bjzelectric
Well-Known Member
ive heard that racking to a secondary really isnt worth the risk of oxidation/contamination... is this true or is it worth it?
You'll hear tons of different answers in just a few minutes. I "personally" use a secondary, but I guess it's all personal preference. I wait at least two weeks and then transfer out of the primary to a secondary for an additional week. This allows for a somewhat clearer final product. As long as you are sanitary during your transfer process, you should have no problems going over to a secondary.
ive heard that racking to a secondary really isnt worth the risk of oxidation/contamination... is this true or is it worth it?
1- Helping out clearing out the beer before the bottling/kegging stage.
Let's be honest....Moving beer from one container to another does not in any way, shape, or form accelerate clearing.
Gravity and time clears beer. This process occurs on or off the yeast cake.
Proven methods for accelerating the clearing process include:
- Gelatin (binds to proteins)
- Cold crashing (flocculates yeast)
- Media filtering (expensive)
- Centrifuge (ungodly expensive)
I am brewing the very same batch (recipe and yeast) as the batch before it, if i do not find no noticeable difference in clarity, then the secondary is gonna be a thing of the past for me.
I guess my answer wasn't really complete- I "cheat" because I keg most of my beers so that's one reason I'm happy skipping a secondary. I can leave the beer in the keg for a few weeks until I tap it, and end up with crystal clear, well conditioned beer. If I was still bottling, I'd either do a secondary or a much longer primary. If I was doing a "big" beer, I'd definitely secondary it.
Why would you secondary a "big beer"?
Some people are concerned that extended aging on the yeast cake will result in detectable yeast autolyis off flavors. The general rule of thumb people throw around is ~6 months, which (in my experience) is an acceptable time frame for 98% of beers.
so a month on the yeast cake wont hurt a stout?
i like to rack to secondary because I love to brew and every step is fun for me, so its another excuse to taste my beer, see my product and be part of the experience!
Let's be honest....Moving beer from one container to another does not in any way, shape, or form accelerate clearing.
...
If it is a big beer like a stout,or bock or something dark,clearing is not really nessesary is it? Why would you secondary a "big beer"?
Our 10der & Mild swap last fall required we brew, condition and ship within ten days of brewing.
Ain't no way I get my beers looking like this by shipping time without racking to a bright tank.
I've too much empirical evidence to suggest that transferring beer from a high (yeast) concentration environment to a low (yeast) concentration environment does promote (yeast) fall out..
...Cold conditioning and a touch of gelatin accelerate the clearing process dramatically. ...
Ain't no way I get my beers looking like this by shipping time without racking to a bright tank.
I guess my answer wasn't really complete- I "cheat" because I keg most of my beers so that's one reason I'm happy skipping a secondary. I can leave the beer in the keg for a few weeks until I tap it, and end up with crystal clear, well conditioned beer. If I was still bottling, I'd either do a secondary or a much longer primary. If I was doing a "big" beer, I'd definitely secondary it.
For me it depends on the beer. If it's something I'm struggling to clear, or if I need to dry-hop or add fruit/oak/etc, I'll secondary.
Enter your email address to join: