Secondary

[flyboys3]

If you have the time I have the questions!
1. I started a batch of "True Brew Pilsner" on friday night and it was in the fermenter around 8:00 pm. when I checked it in the morning the airlock was working (bubbles) then saturday night late it stoped and has not bubbled since, is this bad?

2. does it have to be a glass carboughy for a secondary,I have a couple of 5 gallon absolpure plastic jugs look like a carboughy will these work if properly cleaned and sealed with a airlock? or should I use another fermenter pail with the lid, but there would be alot of airspace.

3. do I have to put anything in the secondary or just the beer?

sorry for the (probably) stupid questions but the directions that came with the kit were very vague at best.
Thanks
flyboys3

 

[ifishsum]

1. It's normal, active fermentation may only last 24 hours, sometimes it's 5 days. Depends on the brew and the temperature (among other factors). Give it more time though, sometimes they slow down and then start back up. The airlock cannot be trusted as a fermentation gauge, so don't assume it's done just because it stopped bubbling.

2. A food-grade plastic carboy would be fine for a secondary, lots of folks use plastic better bottles instead of glass carboys. Sanitize and use an airlock.

3. You don't have to, but you can add things in secondary if you want, like fruit or other flavorings. It's also common to dry hop in the secondary. You don't add any more water or anything like that.

I'll add that I always wait at least 7-10 days before moving to the secondary. You want the beer to be completely finished fermenting, plus it benefits from sitting on the yeast for at least a few days after it's finished because the yeast will clean up many of their own by-products that can contribute to off flavors. A gravity reading should be taken before moving to secondary to be sure it's dropped to it's expected FG - once you take it off the majority of the yeast in the primary, you can't always expect the gravity to drop much further.