Does secondary improve clarity?

[Goddard69]

I am planning on brewing a lager from a coopers cerveza kit. Im using a lager yeast and a couple of other adaptations but my question is should i rack to secondary before bottling?

I have never done this before (previously I have only made ales) but I want as little sediment as possible in my bottles, so I wondered if doing this would help.

I was thinking 10-14 days in primary at 11oC (52F). Diacetyl rest for about 4 days at room temp. Then move to secondary for 10-14 days, gradually bringing the temp back down to 52F. Then rack to primed bottles and store at 1oC (34F). I figure the time in secondary will let the beer clear a bit before bottling, but will it affect carbonation? Will there be enough yeast in the bottles? And also is 34F suitable for the carbonation process?

I will appreciate any feedback you can give me, this is my first lager and no matter how many threads and articles I read, I can't decide on a method and stick to it!

Cheers

 

[bernerbrau]

Extended aging of any sort improves clarity. I have personally seen no evidence that a secondary is any better at clearing than just leaving it in primary for longer. The general consensus here is that for ales, unless you're dry hopping or adding ingredients, or you need to free up a larger fermenting vessel, or aging for years at a time, secondary can be safely skipped.

Cue Revvy with his picture of the cement-thick yeast cake in 5... 4... 3...

 

[bmick]

Well this is a bit of a different case, because this is a lager. "Lagering" actually means holding at a cold temperature to mature and clarify, so for lager beers it's all but necessary. Honestly 10-14 days seems too short, I think a minimum of 3 weeks would be better.

In terms of sediment, bad news, you're going to have sediment, it's the product of the fermentation in the bottles. I think 34 would be low to have bottled carb up, unless you have about 6 months to let them do so. Bring them up to 60 for a few weeks to carb.

 

[IffyG]

The general consensus here is that for ales, unless you're dry hopping or adding ingredients

A lot of us dry hop in primary as well without any issues.

 

[bernerbrau]

Well this is a bit of a different case, because this is a lager. "Lagering" actually means holding at a cold temperature to mature and clarify, so for lager beers it's all but necessary. Honestly 10-14 days seems too short, I think a minimum of 3 weeks would be better.

In terms of sediment, bad news, you're going to have sediment, it's the product of the fermentation in the bottles. I think 34 would be low to have bottled carb up, unless you have about 6 months to let them do so. Bring them up to 60 for a few weeks to carb.

Ah, I missed the lager part. That's a somewhat different story. I have successfully lagered in primary before, so in my experience, secondary is not strictly necessary when lagering. However, any yeast in suspension in the final product will throw fruity flavors in a lager, so a secondary will help precipitate additional yeast. However, so will refrigerating the keg or bottles (once carbed).

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Malticulous]

After the diacetyl rest you can just crash it to near freezing or bottle it. You can lager in the bottles after they carb. You will want to carb them at room temp. The two points needed for carbonation has no noticeable impact on the beer's flavor.

A secondarys sole purpose it for clearing the beer--it's a bright tank. You can bottle after lagering. Adding some dry ale yeast in the bottling bucket can help them carb faster (again with no noticeable impact on the flavor profile.)

 

[Goddard69]

Thanks for the quick replies! Will leaving the bottles to carb at 60 produce off flavours? The saflager 23 that i'm using recommends an average temperature of 54F.

 

[Mermaid]

Your milage may vary.

I've brewed 2 beers that came out very clear - one had a fantastic cold break (used whirlfloc) because the ground water was cold running through my chiller.

The other was cold crashed with gelatine. I did not use a secondary in either case, just racked to my bottling bucket, added priming sugar, etc.

I used to use secondaries but it just meant I had more carboys to clean up - didn't really make as much of a difference as getting a good cold break.

 

[Psych]

Thanks for the quick replies! Will leaving the bottles to carb at 60 produce off flavours? The saflager 23 that i'm using recommends an average temperature of 54F.

Nah you'll be fine, fermentation is done by the time you're crabbing in bottles, so the flavor won't suffer from being at 70 or so for a couple weeks to carb up. I did this for my Oktoberfest lager this year, with that yeast, and no troubles, tasted great!

I did 50f for three weeks, 2 days at 65, 40f for three weeks then bottled for left for 2-3 weeks at room temp, then threw back in the fridge. RAve reviews from my friends, I enjoyed it as well

 

[Goddard69]

Thanks a lot guys! I love this forum someone always has an answer to my questions!