Brewing two batches with only one secondary

[ndeer44]

This is my first time brewing and I have two batches I can brew to experiment with different styles.

Emma's Brown Ale http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/emma-s-ale-extract-kit-w-specialty-grains.html

Witbier http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/witbier-extract-kit.html

Of course I dont feel like waiting so once I rack the first one to secondary, I will start the next in primary and leave it until bottling. Which one would you recommend racking to a carboy secondary?

 

[plankbr]

Neither. Leave them both in primary for 3 weeks or so then bottle.

 

[Yesfan]

Agreed. Use the secondary fermenter for a third 4 gallon batch.


More beer is never a bad thing.

 

[ndeer44]

Agreed. Use the secondary fermenter for a third 4 gallon batch.


More beer is never a bad thing.

Some clarification: I only have 1 primary (bucket) and 1 secondary (carboy)

Another question, if my point is to brew two without having 3+ weeks between them and I decide to ferment one completely in a large bucket in the other in a 6.5 gal carboy, which beer would be less likely to need a blow off tube in the carboy?

 

[flars]

If your bucket is 6.5 gallons and your carboy is 6.5 gallons you won't need a blow off tube if you control the fermentation temperature. At 1.046 and 1.044 estimated OG neither should form a problem krausen.

Hopefully your bucket does not do double duty as your bottling bucket. That would cause a problem with your carboy busy as a fermentor.

More buckets. They are inexpensive.

 

[Setesh]

I agree with all above:

Don't secondary unless you have to.
Buckets are cheap, buy another bucket and problem solved.

You can easily ferment your ales in the buckets and keep that carboy for lagers or things you have to secondary. The thing that makes carboys nice is they are made of glass which doesn't let oxygen in. This makes them good for longer periods of storage. Buckets let oxygen in but are easy to clean, won't shatter and hurt you if you drop them, and are cheap.

 

[Yesfan]

Some clarification: I only have 1 primary (bucket) and 1 secondary (carboy)

Another question, if my point is to brew two without having 3+ weeks between them and I decide to ferment one completely in a large bucket in the other in a 6.5 gal carboy, which beer would be less likely to need a blow off tube in the carboy?

My mistake. I misread your post.

If the bucket and carboy are both 6.5 gallons, you should be ok. If I HAD to use a blowoff for one, then use it for the carboy since it has a narrow neck, assuming you have only one blowoff assembly.

My guess is, like the others, you should be ok. If your airlock is a three piece design, then take your blow-off tubing to Lowe's or home depot and buy some tubing that's the same size and length. The three piece airlocks let you attach tubing to them. They are less likely to clog since they don't have the bends in them like the S-type airlocks.

I agree on getting more fermenters. Buckets are cheap. Another even cheaper option is going to your local bakeries and getting free buckets. The downside is the biggest buckets are usually 5 gallons. Still good for smaller batches though.

 

[unionrdr]

If the bucket has a spigot on it,it's for bottling. Having a couple fermenters of at least 6-6.5 gallon size & a bottling bucket gives a lot more lee-way with filling the pipeline. @ yesfan,I like your avatar,that's funny right there...can't seem to stop stairing & lol'ing...Seems to...mezmerize...

 

[Yesfan]

^^ Thanks. I'm a bit fond of Jeeps. I had a '05 Wrangler before I traded it in on my current Grand Cherokee (kids).

 

[C-Rider]

IF you can afford it and have the space get a few of the 6.5 g. buckets and forget the carboy. They are a pain to clean and just about any beer can finish w/only a primary bucket. Oh yea if you are bottling you'll need another bucket to bottle.

 

[yeahfairly]

Some clarification: I only have 1 primary (bucket) and 1 secondary (carboy)

Another question, if my point is to brew two without having 3+ weeks between them and I decide to ferment one completely in a large bucket in the other in a 6.5 gal carboy, which beer would be less likely to need a blow off tube in the carboy?

Naw...... you actually got two primaries, one of which is a bucket and the other is a carboy!

Neither of these beers requires being racked to a secondary vessel....... Not that there is anything wrong with doing it!

+1000 on having the extra Ferm buckets on hand. Go visit a local cake bakery and see if they will give you a couple for free!

 

[Clonefan94]

I agree with what others have said here. Don't bother with secondary for either beer. Neither of those styles really require it. Consider both vessels primary and brew away.

 

[MindenMan]

I only use buckets, and have never had trouble using them. I ferment at 64-65* F, and so what if it takes another week to finish? My three fermenters are full, and one of them is cold crashing right now. I got off track here... As been mentioned before, don't get in a hurry to bottle, and for the style you are brewing right now, no secondary is necessary. I start swirling my fermenters around day 14 or so, and when no bubbles come thru the airlock after swirling, then I cold crash. For longer than seems possible, there will be bubbles, generally caused by trapped CO2 in the trub. I hurried two batches around a year and one half ago, and got geysers in both batches, so I never hurry anymore.