Brew Kits (Secondary Fermenter question)

[Verio]

I see all kinds of different brew kits, with secondary fermenter's, etc. Can I use the bottling bucket as a secondary? Lets say I have a 6 gallon primary carboy, then after primary fermentation ends, I rack it to the bottling bucket. Can I let it sit there and finish?

What are the benefits of a secondary fermenter? If fermentation ends, is the secondary just for conditioning and taste?

Thanks

 

[D0ug]

I have seen a lot of debate on using a secondary around here. Some people say it is only another process step that provides opportunity for contamination, some people are strongly in favor of it. Some people just give it extra time in the primary. I have seen a 1-2-3 rule posted too, for most beers, with an OG of 1.050 or lower, 1 week primary ferment, 2 weeks secondary, 3 weeks bottle condition.
Most people seem to agree though that you can achiev many effects of secondary fermentation by leaving it in the primary for an extra 2 weeks and skipping the secondary container.

Secondary fermentation can help a beer clear, and can allow some bulk aging for flavor conditioning. It seems that you can get away without it for many recipes, but there are certain recipes or techniques that require it, I think dry hopping happens in the secondary for example.

I've skipped it and had no problems, I've done it and had no problems. I'm fairly new at this, but I've been looking at a lot of the posts on this site and I think that sums the general opinion.

If you're strapped for cash, I would say skip it. As long as you sanitize well and pay attention to technique, your beer will still come out well regardless.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Revvy]

1) The problem with bottling from a primary or secondary instead of using a bottling bucket, is that since you have patiently gone and let your beer settle and clear, in order to mix the priming solution and beer effectively, you would have to stir it in the carboy which would a) kick up all that nice sediment you have patiently let fall, b) possibly oxydize the beer.

It really defeats the purpose of both a long primary/no secondary or a secondary if you have to stir up all the nice sediment you patiently waited to settle just so you can have consistent carbonation.

2) You'll find that more and more recipes these days do not advocate moving to a secondary at all, but mention primary for a month, which is starting to reflect the shift in brewing culture that has occurred in the last 4 years, MOSTLY because of many of us on here, skipping secondary, opting for longer primaries, and writing about it. Recipes in BYO have begun stating that in their magazine. I remember the "scandal" it caused i the letters to the editor's section a month later, it was just like how it was here when we began discussing it, except a lot more civil than it was here. But after the Byo/Basic brewing experiment, they started reflecting it in their recipes.

You will find that all the information you need to understand that topic and to have ALL your questions answered is here, there really is nothing on the topic that hasnlt been covered in this thread.

To secondary or not.....

Rather than getting a secondary make sure you have a bottling bucket AND order a second fermeter (as opposed to a secondary) Just get another ale pale....you will get more use out of that. You can never have too many fermenters.

 

[UrbanBrew]

Yes as long as it has a top with a hole for a bung and airlock. That being said it seems there is a growing number of people that are skipping the secondary and leaving it in the primary the entire time.
Good luck,

Edit: Well they beat me to it with better explanations.

 

[Revvy]

I have seen a 1-2-3 rule posted too, for most beers, with an OG of 1.050 or lower, 1 week primary ferment, 2 weeks secondary, 3 weeks bottle condition.

Where fermentation is concerned, If you arbitrarily move your beer, like to follow the silly 1-2-3 rule (or instructions that say move after a week or when bubbles slow down), you will often interrupt fermentation. Because sometimes the yeast won't even begin to ferment your beer until 72 hours after yeast pitch, so if you rush the beer off the yeast on day 7 then you are only allowing the yeast a few days to work. The problem is that yeast don't know how to read so they seldom follow the instructions. They dance to their own tune and its seldom 4 x 4 Time.

This often leads to stuck fermentation because you have removed the beer from the very stuff you need to ferment your beer. The yeast....It can often lead to the same off flavors one gets if they undrpitch their yeast.

Besides, fermenting the beer is just a part of what the yeast do. If you leave the beer alone, they will go back and clean up the byproducts of fermentation that often lead to off flavors. That's why many brewers skip secondary and leave our beers alone in primary for a month. It leaves plenty of time for the yeast to ferment, clean up after themselves and then fall out, leveing our beers crystal clear, with a tight yeast cake.

 

[D0ug]

I just threw out the reference to the 1-2-3 rule as a rough rule of thumb I had seen posted for noobs like me on various HTB forums.

Didn't mean to imply that it is set in stone and must be followed to the letter, hopefully no one would rack their beer while it was actively fermenting, regardless of the amount of time it has been going. Then again you wouldn't expect anyone to rack their wine through a funnel, but it happens.

