Secondary questions

[Knew2Brew]

Read from How to Brew that plastic carboy secondaries can allow oxygen in thus are not good....but for now thats what I got. What's my best option?

1) Keep in primary
2) Use plastic carboy
3) Use plastic carboy and submerge as much as possible in water to minimize any oxygen intrusion

What conditioning is provided by a secondary that isn't provided by a primary?

 

[Jeffinn]

Read from How to Brew that plastic carboy secondaries can allow oxygen in thus are not good....but for now thats what I got. What's my best option?

1) Keep in primary
2) Use plastic carboy
3) Use plastic carboy and submerge as much as possible in water to minimize any oxygen intrusion

What conditioning is provided by a secondary that isn't provided by a primary?

Theres nothing wrong with plastic secondaries (Better Bottles are plastic). Its more important to minimize head space if you're using a secondary fermenter.
Most folks here dont bother with a secondary at all. Id leave it in the primary and let it go.

 

[jethro55]

I wouldn't go so far as to say that most brewers skip the secondary. It is a necessary step for many home brewers for various personal preference reasons and also for certain beer styles. Processes are peculiar to each brewer - everyone does things slightly differently.

I use a secondary for two reasons. First, it lets me siphon to the bottling bucket without the messy floaters and trub that are always in my primary. And second, it makes it much easier to clean the primary when it is emptied right after the vigorous ferment is complete.

As far as conditioning, that would be anyone's claim based on what they experience, but not based on any science. There have been thorough taste comparisons by lots of writers/brewers and there doesn't seem to be a clear answer to it.

 

[C-Rider]

I primary in plastic buckets and have never needed a secondary in over 2 years of brewing. Of course I don't like fruity beers so my ales don't need secondary. i even dry hop in the primary and cold crash everything even stouts to help settle anything floating in the beer. Buckets are also easy to clean and CHEAP so i have 5 and can fit 4 at a time in my fermenting freezer and one in the cold crash fridge.

 

[kh54s10]

Secondary is really just a personal choice these days. In the olden days with inferior ingredients it was a good idea to rack off the sediment.

71 batches so far, I did a secondary 3 times.

As to the permeability of plastic bottles, unless you are going to leave the beer in there for many months it is really not a concern.

Option 3 is unnecessary.

If you do rack to secondary, be sure that you are at final gravity before you do so.

 

[eadavis80]

Yup - be sure your fermentation is complete before racking. Some rack, some don't. I do. It's personal preference. It frees up the primary and I THINK it helps the beer clear, but many will say it doesn't help much, if at all. Try both ways - see what works for you. As for Better Bottles, I have 2 and a glass 5 gallon secondary as well. I've used them all. Never noticed a difference. That being said, some literature says to use glass for a secondary if you're aging a big beer - like a barley wine for 6 or more months. I never make beers that big, so I can't comment on if there is a difference. I actually prefer Better Bottles to glass - lighter and no chance of glass shattering if you were to drop it...

 

[mjsinnott]

Couple of questions about secondaries. I wanted to dry hop this batch of IPA, directions directed to dry hop in a secondary, but someone mentioned dry hopping in the primary. I
1. Is there a difference if you dry hop in the primary or secondary?
2. Also if I decide to dry hop in my bottling bucket, it has a sealed lid, can I bottle right from the secondary or will I need to rack from the secondary to another bottling bucket for the bottle?
Thanks.

 

[mjsinnott]

Couple of questions about secondaries. I wanted to dry hop this batch of IPA, directions directed to dry hop in a secondary, but someone mentioned dry hopping in the primary. I
1. Is there a difference if you dry hop in the primary or secondary?
2. Also if I decide to dry hop in my bottling bucket, it has a sealed lid, can I bottle right from the secondary or will I need to rack from the secondary to another bottling bucket for the bottle?
Thanks.

 

[jethro55]

There would not be any difference to dry hopping in primary versus secondary.

The idea to dry hop in the bottling bucket is unusual and may cause a couple of issues.

1. Normally the priming solution is added to the bottling bucket before transfer so that the transfer can help with mixing the sugar solution. Although it could be added after the transfer, you would want to stir very gently and slowly to get an even mix of the sugar solution.

2. More hop particles would end up in the bottles, which is OK for some, not for others. There might be so much that it could clog the drain valve or the bottling wand.

If you need to do it that way, it might work. It will likely be much easier the normal way.

 

[mjsinnott]

Is it okay to secondary in a plastic bucket and then rack that over to the bottling bucket? Or is it more beneficial to rack it over to another glass carboy as a secondary?

 

[Yooper]

Is it okay to secondary in a plastic bucket and then rack that over to the bottling bucket? Or is it more beneficial to rack it over to another glass carboy as a secondary?

No, a secondary in a plastic bucket or other vessel with a wide headspace like that is a bad idea. I'd either use a carboy, topped up to near the top, or use a stainless keg with c02 in the headspace, or skip the transfer entirely.

It's ok to use a bottling bucket, as the beer would spend very little time in that vessel with the wide headspace, but you want to minimize the oxygen contact as much as possible and avoid unnecessary amounts of headspace if you're using a secondary vessel.

 

[mjsinnott]

Okay, sounds good, the headspace in the bottling bucket makes sense. Have you had any luck with dry hopping in a primary? I do have dry hop bags.......

 

[Yooper]

Yes, I dryhop in the primary routinely unless I'm saving the yeast cake for a new batch in which I'll rack to a secondary (or keg). I haven't noticed a difference in the final beer.