Secondary?

[ghank15]

I am thinking of brewing this beer next-
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/bavarian-hefe-weizen-extract-kit-2.html

if you click on the Kit Inventory Kit, it gives you the directions. They recommend using a secondary fermenter. I remember reading somewhere on this forum earlier tonight that a secondary may not be the best thing for wheat beers?

What do secondaries accomplish? What is the harm in leaving the brew in the original fermentation vessel?

If i do need a secondary, what should I use? Another carboy?

 

[ghank15]

Also, I know this is a stupid question (this is the beginner forum, after all). But how important are gravity readings? If the beer is in the fermenter (mine is a water jug style plastic carboy) what is the best way to get the beer for secondary readings without contaminating the beer?

 

[Golddiggie]

It's not actually fermenting in the secondary, it's purely for conditioning which means you can easily skip it and leave the brew on the yeast for the additional two weeks. I would plan on 3-6 weeks from boil to bottling.

BEST ways to tell when it's ready to bottle are:
1. At least two identical SG readings taken 2-3 (or longer) days apart... This will simply tell you that fermentation is complete, but not that the yeast is done with the brew.
2. When it TASTES right/ready...

Using the long primary method means that's one less racking where you need to worry about something going sideways and you contaminating the brew.

I've been going 4-6+ weeks on the yeast with great results. The ONLY times I'll rack to another vessel are to either add different sugars to kick off another fermentation, and I need to get it out of where it currently sits (for space). To rack onto another flavor element where I need to get it off of a previous one to halt it's contribution. Or to get it onto a flavor element after over a month and I need to clean the primary it was in. Doing it after just a couple of weeks to help it clear is a carry-over from the dark ages of home brewing. I don't see it as a method that should be followed for the vast majority of brews. Really not for how often recipes seem to call for it. Especially not with the added contamination risks that you get from doing it.

Since going with long primaries, I've been getting great brews. VERY clear too. Learn to trust the yeast to do right by you, and give them enough time to do it. For me, that means leaving the brew on the yeast for as long as possible, or as long as it needs to be. Plus, you get the added benefit of having to do less work to get a great brew.

 

[kimber]

Secondary it. For at least week. More like 10-14 days. Look at it through the glass carboy, and when it has cleared equally close to the bottom murk it should be ready. Geez, people put too much stock in taking readings etc... all this does is give you more chances to infect your awesome beer. Patience and leaving it the F$%ck alone for a few weeks is your best bet for great beer.

 

[Pezman1]

Secondary it. For at least week. More like 10-14 days. Look at it through the glass carboy, and when it has cleared equally close to the bottom murk it should be ready. Geez, people put too much stock in taking readings etc... all this does is give you more chances to infect your awesome beer. Patience and leaving it the F$%ck alone for a few weeks is your best bet for great beer.

I disagree.

First off, this is a Hefe, it isn't supposed to be clear.

Next you advise moving it to secondary - yet just a few sentences later you advise leaving beer alone.

Lastly, taking an FG is THE only sure way to know if your beer is finished - and it is MUCH less likely to infect or oxidize your beer than siphoning it to a secondary vessel.


Home brewing is an evolving hobby. Most have found that in brewing mid to low gravity ales, using a secondary serves no purpose at all. I am one of those people.

Pez.

 

[JLem]

I disagree.

First off, this is a Hefe, it isn't supposed to be clear.

Next you advise moving it to secondary - yet just a few sentences later you advise leaving beer alone.

Lastly, taking an FG is THE only sure way to know if your beer is finished - and it is MUCH less likely to infect or oxidize your beer than siphoning it to a secondary vessel.


Home brewing is an evolving hobby. Most have found that in brewing mid to low gravity ales, using a secondary serves no purpose at all. I am one of those people.

Pez.

+1. I'm with you 100%

 

[kimber]

Even if it is A hefe, it is obvious, as a hefe will still clear a bit in the secondary. You can watch this if you secondary in a glass carboy. While it may be hazy all-around, you can see it be clearer as it finishes down... when it is all the same clarity from the top down, with maybe a tiny bit of murkiness near the bottom, get your bottles ready for the next day. Really.

