Secondary ferment my pale ale?

[eastcoastbrewer]

Hi guys,

Im new to the forum and just brewed my first 5 gallon partial mash pale ale from a local HBS and i have a couple of questions. Ive been reading constantly and that lead me to be very confused, I currently have my pale ale in a 6.5 gal fermentor, my question is: do i need to do a secondary fermentation in a 5 gallon carboy? I have to dry hop this beer once on day 6-9. Can i leave it in the fermentor after i dry hop it for another week or two or do i have to transfer to a carboy?

Thanks!

 

[SoggyWood]

go ahead and dry hop it right in your primary and then straight to package after desired contact time

 

[hottpeper13]

If your using pellet hops,I find it works best if I dry hop in primary for 3 days at the finishing temp then cold crash for 3-4 days, the hops sediment out and you can keg or bottle relatively clear beer.

 

[RM-MN]

Hi guys,

Im new to the forum and just brewed my first 5 gallon partial mash pale ale from a local HBS and i have a couple of questions. Ive been reading constantly and that lead me to be very confused, I currently have my pale ale in a 6.5 gal fermentor, my question is: do i need to do a secondary fermentation in a 5 gallon carboy? I have to dry hop this beer once on day 6-9. Can i leave it in the fermentor after i dry hop it for another week or two or do i have to transfer to a carboy?

Thanks!

I often wait until the beer has been in the fermenter for 3 weeks before I dry hop and the dry hops may stay there for another week or more. If the day 6-9 is necessary for your schedule you may have to do it then but otherwise there is no real rush. I've never used a secondary for dry hopping.

 

[eastcoastbrewer]

Awesome thanks! Yeah the instructions say to do it on those days so I'll hop it then. I'm thinking about leaving it the primary for 2-3 weeks then bottle for a week. Should be tasty!

 

[RM-MN]

Awesome thanks! Yeah the instructions say to do it on those days so I'll hop it then. I'm thinking about leaving it the primary for 2-3 weeks then bottle for a week. Should be tasty!

Please note that the instructions in the kits are often not quite right, If you are leaving the beer for 3 weeks, check that the beer is at final gravity at the end of week 2. If it is that is when you dry hop. You want all fermentation done before you add the dry hops so there is no aroma driven off by the fermentation. Although I've never tasted it, some people report that they get a grassy flavor if they dry hop more than a week so you wouldn't want to add the hops too early. I've also seen reports that 3 to 5 days of dry hopping is enough.