Fermentation in secondary fermenter

[TimothyTheGreat]

I am brewing an Irish Red and kept it in the primary for 10 days before I transferred it to the carboy. I was getting ready to bottle and noticed that it had begun to vigorously ferment in the carboy. Anybody know anything about this?

 

[Revvy]

did you take 2 consequetive gravity readings over a three day period to ascertain if fermentation was complete before racking. Clearing if it started up again in secondary, you racked too soon. OR you had a stuck fermenation. But since you said you racked after only 10 days, and sometimes yeast can take 3 days to even start fermentation sometimes, I'm betting it wasn't done yet when you racked.

Just leave it be.....

 

[tasq]

did you take 2 consequetive gravity readings over a three day period to ascertain if fermentation was complete before racking. Clearing if it started up again in secondary, you racked too soon. OR you had a stuck fermenation. But since you said you racked after only 10 days, and sometimes yeast can take 3 days to even start fermentation sometimes, I'm betting it wasn't done yet when you racked.

Just leave it be.....

Revvy has it.

Don't brew by timeline. Big mistake. Brew with gravity.

FWIW many of us don't secondary at all.

 

[yournotpeter]

FWIW many of us don't secondary at all.

Agreed....the best results I have aways had is 2-3 works in the fermenter, then keg/bottle. No secondary. 99.9% of the time it's done fermenting (some lagers being the exception). Just my two cents.

 

[frtrey]

I've read a number of times to forgo the secondary. When does that rule not apply? If you're doing a tripel or quad - would I want to just leave it in the primary for a month, and then bottle?

 

[pjj2ba]

It's not a rule, it is a preference. Fermentation conditions have an appreciable impact on the final product. You can successfully do primary only and make great beer. Or you can use a secondary and make great beer. What makes a great beer? That is up to your tastes! Either method is perfectly acceptable. That being said, there is a difference in the final taste. Secondaried beers tend to be a bit cleaner and crisper, while primary only beers tend to be a little fuller. Tend. The higher the ABV and the stronger the flavor of the ingredients, the less noticeable the difference.

It really is something you best decide for yourself - with as much experimentation as possible of course to figure out what you like. As that is a big point of homebrewing - to brew a beer that is exactly to YOUR tastes

 

[duboman]

Whether you choose to use a secondary vessel or not the bottom line is the beer should not be moved anywhere until final gravity has been achieved and verified to be stable with no changes.

 

[dhertel]

It definitely wasn't done fermenting in the primary before you transferred it in the secondary.

 

[bigbeergeek]

Curious what yeast strain you used... something highly flocculant? English?

 

[BrewingBoomer]

I just had this happen! I used muntons for a goose island nut brown clone I was brewing it was a very vigorous fermentation at first then almost non existent, I checked the gravity at day five and it looked like it was about done, I waited a couple extra days and transferred to secondary while I was sanitizing my keg, at this point it was like day 11 of the fermentation so I thought there was no way it couldn't be done.. Boy was I wrong, checked the fermenter this morning and it was going crazy!!! Weird.. Hope it isn't infected...

 

[duboman]

I just had this happen! I used muntons for a goose island nut brown clone I was brewing it was a very vigorous fermentation at first then almost non existent, I checked the gravity at day five and it looked like it was about done, I waited a couple extra days and transferred to secondary while I was sanitizing my keg, at this point it was like day 11 of the fermentation so I thought there was no way it couldn't be done.. Boy was I wrong, checked the fermenter this morning and it was going crazy!!! Weird.. Hope it isn't infected...

It's not weird, it wasn't done, especially after only 5 days. Remember that active fermentation does not start immediately after you pitch the yeast. There is lag time which could be several hours to a couple days depending on many factors so those initial days of lag time are not part of the calendar, so to speak.

As mentioned above and to re-iterate, yeast do not work by calendar, they work with gravity at their own pace and the only way you know the beer is done is by taking gravity readings to ensure that it is still not dropping. Once you get a couple readings over 3 days that are stable do you know the beer is done, then ideally, you give the beer another week for the yeast to clean up and the beer to begin clearing.

 

[BrewingBoomer]

It's not weird, it wasn't done, especially after only 5 days. Remember that active fermentation does not start immediately after you pitch the yeast. There is lag time which could be several hours to a couple days depending on many factors so those initial days of lag time are not part of the calendar, so to speak.

As mentioned above and to re-iterate, yeast do not work by calendar, they work with gravity at their own pace and the only way you know the beer is done is by taking gravity readings to ensure that it is still not dropping. Once you get a couple readings over 3 days that are stable do you know the beer is done, then ideally, you give the beer another week for the yeast to clean up and the beer to begin clearing.

Ya I was watching the airlock and for three days nothing was happening I actually waited 11 days not five. That's why I thought I might have infected it when I took a gravity reading or something... Idk could nit have gotten stuck possibly? Ten when I racked to secondary it reinvigorated it?

 

[duboman]

Ya I was watching the airlock and for three days nothing was happening I actually waited 11 days not five. That's why I thought I might have infected it when I took a gravity reading or something... Idk could nit have gotten stuck possibly? Ten when I racked to secondary it reinvigorated it?

Yes, that's possible and if that was determined then you could have roused the yeast and raised the temp to get it un-stuck

 

[BrewingBoomer]

Welp, it sure does smell incredible and the wine theif sample was pretty darn tasty too, tasted fine, really.. Hope I just reinvigorated it and didn't infect it.