Final FG and Racking to Secondary

[JustARogue]

I just brewed my 3rd batch yesterday and started thinking about primary and secondary times. Once the specific gravity stabilizes in the primary, is there any advantage to leaving the brew in the primary vs moving it to a secondary? Will the suspended yeast not clean up after itself as well as the yeast that has fallen out of the bottom in the primary?

 

[WorryWort]

There is little to no difference in that regard.

The main advantage of secondary is clarity. The advantage of avoiding it is that it's a lot easier to primary only!

 

[JustARogue]

Yeah, I guess I didn't word my question quite right. The recipes I've brewed so far recommend 5-7 days in the primary and then 5-7 days in the secondary. But if the FG is hit on day 4 in the primary, is there an advantage to waiting another few days before going to the secondary? (Assuming I am using a secondary).

 

[dantodd]

Most here no longer recommend a secondary for a standard brew. Also, 10 to 14 days from brewing to bottling is pretty short. I'd let it go another week before bottling. The beer will get just as clear spending the whole time in a single fermentation vessel and the only thing a secondary will do for you is make you leave more beer behind by racking twice and give one more opportunity for an infection. Let it sit 3 weeks in primary at a nice controlled fermentation temperature and then straight to your bottling bucket. No fuss no muss and great beer.

Your recipe is merely repeating old information that is really pretty well disproven at this point.

 

[WorryWort]

Not really no. The only thing I could think of is possibly doing a diacetyl rest, but if you're truly fermented out that won't have any effect, though a warmer temp might trigger them back into action (only slightly).

Throw out any advice any one ever gives on how many days something should take. Only trust your hydrometer. If it says you're done, then you're done. Once the yeast has stopped fermenting it isn't going to do anything else.

 

[ifishsum]

I believe it's helpful to keep it on the yeast cake for some time after fermentation is complete - to clean up off flavors and the like. I also like to use a secondary, so I've adopted a schedule of a 14 day primary and then a 14 day secondary (assuming the hydrometer agrees). I feel like this gives me the benefits of both the longer primary and secondary techniques - my beer improved in both taste and clarity. Plus the equal primary/secondary times are nice for equipment rotation.

 

[dantodd]

Throw out any advice any one ever gives on how many days something should take. Only trust your hydrometer. If it says you're done, then you're done. Once the yeast has stopped fermenting it isn't going to do anything else.

it is true that trying to say do something in X days is not terribly productive but there are things the yeast do after terminal gravity is reached, or at least after the precision of our hydrometers is passed.

 

[WorryWort]

it is true that trying to say do something in X days is not terribly productive but there are things the yeast do after terminal gravity is reached, or at least after the precision of our hydrometers is passed.

A diacetyl rest can still have purpose post fermentation but generally speaking, the hydrometer will let you know when you're done. You also will achieve more clarity if you wait for several days after fermentation. I cold crash to help with this.

I'm certainly not trying to make a case for rushing things. But I'm pretty confident that you can secondary without worry once you've hit your FG. I always wait at least 10 days before I even take a reading though. There's no rush!