your airlock to determine when fermentation is actually done.

 

[neovox]

There are several threads on HBT dedicated to the "to secondary or not to secondary" topic. What you'll find is in most cases the right answer comes down to a personal preference. Since you're just starting out, you may want to try it both ways and see which you prefer. I would however recommend that you use a lid that completely seals and an air lock to minimize your risk of infection.

 

[KingKegII]

For the first few batches I ever did I racked to a 2nd cuz that's what the instructions said. After reading some threads on here, I tried the "leave it in primary til it's done" approach. I agree w/ neovox that it's personal preference, and my preference is to just leave it in primary. That being said, you'll definitely want a hole in your lid for attaching a blow-off hose or airlock. Here again, my preference is to use a blow-off hose with the other end in a container w/ sanitizing solution. If you're filling your fermenting bucket close to the top and/or you have a vigorous initial fermentation you can blow an airlock right out of the lid. After cleaning krausen, hops and wort from my ceiling I prefer the blow-off hose vs. the airlock. I may switch to an airlock after initial fermentation has subsided, but not always.

Welcome to the hobby and cheers!

 

[Frank99]

My beer improved drastically when I decided to leave it in the primary longer. 4-5 days is not enough IMO. I leave mine in the primary for 2-3 weeks in general. There's a lot of debate on the secondary, but it does have its benefits.

 

[turboint3gra]

Thanks for all the replies! I think for my next brew I will use only the primary with an airlock and see what happens.

Using advice from this post I think I’ll leave a large enough gap between the beer and the top of the bucket to allow for initial fermentation so I don’t have any messy accidents.

So far I am thoroughly enjoying this hobby and have been brewing something somehow on a weekly basis. I brought a 24 of my Canadian IPA extract kit to a party last week and I don’t know if it was the fact that I was giving away free beer but people seemed to really take a liking to the product. Needless to say I left with a case of empties after only having about 4 myself!

Happy Brewing!
Ian

 

[timm747]

Not to hijack the thread, but does it matter though whether you are brewing AG vs a kit? Or would you guys even leave a kit in the primary for a month?

 

[Revvy]

Not to hijack the thread, but does it matter though whether you are brewing AG vs a kit? Or would you guys even leave a kit in the primary for a month?

Beer is beer no matter what method the brewer utilized in making it. In fact in the first online edition of How TO Brew, Palmer first mentions long primaries in terms of improving the taste of kit beers.