2nd batch underway - should I secondary?

[altenmuenster]

So, after all the great support and info from this site

 

[nilo]

Unless you are going to add anything like spices or dry hop, you don't need to secondary.

 

[bernerbrau]

Unless you are going to add anything like spices or dry hop, you don't need to secondary.

Seconded (ha!)

 

[Skarekrough]

It would depend on what it is and perhaps what you think it will add to the brew.

Many on here advocate a long primary and then skip to kegging or bottling.

 

[altenmuenster]

Yeah that was dopey! Anyway . . .

After all the great support and information I've gotten on the forums here my first batch of Oktoberfest that I was worried about is chilling nicely in the Ranco controlled chest freezer . . . and this weekend I decided that with a primary fermenter free I would go ahead and brew up another batch. . .

I opted for an old ale style following a recipe I found for a Theakstons Old Peculier 'clone' online. One of my Grandad's favorites in Yorkshire. Brew day went great (apart from my MIL deciding that since she is queen of the kitchen she would meddle and see what I was doing wrong, but I digress)

Since I have my carboy in the lagerator I don't have that to rack to for secondary. I read conflicting information about whether I even need to secondary this ale. What are the benefits or drawbacks to opting to skip the secondary?

Also, when I was topping off with cooled water I ended up doing my first reading at 4.5 Gallons (tough to see with foam from aerating) obviously my OG wasn't right, but when I topped off to 5 Gal my OG read way low. I added 3/4 oz of malto-dextrin to the wort to get it tight (2.75oz total instead of 2oz in the recipe) this got it back to where I wanted it -- > any thoughts to what this might do to it? It is fermenting nicely at this poing.

 

[altenmuenster]

You guys are too quick!

I had gathered that the consensus would be to just primary and bottle. What constitutes a "long" primary?

 

[Skarekrough]

You guys are too quick!

I had gathered that the consensus would be to just primary and bottle. What constitutes a "long" primary?

It could be two weeks, it could be six months, it could be even longer.

Generally I tend to think of a long primary as performing the aging which would typically occur in the secondary.

 

[Johnny_Crunch]

It doesn't seem worth the effort and I can't tell the difference when I do. I don't bother moving it anymore.

 

[MarzBock]

The main reason that I always do a secondary is so that I can free up the fermenter bucket and start a new batch. With 2 better-bottle secondary carboys, I can brew as often as the wife will let me mess up the kitchen.

also, I dunno about the rest of you, but I ALWAYS get some more sediment to come out of the beer upon standing in secondary. Maybe it's sloppy transfer from primary, but I prefer to let it settle out in secondary to let any junk that I siphoned over accidentally. clear beer is good beer.

 

[dpittard]

To me, transferring to a secondary is introducing a HUGE risk of infection. No matter how careful you are at sanitizing, nothing is more careful than leaving it in an already proven clean primary fermenter. As said above, there are a few reason to transfer, though. Dry hopping is one.

I'd leave it where it is. Let the yeast clean up any off flavors that might be there.

 

[Skarekrough]

The main reason that I always do a secondary is so that I can free up the fermenter bucket and start a new batch. With 2 better-bottle secondary carboys, I can brew as often as the wife will let me mess up the kitchen.

Now see, when I brew I always make a mess and then take the time to clean the place until it's spotless.

As a result I've been asked if I plan on brewing any time soon because the kitchen could use it.

 

[iron_city_ap]

also, I dunno about the rest of you, but I ALWAYS get some more sediment to come out of the beer upon standing in secondary. Maybe it's sloppy transfer from primary, but I prefer to let it settle out in secondary to let any junk that I siphoned over accidentally. clear beer is good beer.

Same here. If I secondary, the beer tends to be a little more clear than if I don't.

 

[rjwhite41]

I'm not familiar with the recipe you are talking about but generally speaking Old Ale benefits from some extended conditioning. Depending on how long you plan on doing that and whether or not you want to do it in bulk or in the bottle would decide the answer for you. If I was going to bulk age it then I would do a secondary. If I was going to leave it for longer than a month I would do a secondary although I wouldn't expect any problems from a 2 month primary based on what other people have done. If you ask whether or not to do a secondary on this website you will quickly get 20 people telling you no without knowing anything about your recipe or what you are trying to do. I personally believe that a secondary has it's place. Sometimes I do them, sometimes I don't.

 

[MarzBock]

To me, transferring to a secondary is introducing a HUGE risk of infection. No matter how careful you are at sanitizing, nothing is more careful than leaving it in an already proven clean primary fermenter. As said above, there are a few reason to transfer, though. Dry hopping is one.

I'd leave it where it is. Let the yeast clean up any off flavors that might be there.

I think this is an unfounded fear. Once the beer has fermented out, the alcohol content makes it less likely that an infection will occur. It isn't difficult to sanitize the equipment, so I wouldn't base my procedure on the assumption that things are not clean. Sanitation is easy, one just must be careful not to become lazy in this regard.

cheers..

 

[bernerbrau]

I think this is an unfounded fear. Once the beer has fermented out, the alcohol content makes it less likely that an infection will occur. It isn't difficult to sanitize the equipment, so I wouldn't base my procedure on the assumption that things are not clean. Sanitation is easy, one just must be careful not to become lazy in this regard.

cheers..

Granted, but unless you are VERY careful with your racking technique, there is always a risk of oxidation whenever you transfer from anywhere to anywhere else.

 

[altenmuenster]

Now see, when I brew I always make a mess and then take the time to clean the place until it's spotless.

As a result I've been asked if I plan on brewing any time soon because the kitchen could use it.

+1 to this -- somehow I can scrub down the kitchen, boil a batch of beer, scrub everything and get it put away and the kitchen looks better than I found it. Ask me to fry an egg, forget about it, I'll make a hell of a mess.

meh.

on another note -- what do you think about my addition of malto dextrin?

When I'm topping off with water, should I be taking a gravity reading every half to quarter gallon or so? it seems like I missed the target OG within that last 1/4 gallon. Was adding the malto-dextrin (an extra 3/4 ounce) good practice as I followed my gut, or just a panic move on my part.

I'm still somewhat unsure of exactly how to read my hydrometer, I get the basic process. but it seems to be kind of touch and go. I could use a youtube video on how to do it right . . . . searching now.

 

[altenmuenster]

Well, I've decided. I'm going to set up for a mega bottling day on New Years day (possibly the 2nd depending on how well NYE goes) and set to work bottling 10 gallons - 5 Oktoberfest which will be finishing up 5 + weeks of lagering in secondary, and 5 gallons of old ale, which will have had a solid 5 weeks of primary.

Hopefully after filling and capping over 100 bottles I will still be excited enough to brew the batch of wheat beer than I'm looking forward to. Probably going to split it up in secondary to do half raspberry and half plain. -- I guess that means I need some smaller carboys. . . geesh.

 

[RM-MN]

When I'm topping off with water, should I be taking a gravity reading every half to quarter gallon or so? it seems like I missed the target OG within that last 1/4 gallon. Was adding the malto-dextrin (an extra 3/4 ounce) good practice as I followed my gut, or just a panic move on my part.

Are you entering the beer into competition where the exact OG and FG are critical? If not, does your beer taste ok or watered down?

I never worry about hitting the exact OG, so what if I'm off by a few points. If the beer tastes good, don't worry. If it doesn't taste good, give it to your friends.

 

[Heineken]

I always use a secondary and never had a problem. It helps to clear things out. Not necessary in most cases but just a personal preference.