 

[JLem]

Even if it is A hefe, it is obvious, as a hefe will still clear a bit in the secondary. You can watch this if you secondary in a glass carboy. While it may be hazy all-around, you can see it be clearer as it finishes down... when it is all the same clarity from the top down, with maybe a tiny bit of murkiness near the bottom, get your bottles ready for the next day. Really.

I am less concerned with the style here than I am with the fact that moving it to secondary is unnecessary. For most beers, sitting in the primary for 2-3 weeks and then bottling/kegging is more than sufficient. Secondaries are good for extended aging or when adding an additional flavor component, like oak or fruit. If the beer is a non-oaked, non-fruit, standard gravity ale, I see no reason to use a secondary and several reasons not to (e.g. potential for contamination and/or oxidation)

 

[Golddiggie]

I am less concerned with the style here than I am with the fact that moving it to secondary is unnecessary. For most beers, sitting in the primary for 2-3 weeks and then bottling/kegging is more than sufficient. Secondaries are good for extended aging or when adding an additional flavor component, like oak or fruit. If the beer is a non-oaked, non-fruit, standard gravity ale, I see no reason to use a secondary and several reasons not to (e.g. potential for contamination and/or oxidation)

Good to see someone else posting up about this...

Personally (and YMMV) I've been getting great brews by letting them sit in primary for 4-6 weeks... I did just rack a wee heavy into a keg, for oak aging. But, it was on the yeast cake/in primary for almost 6 weeks before I racked it (2 days short of 6 weeks)... If the primary where that had been sitting didn't need to be cleaned (I put a bit too much into it, so there was 'stuff' inside that I wanted to remove and not let get into the brew) I probably would have tossed the oak cubes right into the primary...

I am planning on dry hopping a brew started on 3/10. I'll be putting the hops right into the primary (1oz total of whole hops into a 6 gallon carboy) for about a week... Why rack it when you can get solid results from not racking?

 

[Brasco20]

The only time i secondary is if i am going to age the beer. I have a barley wine that is aging for 6 months, so i racked out of the primary after about a month and a half. I had an ipa that had to be aged for 2 months, i left it in the primary the whole time, no problems. When i first started brewing i was worried about getting the beer off the yeast after 2 weeks, ive learned that this is no big deal. As for your question about taking samples, i use a wine thief and a tube to put the sample in. I sanitize both the thief and the tube, when i put the beer into the tube, it touches the tip of the thief. This may be overkill, but i dont want to screw up a batch just because i didnt dip the measuring tube in the star san. The tube is the thing i put my hydrometer in to take readings, i cant remember what the hell the name of that thing is.

 

[Golddiggie]

I do the same thing as Brasco20 for taking my samples... I pretty much always have some StarSan mixed up, so a simple dunk in there of all items that will come into contact with the brew/wort get sanitized... I pull the sample, put the bung back into the carboy, and take the reading... Going for long primaries also has the advantage that by the time you actually pull a sample, fermentation is finished. Well, expect for some really BIG brews. It's really just a matter of seeing what the SG is, and having a taste of the wonder the yeast has given us... :rockin:

 

[Monstar]

Pretty much just going to +1 to most of what has been said here.

I have a forced "3 full keg, 3 full primary" pipeline. I self imposed it on myself to

A. save money
B. force myself to age beer longer!

Most of my beers sit for 5-6 weeks. Then keg, carb a week... DELICIOUSNESS! Works really well.

So like everyone has said, screw it unless you are adding fruit or plan on letting it sit for a few months.

 

[JLem]

I am less concerned with the style here than I am with the fact that moving it to secondary is unnecessary. For most beers, sitting in the primary for 2-3 weeks and then bottling/kegging is more than sufficient. Secondaries are good for extended aging or when adding an additional flavor component, like oak or fruit. If the beer is a non-oaked, non-fruit, standard gravity ale, I see no reason to use a secondary and several reasons not to (e.g. potential for contamination and/or oxidation)

just wanted to clarify my comment about 2-3 weeks in primary being sufficient. As others have said here, I think 4-6 week in primary is a fine thing and in no way would this time frame injure a beer. My standard timing is 3-4 weeks for most beers, and 2 weeks is about the minimum I would leave a beer in primary (though I've done some simple wheat beers in 10 days just because I was in a rush).