Listen to Revvy, he seems to know what he's talking about. He certainly has a he11 of a lot more experience than I do

 

[oceanselv]

Revvy makes some excellent points for no secondary fermentation. I would also like to add a few more. Any time beer is moved there is a chance of contamination occurring. This contamination is most likely to come from poorly sanitized hoses, carboy, bottles etc. By leaving the beer in the primary this risk is minimized. Also if anyone has visited a small craft brewery it is rare to find one using secondary fermentation as well. For a craft brewer the reasons are both financial, sanitizers and secondaries cost money. But also because of the points Revvy pointed out as well.

 

[SquirrelMaster]

my primary also serves as the bottling bucket so i will have to use a secondary. if thats the case, do i just let it completely finish fermenting in the primary? Like wait 3 weeks and then take the two readings 3 days apart? should i even consider checking in 2 weeks? Its a golden ale made with a liquid extract kit

How long should it sit in the secondary for? just a week? Revvy since youre already in this thread would love to hear your insight.

 

[PassionBeer]

my primary also serves as the bottling bucket so i will have to use a secondary. if thats the case, do i just let it completely finish fermenting in the primary? Like wait 3 weeks and then take the two readings 3 days apart? should i even consider checking in 2 weeks? Its a golden ale made with a liquid extract kit

How long should it sit in the secondary for? just a week? Revvy since youre already in this thread would love to hear your insight.

You definitely want it to finish fermenting in the primary before you move it to the secondary. Secondary is mainly for clearing, dry-hopping, fruit or wood but some don't even use one here. Personally I do. I will let me primary sit for about 3 weeks and then secondary for at least 2 weeks.

YMMV.

 

[dfc]

1) The problem with bottling from a primary or secondary instead of using a bottling bucket, is that since you have patiently gone and let your beer settle and clear, in order to mix the priming solution and beer effectively, you would have to stir it in the carboy which would a) kick up all that nice sediment you have patiently let fall, b) possibly oxydize the beer.

It really defeats the purpose of both a long primary/no secondary or a secondary if you have to stir up all the nice sediment you patiently waited to settle just so you can have consistent carbonation.

2) You'll find that more and more recipes these days do not advocate moving to a secondary at all, but mention primary for a month, which is starting to reflect the shift in brewing culture that has occurred in the last 4 years, MOSTLY because of many of us on here, skipping secondary, opting for longer primaries, and writing about it. Recipes in BYO have begun stating that in their magazine. I remember the "scandal" it caused i the letters to the editor's section a month later, it was just like how it was here when we began discussing it, except a lot more civil than it was here. But after the Byo/Basic brewing experiment, they started reflecting it in their recipes.

You will find that all the information you need to understand that topic and to have ALL your questions answered is here, there really is nothing on the topic that hasnlt been covered in this thread.

To secondary or not.....

Rather than getting a secondary make sure you have a bottling bucket AND order a second fermeter (as opposed to a secondary) Just get another ale pale....you will get more use out of that. You can never have too many fermenters.

Isn't that the truth? I want to do another batch of beer AND an apple wine, but I don't have any open buckets.

 

[SquirrelMaster]

You definitely want it to finish fermenting in the primary before you move it to the secondary. Secondary is mainly for clearing, dry-hopping, fruit or wood but some don't even use one here. Personally I do. I will let me primary sit for about 3 weeks and then secondary for at least 2 weeks.

YMMV.

cool so that seems in line with my plan. i did pick up some cascade hop pellets to use for dry hopping in the secondary. will 2 weeks be too long for them? i've read on here that if you dry hop too long you can get a grassy taste to the beer.

With the dry hopping, i'm just gonna dump them in the secondary first and then siphon (carefully) the wort on top of it. and when it comes time to rack into the bottling bucket, i should put a nylon stocking or cheese cloth on the end of the exit part of the hose, correct?

Do you guys boil the cheesecloth for an hour or just let sit in some starsan?

 

[dfc]

cool so that seems in line with my plan. i did pick up some cascade hop pellets to use for dry hopping in the secondary. will 2 weeks be too long for them? i've read on here that if you dry hop too long you can get a grassy taste to the beer.

With the dry hopping, i'm just gonna dump them in the secondary first and then siphon (carefully) the wort on top of it. and when it comes time to rack into the bottling bucket, i should put a nylon stocking or cheese cloth on the end of the exit part of the hose, correct?

Do you guys boil the cheesecloth for an hour or just let sit in some starsan?

When I siphon into my bottling bucket I do it through pantyhose that has been soaking in starsan.

 

[SquirrelMaster]

another question, seen it in a few threads but like often times on here not real consensus.
i've been keeping my primary in a big tub of water to keep the temp a little more stable. the fermometer ranges from 64-66 degrees.

when i rack to the secondary should i continue keeping it in the water? do i want it to be a little warmer?